A company is a legal entity, which means it is void of any physical appearance. Yet, for running its business, natural persons are needed. One of these natural persons is the Director of the company who plays a crucial role in managing the daily matters of the company. He does it on behalf of the shareholders who appointed him.
Any individual who aspires to become a company’s director or is already one needs to possess Directors Identification Number (DIN) as mandated by the Companies Act, 2013. According to the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013, it is mandatory to obtain DIN before the individual gets appointed as a director of a company.
What is DIN?
Director Identification Number (DIN) is a unique identification number consisting of 8 digits. It is issued by the Central Government to the individuals who intend to become directors in a company or to the existing directors. DIN is unique to every individual’s existence and the individual does not need to obtain another DIN to stand for another’s company directorship. Application for or possession of another DIN by an individual is considered to be a punishable offense as per the provisions of the Companies Law, and can lead to imprisonment up to 6 months. DIN comes with lifetime validity, unless it is canceled, deactivated or surrendered. Having a DIN ensures legal compliance. It helps to maintain transparency in directorship across different companies.
DIN Allotment by the Central Government
The central government processes the application filed by an applicant in FORM-23 through a delegated authority. The provisions for allotment of DIN are mentioned in Section 154 of the Companies Act 2013 and Rule 10 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Director) Rules 2014. According to these provisions, the application for DIN allotment must be processed within one month from the date of application and its fees’ receipt.
DIN application can either be rejected or approved by the Central Government and the same gets notified to the applicant by post or electronically or any other mode which is considered to be appropriate. If the Central Government approves the application, the DIN allotment will be conveyed to the applicant in a period of one month. If you want to check DIN in the Master File of MCA, you can visit their official website.
Rejection of application for DIN allotment
If the applicant’s application for DIN allotment does not meet the necessary requirements due to incomplete or inaccurate details provided, he will get 15 days for the rectification of the application by the Central Government. Within this time limit, the applicant must submit his application with no additional fee charges. However, if the applicant does not make the required changes this time as well, the application will be considered invalid and rejected, and the Central Government will forfeit the fee paid.
Other provisions regarding DIN
Here are some other provisions regarding DIN that you might be interested to know:
- After the Central Government has issued DIN to the director, the latter must inform about the receipt of DIN to all the companies that he works for as a director within a period of 1 month.
- Once the Company is informed by the Director about DIN allotment, the company will intimate the same to the ROC within a period of 15 days.
- In case of non-compliance with these provisions, the involved parties will be liable to get punished as per the Companies Act.
Must read: How to obtain Director Identification Number (DIN)?
Conclusion
Individuals who intend to become directors in a company or are existing directors are required to obtain the Director’s Identification Number (DIN) which is issued by the Central Government. DIN is unique to every individual’s existence and the individual does not need to obtain another DIN to stand for another’s company directorship. DIN comes with lifetime validity, unless it is canceled, deactivated or surrendered. Having a DIN ensures legal compliance. It helps to maintain transparency in directorship across different companies. There is no alternative for DIN. Therefore, every director needs to have it to work in a company. If you need assistance in application for DIN allotment, contact Registrationkraft! Our team would be glad to help you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Is there a way to discover the DIN number with the help of a PAN number and vice versa?
Till date, there is no direct way to discover the DIN number with the help of a PAN number or vice versa. Both of these identification numbers are issued by different authorities for different requirements. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) provides DIN and the Income Tax Department provides PAN. In case you would like to discover a director’s DIN, you shall refer to the official documents of the company or get in touch with MCA so that an official can assist you. Similarly, if you would like to discover an individual’s PAN, you may request the same directly from the individual or through the Income Tax Department.
Q2. Why has my DIN application been put under Resubmission? Is a new DIN application required now?
The DIN application can be put under Resubmission due to various reasons such as: (i) Proof is Identity/Proof of Residence is not disclosed or has expired. (ii) Proof of D.O.B is not mentioned. (iii) Improper attestation of the supporting documents. (iv) Failure to submit an affidavit (if the same is required in your case). You can rectify your application for DIN within 15 days from the date on which it is marked as Resubmission. You just need to submit the required additional documents and you’re good to go. Once you’re done with the resubmission, your DIN will get approved by the Central Government (if the documents are accurate and relevant this time).
Q3. If the applicant has a single name i.e., He does not have a surname, is he allowed to add his father’s name?
According to the Rule 9(4) of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014, if the DIN Applicant name does not have a surname, his father’s/grandfather’s surname has to be mentioned in place of the applicant’s last name. This is because the DIN applicant is required to have first name and last name both.
Q4. Why has my DIN application been identified as ‘Potential Duplicate’? What can be done about it?
Your DIN application is considered as a potential duplicate in case the contents specified during the DIN application match with the details of another person who has a valid DIN. For this, you need to approach DIN Cell.