A Corporate Identification Number (CIN) is a unique identification number that’s assigned by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) to the companies registered in India. The Registrar of Company gives the CIN to the companies while issuing their Registration Certificate.

The CIN is an important number as every company must mention this unique CIN in the forms to be submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, particularly in audits and reports.

What Is A Corporate Identification Number (CIN)?

Corporate Identification Number (CIN) is an alpha-numeric code of 21 digits issued to companies incorporated within the country on being registered by the ROC situated in numerous states across India under the MCA.

CIN is provided to all or any companies registered in India, which include:

 Private Limited Companies (PLCs)

One Person Companies (OPCs)

Companies owned by the Govt. of India

State Government Companies

Not-for-Profit Section 8 Company

Nidhi Companies, etc.

However, CIN isn’t given to the Limited Liability Partnerships registered in India. For the LLPs, the ROC gives the LLPIN (Limited Liability Partnership Identification Number) that acts as a unique 7-digit identification number of the Limited liability partnership.

Importance of Corporate Identification Number

CIN is used for tracking all the facets and activities of a company from its incorporation by the ROC and is required to be provided on all the transactions with the respective ROC.

The 21 digit CIN has its own meaning which is effortlessly translatable and which helps in finding basic information about a company. It is used to find out the primary details of the companies which are registered within the country under MCA.

CIN is a unique number that will be used for identifying or tracking companies for several levels of data that ROC / MCA holds. The CIN contains the identity of an organization and extra information regarding the registered company under the ROC.

Example of a  CIN issued by ROC – L01631KA2010PTC096843

Corporate Identification Number

The CIN represents and provides information about the company. The CIN can break down into six sections.

 Section-1: The first character is – L

Section-2: The next five digits are – 01631

Section-3: The next two letters are  – KA

Section-4: The next four digits are – 2010

Section-5: The next three characters are – PTC

Section-6: The last six digits are – 096841

Each section provides the following information:

Section-1: The first character of CIN that reveals whether a company is “Listed” or “Unlisted” on the Indian stock market. just In case, a company is listed, the CIN would start with the letter ‘L’ and in case a company is not listed it’d start with the letter ‘U’.

Section-2: The next set of 5 numeric digits that categorize the economic activity of a company. This classification depends on the nature of the economic activities which would be carried out by such an establishment. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has allotted a number to every industry.

Section-3: The next two letters denote the state where the company is registered for e.g. KA is for Karnataka, MH is for Maharashtra, DL is for Delhi, Section-3: The next two letters denote the state where the company is registered for e.g. for Karnataka KA, MH is for Maharashtra, DL is for Delhi, etc.

Section-4: The next set of 4 numeric digits that signify the year of incorporation of a company.

Section-5:The following three letters that denote the company classification. These three letters help to identify whether a company is a private Ltd or a public Ltd. If the CIN number here is FTC, it’d mean that such a company is a subsidiary of any foreign company it’d imply that such company is owned by the Indian Government.

Section-6: Consists of the remaining 6 numeric digits that denote the registration number provided by the respective Registrar of Companies.

Abbreviations in CIN number

The abbreviations used in Section-5 of the CIN.

FLC: Financial Lease Company as Public Ltd.

FTC: Subsidiary of a Foreign Company as Private Ltd. Company

GAP: General Association Public

GAT: General Association Private

GOI: Companies owned by the Government of India

NPL: Not-for-Profit License Company (Section 8 Company)

OPC: One Person Company

PLC: Public Limited Company

PTC: Private Limited Company

SGC: Companies owned by State Government

ULL: Public Limited Company with Unlimited Liability

ULT: Private Company with Unlimited Liability

Usage of Corporate Incorporation Number

Every company that’s established in India has to quote its  CIN on various Documents which include:

On invoices, bills, and receipts

On notice

On memos

On letterheads

Annual Reports and audits

Every e-form submission on the MCA portal

Company’s official publications

Any other company publications

Penalty for Non-compliance of Mentioning CIN

In case the above-mentioned requirements are not adhered to, there’s a penalty of INR 1,000/day on the defaulting company and on its, every officer is in default, till such default continues. However, the max penalty for this default is  INR 1,00,000.

How to apply for CIN?

A CIN is an alphanumeric no. assign to the company on the date of its registration by the Registrar of Companies. The company’s CIN is mentioned in its incorporation certificate. Thus, a CIN no. is automatically allotted to the company when it’s incorporated and approved by the Registrar of Companies.

Are CIN and GST the same?

No. A CIN is a number allotted to registered companies by the Registrar of Companies at the time of issue of the company registration certificate. On the other side, GSTIN is the number issued to companies and businesses registered under the GST law. Hence, both are different and have different functions.

Is CIN mandatory to be mentioned on the company’s bills, invoices and receipts?

Yes. As per section 12(3)(c) of the Companies Act 2013, the company must print its name, address of its registered office, and also the CIN in all its business letters, billheads, letter papers, notices, and other official publications. Thus, a company must mandatorily mention its CIN on its bills, invoices, receipts, and e-mails sent to outside parties.