In India, a non-profit organisation can be registered as Trust by executing a Trust deed or as a Society under the Registrar of Societies, or as a private limited non- profit company under Section 8 Company under the Companies Act, 2013. A Section 8 Company is the same as the popular Section 25 company under the old Companies Act, 1956, which was one of the most popular forms of Non- Profit Organisations in India. But, as per the new Companies Act 2013, Section 25 (as per the old act) has now become Section 8. To register a section 8 company in India, the process is similar to the incorporation of other companies (except an additional license is required). The applicant looking to start a section 8 company is required to file RUN approval for name availability. Once the name is approved, there is a further requirement of obtaining a license for a Section 8 Company, for which Form RD-1 is to be filed in order to obtain a license for such company. After obtaining license number, applicant can proceed further to incorporate a company by filing e forms INC-7, INC-22 and DIR-12 or e-forms INC-7 and DIR-12 as the case may be.
Section 8 Company
Section-8 Company
Reasons to Register a Section 8 Company
Name
Section 8 Companies can be registered with names that contain words like Association, Foundation, Society, Council, Club, Charities, Institute, Academy, Organisation, Federation, Chamber of Commerce, Development and more.
Management
Trusts are managed by Trustees as per a Trust Deed. Section 8 Company does not have the concept of Trustees. Hence, Section 8 Companies are managed by the Board of Directors based on the MOA and AOA of the Section 8 Company.
Profits
Like a private limited company, a Section 8 Company will also have revenue, expenses, profits and losses. However, in a Section 8 Company the profits can be used only for the charitable or not-for-profit purposes mentioned in the MOA.
Transferability
The management of a Section 8 Company can be easily transferred from one person to another by altering the changing the composition of Board of Directors. Section 8 Company can also be controlled by shareholders.
Documents required for Section 8 Company:- (All copies of documents should be self-attested by the customer)
Identity and Address Proof
Identity and address proof will be required for all directors and shareholders of the company to be incorporated. In case of Indian nationals, PAN is mandatory. For foreign nationals, apostilled or notarised copy of passport must be submitted mandatorily. All documents submitted must be valid. Residence proof documents like bank statement or electricity bill must be less than 2 months old.
Registered Office Proof
All companies must have a registered office in India. To prove access to the registered office, a recent copy of the electricity bill or property tax receipt or water bill must be submitted. Along with the utility bill, rental agreement or sale deed and a letter from the landlord with his/her consent to use the office as a registered office of a company must be submitted.
Steps to Incorporation Section 8 Company Registration process
Application of DSC & DPIN
First of all, the partners have to apply for Digital signature and DPIN. Digital signature is an online signature used of filing and DPIN refer to Directors PIN number issued by MCA. If the directors already have DSC and DPIN, then this step can be skipped.
Name approval
You to provides 3 different name options to MCA of which one will be selected. Names provided should ideally be unique and suggestive of company business.
Approval of other authorities
The Registrar of Companies may require the applicant to furnish the approval or concurrence of any department, regulatory body, appropriate authority, or Ministry of the Central or State Government(s) in relation to the work to be done.
MOA & AOA submission
Once the licence is obtained, one needs to draft Memorandum of association and Articles of Associate. But the object of the company must always be a charitable object. Both MOA and AOA are filed with the MCA with the subscription statement.
Get Section 8 Company incorporation certificate
It typically takes 15- 25 days to form a Section 8 company and get the incorporation certificate. The Certificate of Incorporation is proof that a company exists. It also includes your CIN (Company Incorporation Number).The Registrar will wait for 30 days for objections, if any, of any person pursuant to notice published in newspapers.
