Name availability rules bar company names resembling existing companies, LLPs or trademarks; certifying professionals face liability.
Name availability bars registration of an undesirable name identical with or too nearly resembling an existing company, LLP or a registered/applied trade mark. Applicants must declare prior MCA searches, non infringement, conformity with emblems law and Guidelines, and accept responsibility. Certified e form 1A filings by specified professionals may receive online availability without ROC processing, but the certifier is liable to penal action if the name is later found impermissible; uncertified applications are processed by ROC. Reserved names lapse after sixty days and the Central Government may require post incorporation name change where resemblance is found.

Integration of director identification consolidates DIN/DPIN use and mandates PAN submission to retain identifier status.
Integration of the Director's Identification Number (DIN) and Designated Partnership Identification Number (DPIN) makes the existing identifier useable for both company director and LLP designated partner purposes; no fresh DPINs will be issued and individuals must obtain DIN by filing e-form DIN 1 where required. Holders must furnish PAN via e-form DIN 4 within the prescribed timeline or face disabling of the identifier and penalties.

XBRL filing requirement applies to financial statements; auditors must certify XBRL filings and some sectors receive temporary fee relief.
Filing of Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss accounts in XBRL through the MCA-21 portal is required for financial statements closing on or after 31.03.2011; statutory auditors must certify XBRL-prepared financial statements prior to filing. Phase 1 classes earlier exempted from XBRL filing (notably within power, insurance, NBFC and banking sectors) that are unable to file will be exempt from additional delayed filing fees until 30.09.2011.

Payment of CA fees when Common Pool Fund is barred requires court permission and committee approval for payment.
Where funds cannot be drawn from the Common Pool Fund, Official Liquidators must obtain Court permission to appoint a Chartered Accountant, appoint a CA to issue the requisite certificate, and have fees and terms fixed by a Committee of the OL and ROC chaired by the RD. All fees must be approved following the GFR, selections must be made from a maintained list of local CAs/firm, and payments are to be charged to the budget head Office Expenses.

PAN compliance for Official Liquidators: use company PAN in returns, personal PAN for verification, and list office address.
Official Liquidators must take possession of company PAN/TAN on appointment or obtain PAN from the ITO or apply company-wise where absent, invoking Rule 130 if management withholds details; company-wise PANs may be procured with Company Judge approval and charged to company accounts. For e-filing, OLs should quote the company PAN in the return and give their personal PAN only in the verification column while entering the Official Liquidator's office address in Part A to prevent personal correspondence. Staff must be trained for PAN applications and online ITR filing without external consultants.

Cost audit requirement: specified manufacturing and mining companies must obtain annual cost audits and file prescribed reports under new rules.
Companies to which the Companies (Cost Accounting Records) Rules, 2011 apply and engaged in specified industries must have annual cost accounting records audited by a practising cost accountant or firm for financial years commencing on or after 1 April 2011 when turnover or listed-securities criteria are met; audits must follow the revised appointment procedure, produce reports under the Companies (Cost Audit Report) Rules, 2011, be filed in the prescribed format and timeframe, with exemptions for bodies corporate under special Acts and penalties for default.

Clearing pending e forms: Ministry mandates ROCs to review and dispose outstanding filings as a final opportunity.
The Ministry directed ROCs to clear legacy e forms filed before the revised Regulation 17 implementation that remain pending for want of stakeholder action by reclassifying them as Held in Abeyance to enable ROC review and disposal; companies must resubmit or furnish clarifications in Form 67 as required and stakeholders are asked to track items on the MCA21 portal and coordinate with ROCs to clear the backlog within the final opportunity timeframe.

Digital certification of ROC-issued corporate certificates mandated, replacing manual issuance and requiring transition to electronic signatures.
All statutory certificates and standard letters issued by the Registrar of Companies will be issued electronically under a Digital Signature via the MCA-21 system; thirteen certificate types have been implemented as digitally signed outputs, remaining certificates will be implemented imminently, manual issuance of implemented certificates is discontinued, and any pending manual certificates must be issued by the prescribed transitional cutoff.

Compliance requirement: registrars will refuse event filings until defaulting companies file required financial statements and annual returns.
The Registrar of Companies shall refuse to record any event-based information or changes for defaulting companies unless they first file updated Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Accounts and Annual Return. This restriction applies to companies and their directors who have not filed the specified documents for any of the financial years 2006-07 through 2009-10, and is effective from 3 July 2011.

XBRL filing requirement mandates specified classes of companies to submit financial statements electronically, with exemptions and transitional fee relief.
Mandates filing of Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Account and related reports in XBRL format for specified classes of companies from 2010-11, with listed companies and their Indian subsidiaries and companies meeting prescribed capital or turnover criteria covered in Phase I; banks, insurance firms, power companies and NBFCs are exempted until further orders. The Ministry has published taxonomies, business rules and validation tools and will provide an XBRL filing module on MCA 21. Transitional relief allows Phase I companies with AGMs before a set date to file by an extended date without additional fee; training contacts are provided.

