As per the provisions of section 4(4) of Companies Act 2013 and and Rule 8 & 9 of Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014, whenever a company is incorporated the first step is to get its name approved and reserved. Reserving a name makes sure that the business name is available and is legally protected for you which prevents similar or confusing names of the businesses.
Naming Guidelines
Detailed criteria for names that are to be used by the businesses within the framework of MCA is stated under Rule 8 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014, the following are the restrictions outlined in Rule 8 –
- Identical or Similar Names: Names too similar to existing company names are not permitted.
- List of Undesirable Words: The rule list downs certain words and phrases that are restricted to be used in the names of Companies.
- Words Requiring Government Approval: There are certain words in the company name that require prior approval from the Central Government, like Republic, Authority, Commission etc.
Form Filed
Any business who is seeking to reserve a name for a proposed company or seeking to change an existing company should apply for a reservation through the RUN service. This application is then processed by the Central Registration Centre (CRC). The form is to be filed on MCA’s V3 portal.
The application for name reservation for a new company is made through SPICe+ Part A under New Application and name reservation for changing a company’s name is done through the Reserve Unique Name (RUN) Web Form.
Payment of Government Fees
The government fee for the name application of a Private Limited Company is Rs. 1000/- and for a Limited Liability Partnership is Rs. 200/-. This fee is non-refundable.
Validity of the approved name
The validity of the name approved by MCA is generally for 20 days for a new company and 60 days for existing companies changing their names from the date of approval of RUN form. The applicant is required to submit the incorporation document within this time period.
Extension of Reservation of Name in Certain Cases
The applicant must file the form for incorporation within such period otherwise the name used to expire. However, sometimes it is not possible for the companies to finalize its registration within the stipulated time and it is required for extension. As per the notification dated 24th December 2020, MCA has stated the facility for providing an extension of reservation of name in certain cases. Extension fees requests are as follows –
- 1st extension is for 20 days (in addition to original validity period) for INR 1000
- 2nd extension is for 40 days (in addition to original validity period) for INR 2000.
- 3rd extension is for 60 days (in addition to original validity period) for INR 3000.
The extension might prolong these periods, allowing businesses more time to finalize their registration.
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