The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is vested with the powers of regulating the corporate affairs in India through the Companies Act of 1956, Companies Act, 2013, and other allied Acts. This article looks at the various functions of the regulatory body and the services provided by it.
Primary Responsibilities
Apart from the regulation of corporate affairs, the Ministry is involved in:
- Administering the Competition Act of 2002 to prevent practices that adversely affect competition, promote and sustain competition in markets, and to safeguard consumer interests through the Commission established under the Act.
- Supervising the three professional bodies, namely the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI), established under the different Acts of Parliament.
- Executing the functions of the Central Government with respect to the administration of Partnership Act, 1932, the Companies (Donations to National Funds) Act, 1951 and the Societies Registration Act, 1980.
Umbrella of Acts
MCA governs the following corporate provisions:
- Companies Act, 1956
- Companies Act, 2013
- Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016
- Competition Act, 2002
- Partnership Act, 1932
- Chartered Accountants Act, 1949
- Cost and Works Accountant Act
- Company Secretaries Act, 1980
- Societies Registration Act, 1860
- Companies (Donation to National Fund) Act, 1951
- Accounting Standards and other circulars
Vision and Mission
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs functions with the vision of being the facilitator of world-class corporate governance. Its mission is to:
- Transform the regulatory environment for easy compliance.
- Balance competing interests of various stakeholders.
- Set up and strengthen institutions for achieving excellence in service delivery.
Services Provided
Here’s a list of the various services provided by the Ministry through its portal:
- Incorporation of a company.
- Checking the availability of a name proposed by a new company and approving the name-change of the existing company (also read – Fast Company Name Approval, Removal of Company Name from MCA Database
- Registration of companies that are unregistered.
- Registration of a place of business in India by a company incorporated in India.
- Registration for changing the objects of a company.
- Conversion of Private Company to Public Company and vice versa.
- Conversion of unlimited company into a limited company, i.e. limited by shares/guarantee.
- Registration of a Prospectus.
- Registration of charge creation/modification and the satisfaction of charge.
- Condonation of delayed filing of charge creation/modification and satisfaction of charge.
- Extension of time for holding Annual General Meeting (AGM).
- Registration of Court, NCLT or RD order.
- Issuing of certified copies of company documents.
- Issuance of Director Identification Number (DIN).
- Change in particulars of Director Identification Number (DIN).
- Conversion of a company into Limited Liability Partnership.
- Shifting of a registered office of the company from one state to another.
- Shifting of a company’s registered office from one RoC to another within the state.
- Granting licenses to Section 8 Companies.
- Making decisions connected with the appointment/reappointment, as well as remuneration/waiver for excess remuneration paid to managing/whole-time director(s) or manager.
- Investor Grievance Redressal/CPGRAMS (Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System).
- Other grievances or complaints related to MCA-21.
- Seeking status of Company as dormant.
- Seeking status of the company as active.
- Registration of intimation concerning the appointment of a manager.
- Condonation of delay under section 460 of the Companies Act, 2013.
- Acquiring/Associating/Updating DSC (Digital Signature Certificate).
- Enquiring DIN (Director Identification Number) and verifying the DIN PAN details of the Director.
- Services related to master data.
- LLP services.
- Services related to e-filing.
- Handling of complaints.
- Documentation services.
- Fee and Payment Services.
- Investor Services.
Stakeholders/Clients Catered to
- The corporate sector, which includes all companies and LLPs
- Professionals, the likes of whom include Cas, CSs, ICWAs, Advocates, etc
- Investors
- Banks
- Other Government Ministries/Departments
- State Governments
- Citizens of India