The government of India in every two year makes significant changes in the new company registration process. The new procedures, processes and the tools are implemented in line with the Government’s initiatives for the ease of doing business in India. In accordance with the initiative, a new e-form for new company registration has been introduced i.e. SPICE+ which has replaced the previous SPICE form which will now be used for incorporate a company on the web based platform and not the electronic based form.
We know that previously there were three e-forms that were required to be filed by an applicant for new company registration or incorporation. These forms are-
- Form INC-7
- Form DIR-12
- Form INC-22 or Form INC-29
These were substituted by the e-form SPICE in the year 2017. It was made mandatory to be filed by the companies that have subscribers less than seven. Also, with the introduction of the SPICE e-form, RUN Service was also introduced for applying for suitable names for the company with the Central Registry Office.
But recently, the government has introduced e-Form SPICE+ that came into effect from 15th February, 2020. This form can be used by all the new company registration for reservation of name and to avail various services related to incorporation as provided by the government. This form has been mandatory to be filed by all the new company registration after the effective dates. Also, the RUN Service is now been made available, limited to the already existing companies for changing the name of their company.
Features of SPICE+ form:
Table of Contents:-
Following are the salient features of the Form SPICE+ that will be used from now on for new company registration-
- Incorporation or Registration of Company
- Allotment of Director Identification Number
- Opening a bank account for the company is mandatory
- Applying and getting PAN and TAN is mandatory
- Having EPFO Registration and ESIC Registration for the company is mandatory
- Professional tax registration is mandatory in the state of Maharashtra
- GST Registration has been made optional
Facts related to Form SPICE+:
There is lot of buzz around the new company registration form SPICE+ introduced by the government. The existing and new business owners have a lot of confusion regarding this topic. The following are the main facts related to the Form SPICE+ in detail for better understanding-
- Form SPICE+ has been divided into two parts namely;
- PART A: For the purpose of making application for name
- PART B: For the purpose of providing the details of incorporation.
The stakeholders have been given an option by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to file both the parts together.
- It has been clarified by the MCA that various forms such as AGILE-PRO, e-MOA, e-AOA, INC-9, URC-1 etc. will be prefilled automatically through the already filled Part-A and Part-B of the SPICE+ form for new company registration.
- MCA made it mandatory for the new company registration to have ESIC and EPFO Registration, professional tax registration in the state of Maharashtra and opening a bank account through form AGILE-PRO.
- The companies can open the mandatory bank accounts with the banks partnered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
- Profession tax registration for the new company registration has been made mandatory and applicable only in the state of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
- The introduction of Form SPICE+ with the additional sign of plus means that additional compliances and registrations have made mandatory by the government for the incorporation r new company registration in India, making things a bit complicated.