Here's a detailed step-by-step guide for registration of a private limited company:

A. Pre-Incorporation Task

1. Apply for DSC: This is the foremost task for company incorporation. All the directors shall be required to have a Class-3 Digital Signature Certificate in order to apply for DIN and company incorporation.

2. Obtain DIN: The director shall have a valid DIN in order to become a director in a company. DIN is an 8-digit unique identification number with lifetime validity. The following forms are relevant for DIN:

Provided further that --

• Form DIR-3: A person willing to become a director in a new or an existing company may apply for DIN using this form.
• SPICe+ Form: This form is filed for incorporation of the company. Instead of DIR-3, the proposed first directors can also apply for DIN through SPICe+ Form at the time of company incorporation.
• Form DIR-6: This form is filed for changes in any particulars of the directors.

3. Check for name availability in MCA: Visit the MCA portal and go to the MCA Services tab. Under the company services tab, select the Check Company name option. Just enter your desired name and click on search. This will give you a brief idea of whether the name has already been used by any other company or not.

B. Incorporation of the Company

4. Approval of name: The name can be approved through two alternatives:

Alternative-1: Here, you can apply for a reservation of the name. The Part-A of the SPICe+ form allows the reservation of two desired names and one resubmission (RSUB) for reserving the name of the company. Two names can be applied for reservation at a single time. If your desired name is not available, then the applicant shall refile the SPICe+ form. Once the name gets approval, it is reserved for a period of 20 days within which, Part-B of the SPICe+ form shall be filed by the applicant.

Alternative-2: Here, you can directly file Part-A and Part-B of the SPICe+ form together. Part-B is for the incorporation of the company. However, through this alternative, you can apply for only one name. In case of non-approval of the name, the SPICe+ form can be filed a second time without any changes but with a new name. This means that the applicant can file the same form twice. In case of non-approval for the second time as well, the applicant shall file the SPICe+ form again from scratch. This alternative is cheaper than the first alternative.

5.File the SPICe+ (INC-32) form: This is specifically Part-B of the SPICe+ form. SPICe+ form enables the entire web-based incorporation of the company. SPICe+ form serves the following purposes:

• Director Identification Number allotment
• Reservation of the name
• Incorporation of the company
• EPFO Registration (Mandatory)
• ESIC Registration (Mandatory)
• PAN and TAN Application (Mandatory)
• Professional Tax Registration (Maharashtra only)
• Opening of a bank account of the company (Mandatory)
• Registration under Goods and Services Tax Act, 20179 (Optional)

The SPICe+ form has made private limited company registration online. The details provided in SPICe+ are automatically filled in other linked forms viz. AGILE-PRO, eMOA, eAOA, URC-1, and INC-9 (if applicable).

The form shall be downloaded and signed using the digital signatures of the applicants. A professional, whether a Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, Advocate, or a Cost Accountant must also certify the correctness of the particulars submitted.

eMOA and eAOA: Memorandum of Association is the charter of the company while Articles of Association prescribes the rules and regulations for the company. Earlier, these were filed manually for the purpose of company incorporation. However, these have been linked with the SPICe+ form and can be filed online. Subscribers to the Memorandum and Articles of Association shall digitally sign both the forms.

6. Obtain the Certificate of Incorporation: Once approved, a certificate of incorporation will be issued to the company along with the allotment of Corporate Identification Number (CIN).