Founder-friendly guides on Indian company law
Crisp guides on MCA compliance, GST, ESOP, board resolutions, and everything else the Companies Act never explained in plain English.
More articles
Most founders assume Form DPT-3 is only for businesses that "accept deposits" — and skip it. They are wrong. DPT-3 is the annual return that captures director loans, inter-corporate loans, customer advances and share application money pending allotment, even when none of it is a deposit. It is due 30 June 2026. This guide explains exactly what Rule 16 of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules requires, the Section 76A and Rule 21 penalties for getting it wrong, how MCA21 V3 flags a missing return, and the step-by-step filing checklist before the deadline.
Read →Founders assume that controlling the board lets them issue shares to anyone. Section 62 says otherwise: new shares must first be offered to existing shareholders. Here is what the law requires, the penalties under Section 450 and Section 42, the MCA21 v3 exposure, and the exact step-by-step to run a rights issue or preferential allotment correctly.
Read →Vakilsearch promises ₹999 incorporation. pvtltd.co promises honesty. We compare pricing, service quality, compliance depth, and what actually happens after you pay.
Read →Founders assume a private limited company ring-fences their personal assets from every liability. For GST dues, that is wrong. Section 89 of the CGST Act, 2017 makes every director of a private company jointly and severally liable for unrecovered GST, interest and penalty for the period they held office — unless they prove the non-recovery was not due to their own neglect, misfeasance or breach of duty. This guide explains exactly what the section requires, the recovery machinery behind it, the parallel Section 164(2) disqualification and MCA21 V3 risks, and a seven-step plan to stay outside the net.
Read →Founders treat "independent director" as a title to hand out. The Companies Act, 2013 treats it as a tightly defined legal status with eligibility tests under Section 149(6), mandatory declarations under Section 149(7), a binding Schedule IV code, data-bank registration under Section 150, and ongoing duties. Get it wrong and every board resolution that relied on the person's independence becomes defective — with MCA21 V3 now surfacing the mismatch. This guide explains who actually needs an independent director, the exact independence test, the Schedule IV separate-meeting requirement, tenure limits, and the step-by-step process to appoint one validly.
Read →A director resigned from a startup in 2023, stopped attending meetings, and assumed his liability ended. Eighteen months later, MCA21 flagged him as disqualified under Section 164(2) — because the company never filed Form DIR-12. His DIN was frozen. This guide explains why resignation under the Companies Act 2013 is a two-party, two-filing process. Section 168 requires both the company to file Form DIR-12 within 30 days and the director to file Form DIR-11 to create an independent record with MCA. Until DIR-12 is filed, ROC records show you as an active director. DIN surrender under Rule 11A via Form DIR-5 is irreversible and only prevents future directorships — it does not erase income tax liability under Section 179 or past ROC obligations. This guide gives you the step-by-step process to resign cleanly and protect your DIN.
Read →Most founders discover their Director Identification Number (DIN) is disqualified during investor due diligence — or at the moment they try to file on MCA21. Section 164(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 does not require a court order or ROC notice. It fires automatically when a company fails to file AOC-4 or MGT-7 for three consecutive financial years. Every director on the board becomes ineligible to hold a directorship in any company in India for five years. MCA21 v3 real-time DIN validation means the system will block filings before founders even know they are disqualified. With CCFS-2026 offering a 90% fee waiver expiring July 15, 2026, there is a narrow window to file overdue returns and begin the path to remedy. This guide covers the exact trigger, the six-step fix, and what to do right now.
Read →Section 185 of the Companies Act, 2013 imposes a near-absolute prohibition on loans, guarantees, and securities from a company to its directors or relatives. Yet this is one of the most common compliance violations in Indian private limited companies — founders routinely route company cash to themselves without realising the transaction is illegal. This guide covers exactly who Section 185 covers, what the private company exemption actually requires and when it disappears after institutional funding, what penalties apply under Section 185(4) — up to Rs 25 lakh in fines and 6 months imprisonment — and how MCA21 V3 now automatically flags balance sheet entries matching director DIN profiles. Includes a step-by-step guide to recalling an existing loan, correcting your ROC filings, and leveraging the CCFS-2026 amnesty window before it closes on July 15, 2026.
Read →Before you transfer that ₹10 lakh from your Pvt Ltd bank account to your personal account, you should know you might just have committed the same category of offence that SEBI banned Rajesh Mehta for — using company funds for personal financial activity without proper authorisation.
Read →While finance influencers on X argued about who recommended the stock and whether retail investors should have known better, the SEBI order on Rajesh Exports buried the real lesson several hundred pages deep — and it has nothing to do with stock picking. It has everything to do with how private limi
Read →Ensuring timely annual compliance for a Private Limited Company in India is critical to avoid penalties, maintain active status with the Registrar of Companies (ROC), and uphold corporate governance standards. For the financial year 2025-26, companies must adhere to a strict calendar of filings unde
Read →The Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme 2026 waives 90% of MCA late fees on overdue AOC-4, MGT-7, ADT-1 and more. Here's what it covers, who qualifies, and how to act before the July 15 deadline.
Read →No spam. Unsubscribe any time.