One form now does what used to take a dozen
A few years ago, registering a company in India meant a stack of separate applications — one to reserve the name, one to incorporate, separate trips for PAN, TAN, GST, provident fund, a bank account. Today it is a single integrated web form on the MCA portal called SPICe+ (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically Plus), which bundles eleven services from three central ministries and three state governments into one filing. This is the practical walkthrough of how a Private Limited company actually gets registered through it — what you prepare, the two parts of the form, the documents that ride along, and what lands in your inbox at the end.
Before you start: the three things you need in hand
The form assumes you already have the groundwork done. Three things gate the whole process:
- Digital Signature Certificates (DSC): every proposed director and every subscriber to the memorandum needs a valid DSC, because the forms are signed digitally. This is the item that most often causes a delay, so arrange it first.
- A DIN — or not: a Director Identification Number is needed for each director, but you do not need it beforehand. For proposed directors who do not already hold one, a DIN can be applied for within SPICe+ Part B itself (subject to the cap the MCA sets on new DINs per incorporation). Directors who already have a DIN simply use it.
- Documents: identity and address proof for each director and subscriber (PAN, and Aadhaar/passport/voter ID/driving licence, plus a recent utility bill or bank statement), and proof of the registered office — a recent utility bill for the premises, and a No-Objection Certificate from the owner where the office is rented.
Part A — reserve the name
SPICe+ is split into two parts, and the first is name reservation. In Part A you propose the company name and its business activity. Two rules decide whether it clears: the name must not be identical or too similar to an existing company or an LLP, and it must not fall foul of a registered trademark or the Companies (Incorporation) Rules on undesirable names. Once a name is approved, it is reserved for 20 days, within which you must complete Part B. You can file Part A on its own to lock a name first, or run Part A and Part B together in one go — most incorporations do the latter.
Part B — the incorporation itself
Part B is where the company is actually formed. It captures everything the Registrar needs:
- The registered office address and its proof.
- Capital structure — authorised and paid-up share capital.
- Details of every director and subscriber, and the application for a DIN for any proposed director who needs one.
- The application for the company's PAN and TAN, which are issued automatically through the MCA's integration with the income-tax department (CBDT) — you do not file separately for them.
The forms that ride along with Part B
Part B does not travel alone. Three linked forms are filed with it, and together they are what turn a single submission into a fully set-up company:
- eMOA — INC-33 (electronic Memorandum of Association) and eAOA — INC-34 (electronic Articles of Association): the company's charter documents, filed electronically. These are mandatory where the number of subscribers is up to seven; a physically signed MOA and AOA are used only in specific cases, such as more than seven subscribers or a foreign individual subscriber without a valid business visa.
- AGILE-PRO-S: the linked registration form. Through it you apply, in the same breath as incorporating, for GSTIN, EPFO (provident fund) and ESIC (employee insurance) registration, Profession Tax (PTEC/PTRC, for states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal), a Shops and Establishment registration (Delhi/Mumbai), and — mandatorily for every new company since 23 February 2020 — the opening of the company's bank account.
- INC-9: the declaration by the first subscribers and directors, auto-generated in most cases.
What you get at the end
When the Registrar approves the filing, a single set of registrations comes back together:
- The Certificate of Incorporation, carrying the company's CIN (Corporate Identity Number) — legal proof the company exists.
- The company's PAN and TAN, printed on the certificate.
- The EPFO and ESIC registration numbers, the Profession Tax registration where applicable, and the bank account application in motion.
- GSTIN, if you opted for it in AGILE-PRO-S.
One filing, and the company is not just registered but substantially operational — with its tax numbers, its labour registrations and a bank account underway.
Incorporation is the start of the clock, not the end
The certificate is where a lot of founders relax — and it is exactly where the compliance clock starts ticking. Two deadlines begin on the date of incorporation: the Board must appoint the first auditor within 30 days, and a company with share capital must file the INC-20A declaration of commencement of business within 180 days before it can legally trade or borrow. Our guide to Form INC-20A covers that first filing, and the full set of what follows — AGM, AOC-4, MGT-7, DPT-3, DIR-3 KYC and the rest — is laid out in our Private Limited compliance calendar. The DIN allotted to you here will itself need annual KYC from the following year.
Choosing the structure before you file
SPICe+ is the mechanism for incorporating a company — but a company is only one of five ways to set up a business, and it carries the heaviest compliance load of the lot. If you have not settled that question, our comparison of the five business structures weighs Private Limited against LLP, OPC, partnership and proprietorship, and our guide to starting a business in India covers the decision end to end. If a company is the right answer, SPICe+ is how you get there.
How we handle it at RDA, Baner
At RDA Advisory, Baner, we run the whole SPICe+ incorporation for you, end to end. We arrange the DSCs, clear the name in Part A, draft the MOA and AOA to fit how you actually intend to run and fund the company, file Part B with the DIN, PAN and TAN applications, and complete AGILE-PRO-S so your GST, PF, ESIC, profession tax and bank account are set up with the incorporation rather than chased afterwards. Then we set the first-auditor and INC-20A clocks so nothing lapses in the crucial first six months. Office No. 102, Snehraj Apartment, Baner, Pune 411045 · call +91 77570 45059.
Ready to register your company? We'll file the SPICe+ for you
Starting a company in Pune and want it incorporated cleanly the first time? RDA handles the full SPICe+ filing — name, MOA/AOA, DIN, PAN, TAN and the GST/PF/ESIC/bank registrations — and hands you a company that is ready to operate, with its compliance calendar already set. Book a consult at rdatax.in or call +91 77570 45059, or see our company registration service. RDA Advisory, Baner, Pune.
Verification note: The process described here is based on the incorporation framework of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (mca.gov.in) under the Companies Act, 2013 and the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014: the SPICe+ web form (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically Plus) as an integrated service covering name reservation in Part A and incorporation in Part B; the reservation of an approved name for 20 days; the linked filing of the electronic Memorandum and Articles of Association in Forms INC-33 and INC-34 where subscribers are up to seven; the AGILE-PRO-S linked form for GSTIN, EPFO, ESIC, Profession Tax (PTEC/PTRC in specified states), Shops and Establishment registration and the mandatory bank-account application for companies incorporated on or after 23 February 2020; the allotment of Director Identification Numbers to proposed directors within SPICe+ Part B subject to the cap set by the MCA; and the issue of PAN and TAN through the MCA21 integration with the Central Board of Direct Taxes, with the Certificate of Incorporation carrying the CIN, PAN and TAN. Forms, service coverage and the cap on DINs per incorporation are periodically revised by the MCA; confirm the current requirements for your company with your CA or company secretary. This is general information, not legal or professional advice.
