Shareholders and Directors
- There is no need to appoint local director to incorporate a company in India.
- Foreign nationals can incorporate company in India and hold foreign equity to the extent of 100%, which is dependent upon sector in which company will operate and is subject to approval from either Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)
A Private Limited Company allows owners to subscribe to its shares by paying a share capital fees. On subscribing to shares, the owners/members become shareholders on the company. A Private Limited Company is a separate legal entity both in terms of taxation as well as liability. The personal liability of the shareholders is limited to their share capital. A private limited company can be formed by registering the company name with appropriate Registrar of Companies (ROC). Draft of Memorandum of Association and Article of Association are prepared and signed by the promoters (initial shareholders) of the company. A Private Limited Company can have between 2 to 50 members with minimum share capital of Rs 1,00,000 (one lac). To look after the day to day activities of the company, Directors are appointed by the Shareholders. Minimum two Directors must be appointed to look after the daily affairs of the company. A Private Limited Company has more compliance burden when compared to a Partnership and LLP.
Shareholders of a Private Limited Company can change without affecting the operational or legal standing of the company. Generally Venture Capital investors prefer to invest in businesses that are Private Limited Company since it allows great degree of separation between ownership and operations. It also allows investors to exit the company by selling shares without being liable for company affairs.