Public Limited Company Registration

As per the companies Act 2013, a company that has limited liability and offers its shares to the general public is a public limited company. Anyone can invest in the shares of a public limited company. General public can acquire its shares either privately through Initial Public Offering (IPO) or through trades on the stock market. For public limited it is mandatory to provide its authentic financial situation to its shareholders. Public limited companies enjoy all the rights of a corporate entity with limited liabilities therefore, private limited company registration is an ideal choice for the small and medium scale enterprises who wish to raise the equity capital from the general public.

What is a Public Limited Company?

Public Limited Company is registered as per the rules and regulations of the Companies Act, 2013. A public company enjoys the benefits of limited liabilities for its members and has the right to sell its shares for raising the capital. It can be incorporated with minimum three directors and has more stringent rules and regulations as compared to a private limited company.

For public limited company registration there is a requirement of minimum number of seven members whereas there is no limit for the maximum number of members. It provides all the benefits of a private limited company along with more transparency and easy transferability of ownership and shareholding.

What is the difference between the Public limited Company and Private Limited Company?

Both private and public limited companies vary on certain points. Some main differences between both are as follows:

Features of Online Public Limited Company Registration

Here is the list of crucial traits of a public limited company Registration:

1. Number of Directors in the company

As stated in the provisions of Companies Act, a public company must have a minimum number of 3 directors to incorporate a company whereas there is no restriction on the maximum number of directors.

2. Name of the Company

All the public limited companies must add “Limited” at the end of their name. It reflects the identity of a public company.

3. Prospectus of the Company

Prospectus of the company is mandatory for the public limited companies. It is issued by the proposed company for its general public. It is a note of comprehensive statements of works and affairs of the company. However private companies have no such compliances as they entertain the right to invite the public for their shares.

4. Paid-up Capital

For public company registration, no minimum paid share capital is required as per the act.

Benefits of Public Limited Company Registration in India

Here are the lists of benefits of Public Limited Company Registration:

1. Limited liabilities for the shareholders of the company

Shareholders of the public company enjoy the benefits of limited liabilities under which their assets are safe and cannot be used to clear the debts and losses of the company. Despite of it, shareholders are responsible for their own legal infringement. All the members, directors and shareholders enjoy this right and their assets cannot be seized by any bank, creditors or government bodies.

2. Perpetual Succession

A public limited company is considered as a corporate body that has perpetual succession. That is to say in case of death, retirement, insanity, and insolvency of one or more members/ shareholder/ directors, the company still continues to exist.

3. Improved Capital of the Company

In a public listed company, the general public is invited to buy the shares of the company. Hence, anyone can invest in a public company that improves the capital of the proposed company.

4. Borrowing Capacity

A public company can enjoy unlimited sources for borrowing funds. It can issue equity, debentures and can accept the deposits from the general public by selling its shares. Moreover, most of the financial institutions find public companies more prominent than other unregistered companies.

5. Fewer Risks

Since public companies can sell their shares to the public, it somewhere reduces the scope of unsystematic risks of the market.

6. Better Opportunities for Growth and Expansion of the Company

Fewer risks lead to better opportunities so that the company can grow and expand by investing in new projects from the funds raised by selling its shares in the market.

Requirements for the Online Public Limited Company Registration

According to the provisions of Companies Act, 2013 here are the requirements that should be fulfilled for Public limited company registration in India:

• The proposed company must have a minimum number of 7 shareholders
• The proposed company must have a minimum number of 3 directors 
• At least one director should have a Digital Signature Certificate 
• All the directors must have a DIN 
• Drafting of Memorandum of Association and Article of Association 

Documents required for Public Limited Company Registration in India

Documents required for Online Public Limited Company Registration

• Identity Proof such as Aadhar card, PAN card, Driving License, Voter Id of all the designated directors and shareholders. 
• Address Proof of all the proposed directors and shareholder of the company.
• PAN card details of all the directors and shareholders.
• Utility bill such as telephone, gas, water or electricity bill of the registered office as a residential proof of the business place. It should not be older than 2 months. 
• An NOC or No Objection Certificate from the landlord of the business place. 
• DIN or Directors Identification Number of all the designated directors
• DSC or Digital Signature Certificate of the designated directors
• Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Article of Association (AOA)

Procedure for Online Public Limited Company Registration

• Apply for the Digital Signature Certificate

  First of all, you have to apply for the Digital Signature Certificate for all the proposed directors in the company. DSC is used to sign the e-forms and is an authentic and safe method to file all the documents on an electronic platform. It is a mandatory document.

  A director can easily obtain DSC from the nearest Certifying Authorities or CAs with self-attest copies of their identity proof. It takes around 1 -3 working days to obtain a DSC.

• Apply for DIN

  Ministry of Corporate Affairs has simplified the DIN procedure, as an applicant can apply for it through the SPICe form and do not require to file any other form. It is mandatory for all the directors of the company to apply for their Director’s Identification Number.

• RUN Form: Reserve Unique Name Verification

  The third step involves registering name of the company. You can check the name availability through the MCA portal by following this step:

  Visit the MCA Portal> select the MCA services> Click Check Company Name

  Once you have checked the name can file the RUN Form for the name approval of the company. You can provide 2 names at a time and pay Rs 1000 per submission. In case the name gets rejected you can resubmit the application. As stated, the company name should end with “Limited” word.

• File Incorporation Form SPICe

  Once the company’s name has been approved you can now fill the SPICe form to avail the company incorporation certificate. Along with it, you have to fill all the required documents such as MOA (Memorandum of Association) and AOA (Article of Association). These two documents contain the details such as objective, aim, vision, business activities, responsibilities of all the directors and shareholders and definition of the proposed company.

  All the documents and applications are further verified by the higher authorities. The whole process takes around 7 to 9 working days.

• Obtain Certificate of Incorporation

  Once all the applications and documents have been received by the authorities and they have verified it, the company would receive the Certificate of Incorporation which will include CIN (Corporate Identification Number) and date of incorporation.

• Availing the PAN TAN of the company

  Once you have got the Certificate of Incorporation, now you can apply for the PAN and TAN application by the MCA. You will receive both the documents in around 1 to 3 working days.

• Open a Bank account

  With the help of PAN card and Certificate of Incorporation, you can easily open a bank account at your Company’s name.