Note · 17 August 2026 · revised 1 October 2026

Setting up a company or an LLP: how it works on the MCA portal

Both a private company and an LLP are formed online with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The routes look alike: get digital signatures, reserve a name, file the incorporation forms. The work that follows incorporation is where many new owners slip, so it is set out here too.

The two routes side by side

Proposed directors or partners get digital signature certificates
Private company
Reserve the name: SPICe+ Part A
File SPICe+ Part B with the e-MoA, e-AoA and AGILE-PRO-S. Director identification numbers are allotted in the same filing.
Certificate of incorporation, with CIN, PAN and TAN
LLP
Reserve the name: RUN-LLP
File FiLLiP, the incorporation form, with partner details and the registered office
Certificate of incorporation, with LLPIN
The forms named are those on the MCA portal at the time of writing.

For a company, SPICe+ is a single web form that also covers PAN and TAN. Through the linked AGILE-PRO-S form it can register the company for EPFO and ESIC, open a bank account and, if you choose, apply for GST. A one person company follows the same route with some differences in the documents.

For an LLP, the partners also sign an LLP agreement. It has to be filed with MCA in Form 3 within 30 days of incorporation.

After the certificate: a company’s first months

Certificate of incorporation
Within 30 days: first board meeting, and the board appoints the first auditor
Within 60 days: share certificates issued to the subscribers
Within 180 days: INC-20A, declaration that the subscribers have paid for their shares, filed before the company starts business or borrows
For a company with share capital. Statutory registers should be opened from day one.

The INC-20A step is the one most often missed. Until it is filed, the company cannot start business or exercise borrowing powers, and a long delay can lead to penalties and, in the end, removal of the company’s name from the register.

Which one to choose

That turns on who the owners are, how you plan to raise money, and the tax position. It is a decision for advice on your facts, not something a web page can settle.

This note is general information. The current forms and fees are on the MCA portal. Mukul Nimrani & Co. acts only on a written mandate, and reading this page does not start any work.

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