Glossary

Please note. General information to help you understand the rules. It is not legal, tax or financial advice for your particular case, and laws and portal procedures change; we confirm the current position before acting on your matter.

AGM: Annual General Meeting — the yearly meeting of shareholders that adopts accounts and appoints auditors. Chapter 23
AOC-4: The MCA form used to file a company’s financial statements. Chapter 23
Apostille: A certificate that authenticates a document for use in another country that is party to the Hague Convention. Chapter 33
CIN: Corporate Identity Number — the unique number on a company’s certificate of incorporation. Chapter 12
Composition scheme: An optional GST scheme for smaller taxpayers with simpler returns and restrictions on input credit. Chapter 14
Designated partner: A partner of an LLP responsible for its legal compliance. Chapter 3
DIN: Director Identification Number — a unique, lifetime number for company directors. Chapter 11
DPIIT: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade — recognises startups and issues the FDI policy. Chapter 8
DSC: Digital Signature Certificate — used to sign electronic filings. Chapter 10
e-MoA / e-AoA: Electronic Memorandum and Articles of Association filed with SPICe+. Chapter 12
EPFO: Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. Chapter 27
ESIC: Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, which runs health insurance for covered employees. Chapter 27
ESOP: Employee Stock Option Plan — a plan giving employees options to buy shares. Chapter 31
FDI: Foreign Direct Investment — investment in Indian companies by persons resident outside India. Chapter 32
FEMA: Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Chapter 32
FiLLiP: The MCA form for incorporating an LLP. Chapter 3
FIRMS: The RBI’s Foreign Investment Reporting and Management System. Chapter 32
GSTIN: Goods and Services Tax Identification Number. Chapter 14
GSTR-2B: An auto-generated statement of input tax credit available from suppliers’ filings. Chapter 24
HSN / SAC: Codes classifying goods (HSN) and services (SAC) for GST. Chapter 19
Input tax credit: GST paid on purchases that can be set off against GST payable on sales, subject to conditions. Chapter 24
LLPIN: LLP Identification Number. Chapter 3
MGT-7 / MGT-7A: The MCA forms for a company’s annual return (MGT-7A for small companies and OPCs). Chapter 23
Nominee (OPC): The person who becomes member of a One Person Company if the sole member dies or becomes incapable. Chapter 4
PAN: Permanent Account Number for income tax. Chapter 13
POSH: Prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace, under the 2013 Act; requires an Internal Committee in many workplaces. Chapter 27
Private placement: An offer of securities to a select group of persons under section 42 of the Companies Act. Chapter 30
QRMP: Quarterly Return Monthly Payment scheme for eligible GST taxpayers. Chapter 24
Registered office: The official address of a company or LLP for communications from the Registrar. Chapter 12
SPICe+: The MCA’s integrated web form for company incorporation. Chapter 12
Strike-off: Removal of a company’s name from the register of companies. Chapter 35
TAN: Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number, needed to deduct tax at source. Chapter 13
TDS: Tax Deducted at Source on specified payments. Chapter 21
Udyam: The online MSME registration system. Chapter 15
Vesting: The process by which options or founder shares are earned over time. Chapter 31

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