Fast Track Exit for defunct companies enables streamlined striking off following prescribed certification, affidavit and notice procedures.
Fast Track Exit provides a streamlined procedure for striking off defunct companies with nil assets and liabilities: apply electronically in Form FTE with a filing fee; submit certification by a practising professional, director affidavits, notarised indemnity bonds, and a recent certified statement of account; Registrar issues a thirty day show cause notice and posts applications for public objection; regulators and tax authorities are notified; absent objections and on satisfaction, the Registrar strikes the name off the register and publishes dissolution in the Official Gazette.

Dematerialization requirement: public companies must hold and convert public securities into dematerialized form under the Depositories Act.
Public companies and their subsidiaries that have raised funds from the public through shares, debentures, deposits, stock, bonds or other financial instruments must issue and maintain those instruments in dematerialized form in accordance with the Depositories Act, 1996 and related regulations, and must convert existing physical certificates into dematerialized form by the prescribed conversion deadline.

Electronic participation in corporate meetings: video conferencing mandatory for listed companies after transitional period, and e-voting restricted to certified depositories.
Participation by shareholders and directors under the Companies Act, 1956 may occur through electronic means; video conferencing is not mandatory for directors, is optional for shareholders during a transitional period and mandatory thereafter for listed companies. Companies choosing video conferencing must comply with the procedures in the Ministry's earlier circulars and ensure chairman and secretary verify equipment that enables concurrent, intermediary free participation. E voting at general meetings is permitted only through specified depository agencies which must obtain STQC certification.

Compounding of corporate prosecutions encouraged through Lok Adalats; RDs and ROCs to review and process eligible cases
Regional Directors and Registrars of Companies must organize Lok Adalats to facilitate compounding applications under Section 621A, accept and decide compounding petitions where empowered, forward others to the Ministry, and publicize invitations broadly. ROCs/ RDs must review pending prosecutions to withdraw cases against nominee/independent directors not liable, pursue withdrawal where no public interest exists in nonfiling cases, consider prosecutions against firms applying for striking off, submit monthly recommendations, and ensure the prosecution module is updated and reported.

Public financial institution designation requires corporate form and predominant industrial or infrastructure financing for government notification.
Entities seeking declaration as a public financial institution under section 4A must be established under a Central Act or the Companies Act, have industrial or infrastructure financing as their principal business with financial statements showing predominant income from that activity, meet a prescribed net worth threshold, or be registered as an Infrastructure Finance Company or Housing Finance Company with the appropriate regulator; CPSUs and SPSUs are exempt from sectoral financing and net worth restrictions.

Corporate filing compliance: registrars will refuse event filings from companies not filing annual accounts and returns.
Registrars shall not accept any request, whether oral, written or electronic, for recording event-based changes from companies that have not filed their updated Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Account and Annual Return with the Registrar of Companies; specified essential forms (including director appointments, annual returns, DIN intimations, court notices, balance sheet/P&L filings, auditor information, compliance certificates and investor complaint forms) remain acceptable. Directors' e-filings for other companies will be blocked, company secretaries and auditors cannot certify filings for defaulting companies in the electronic system, professional bodies must withhold certificates except for permitted forms, and enforcement may be taken in coordination with other regulators; exceptions apply where filings are prevented by court or management dispute.

Director Identification Number compliance requires mandatory identity and PAN filing, digital professional attestation, and online approval.
Director Identification Number allotment requires applicant name, father's name, date of birth, PAN for Indian nationals and passport for foreign nationals. From 12 June 2011, DIN-1 and DIN-4 must be digitally signed and verified by a practicing Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary or Cost Accountant and will be approved online. Existing DIN holders who did not supply PAN must file DIN-4 to furnish PAN by 30 September 2011, or their DIN will be disabled and they will face penalty liability.

Depreciation rules for electricity companies dictate using regulator notified rates and methodology to compute distributable profits for dividends.
For companies engaged in generation or supply of electricity, depreciation for computing profits available for dividend under Section 205 must follow the rates and methodology notified under the Electricity Act and by CERC where inconsistent with Schedule XIV; adherence to the CERC framework constitutes sufficient compliance with Section 205 for entities covered by Section 616(c).

Electronic payment requirement for MCA fees updated; limited challan exceptions allowed for specified user categories and fund payments.
With effect from 29-5-2011 challan-mode payment for amounts below the prescribed threshold is permitted in three cases: payments to the Investor Education and Protection Fund via 'Pay Misc. Fee'; payments by users categorized as Official Liquidator offices; and payments by users categorized as MCA employee, as a partial modification of the earlier electronic-only requirement.

Director Identification Number: mandatory PAN and digital signature for applications; non-compliance may result in disabling and penalties.
New DIN applications must include name, father's name, date of birth, PAN for Indian nationals or passport for foreign nationals, and from 12 June 2011 must be digitally signed and verified by a practising Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary or Cost Accountant; applications will be approved online. Existing DIN holders who omitted PAN must file DIN 4 to furnish PAN by the prescribed deadline or face disabling of the DIN and penalties.