CIN Corporate Identification Number

When you register your business with the government of India, you will receive a unique code called the corporate identification number or corporate number. This code is given to every registered firm by the registrar of companies (ROC) along with the registration certificate. This number is essential to mention in every certificate and statement when submitting the reports to the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA), particularly during audits.

Corporate Identification Number:

CIN, or a corporate number, is a 21-digit alpha-numeric number issued to every ROC registered business in India, irrespective of the area located. While it includes almost every corporate business in India, some of the well-known companies are:

1. Private Limited Companies (PLCs)

2. Companies owned by the Government of India

3. State Government Companies (SGC)

4. Not-for-Profit Section 8 Company (NPL)

5. Nidhi Companies

6. One-Person Companies (OPCs)

7. General Association Public (GAP)

8. General Association Private (GAT)

9. Companies owned by the Government of India (GOI)

10. Private Limited Company (PTC)

11. Public Limited Company with Unlimited Liability (ULL)

12. Financial Lease Company as Public Limited (FLC)

13. A subsidiary of a Foreign Company as a Private Limited Company (FTC)

14. Private Company with Unlimited Liability (ULT)

However, limited liability partnerships (LLP) registered businesses in India do not get a corporate number. Instead, the ROC issues the limited liability partnership identification number (LLPIN), a 7-digit unique identification number to identify an LLP.

Importance of a corporate number or CIN:

Although enterprises have to submit every transaction to the concerned ROC, the ROC tracks all the activities in all aspects of a particular firm effortlessly, from its corporation to till-date, using the corporate number.

The 21-digit corporate identification number, which is easily translatable, carries concealed information. It reveals the basic information about the brand when the unique code is decoded.

Decoding the corporate number:

The 21-digit code is the combination of 6 levels, and each group reveals a little information about the company.

Corporate Number length: 21 digits

level-1: 1 digit

level-2: 5 digits

level-3: 2 digits

level-4: 4 digits

level-5: 3 digits

level-6: 6 digits

For instance, take the corporate number U67190TN2014PTC096978 and divide it into 6 parts.

U 67190 TN 2014 PTC 096978

Part 1: Listing Status

Part 2: Industry Code

Part 3: State Code

Part 4: Incorporation Year

Part 5: Ownership

Part 6: Registration Number

Listing Status:

The first digit in the corporate number represents the company's listing status. If the company is unlisted, the digit starts with U, and if the brand is listed, the corporate number begins with L.

Industry Code:

The second five digits of CIN are the ROC industry code. It conveys the type of the company. Some ROC-registered industry codes are:

1. Hospitals: 85110

2. Activities of travel agencies and tour operators; tourist assistance activities: 63040

3. Farming of cattle, sheep, goats, horses, asses, mules, and hinnies; dairy farming: 01211

4. General higher education in science, commerce, and Humanity: 80301

5. Freight transport by motor vehicles: 60231

6. Retail sale of construction materials: 52341

7. Production, supply, and documentation of ready-made (non-customized) software: 72211

8. Manufacture of mineral water: 15543

9. Manufacture of all types of textile garments and clothing accessories: 18101

10. Real estate activities on a fee or contract basis: 70200

11. Manufacture of electric motors: universal AC/DC motors and DC motors or generators: 31103

State Code:

Characters in the 7th and 8th positions tell the company's incorporation place or state. Companies registered under the Maharastra government will have a code of MH, Andhra Pradesh will have AP, Tamil Nadu with TN, and West Bengal with WB, and the same for other states.

Incorporation Year:

9th to 12th positions in the CIN number tell the company's year of establishment. The CIN number differs from company to company.

Ownership Type:

The following three characters after the incorporation year tell the company's ownership. For example, PLC stands for private limited company.

Registration Number:

The last six numbers show the company's registration number issued by the registrar of the companies.

So, the corporate number U67190TN2014PTC096978 of a company tells an unlisted local private limited company established in 2014 in Tamil Nadu with registration number 096978.