Last updated: February 24th, 2020 2:44 PM

Review of the New Company Name Approval Process

In February 2016 the name approval process was transferred from the State ROC offices to a centralised name approval processing cell. In this post, we provide an IndiaFilings review of the new process for name approval.

Old Process for Name Approval

Under the old method for processing of name approvals, send applications for name approval for a company made in Form INC-1 to an Officer in the State ROC office. The process of name approvals are manual and the approval times for company name varies from state to state. To streamline this process and set the stage for improving ease of doing business, the MCA vide notification dated 22nd January 2016 announced the establishment of a Central Registration Centre (CRC).

Central Registration Centre (CRC) for Name

The establishment of Central Registration Centre (CRC) with a territorial jurisdiction all over India, for processing of all company name approval procedure is under the Companies Act, 2013. The Central Registration Centre presently functions under the administrative control of Registrar of Companies, Delhi (ROC Delhi). With the advent of the new central registration centre, the government processing time for company name has reduced drastically to one or two days. The entire process for company name approval has re-engineered and moved to an automated system. The process of over 14000 name applications is already done, and on average almost 70% of all name approval applications are clear specifying the additional time given to the balance 30% for resubmission. The MCA has also introduced zero balance in application from Tuesdays to Friday, thereby keeping a mechanism to ensure all applications are cleared instantaneously. With the name approval process becoming more streamlined, the MCA is set to announce centralisation of processing of incorporation applications, thereby making the company registration process a breeze.

IndiaFilings Review of New Process

The new process has drastically changed the incorporation process and made it simpler. Now, in India, it is possible to register companies in 10-15 days in India, instead of about 25-30 days, it used to take prior to the introduction of the new central registration centre for name approval. The introduction of a central registration centre for incorporation shortly expects to even shorten the time for company registration, making true the dream of incorporating a company in one day in India.