What is a one-person company registration and what is the law governing it?

As the name suggests a one-person company is one that has only one shareholder as its member. The other members are just subscribers to its memorandum of association, as stated in the Companies Act 2013.

When there is only one founder or promoter OPC is a preferred business registration model as compared to sole proprietorship, due to the many advantages that come with it.

How to register a one-person company?

If you are interested in registering a one-person company in India, first and foremost you need to subscribe your name to the memorandum of association. The Companies Act 2013 governs the one-person company registration process, according to which details of a nominee need to be furnished at the time of registration, in case the original member dies or is incapacitated for contractual relations.

The memorandum and the nominee’s consent are then filed to the Registrar of Companies with the application for registration.

Documents requirements to register a one-person company

• Government ID of Director and nominee -PAN card or passport
• In the case of NRIs and foreign nationals, the passport is a must
• Scanned copy of driver's license or voter’s ID for Director and nominee
• Updated gas or electricity bill or bank account statement or mobile or landline phone bill
• Specimen signature or impression
• Passport-size photo of Director 

Note: It is mandatory that the OPC director must self-attest to the first three documents. In the case of a foreign citizen or an NRI all paperwork be not arised, if they are currently living in India or a non-commonwealth country or apostilled if they are residing in a commonwealth country at present.

Documents Needed for the Registered Office

• Scanned copy of current bank account statement or phone or mobile invoice or gas or electricity bill
• Scanned copy of rental agreement written in English 
• Scanned copy of a no-objection certificate from the property owner
• Scanned copy t of property or sale deed printed in English if it is a self-owned property.

Note: The registered office space needs to be a commercial premise, but even if it is the director’s residence it is ok.

Process and post compliances of one-person company registration 

The three main steps are:

Applying for Digital Signature Certificates through an online portal

Incorporation forms (e Spice +, e MOA, e Agile+) to be filled and submitted to MCA

Collecting the Certificate of registration issued by MCA after scrutiny of documents

Post-registration the following need to be taken care of:

• Obtaining the company PAN 
• Opening a bank account
• Depositing share capital into the company account
• Disclosure of interest by directors
• GST registration
• Appointment of auditors 

The benefits of one-person company registration

Among the many advantages of a One-person company are the following:

• Limited Liability

 The Director is not personally liable for the debts of the company 

• Control of Ownership

Fully vested in the hands of the single member

• Employee Stock Options

Talented employees get bespoke benefits from the company

• Director Dual Role

The Director can also be an employee of the company.

• Separate Entity

The company can own assets in its own name and can sell them as well as sue and can be sued in a court of law.

• Easy Exit Option

The member may easily exit the Company by simply signing a Share Transfer Form. 

Why hiring a consultant is necessary for one-person company registration? 

Filing registration documents with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs requires detailed processes like applying for Digital signature certificates through online portals, preparation of incorporation forms, and all the follow-up work after incorporation. The services of legal experts can make the whole process a streamlined one with a quicker time to registration.

Legalo services might be of great help if you are about to register a one-person company:

• We cover all services like getting the CIN, MOA, AOA, Company PAN, TAN
• We have an expert team that gets all your registrations like PF, ESI, PT, GST, and MSME done 
• All bank-related work
• Our services can be accessed online and you can keep track on an easy-to-use dashboard.
• An excellent support team will help you with your queries throughout the process.

<For various legal services, Contact Legalo>

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