What is Company Identification Number (CIN)?

What is Company Identification Number or CIN is an unique 21-digit alpha-numeric number that is assigned to every company by Registrar of Companies (ROCs) governed by Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The certificate containing the unique number is allotted by the ROCs after they approve the name of a company. A company is mandatorily required to quote the CIN whenever there is a correspondence between the company and the authorities. It also needs to quote it on forms, audit reports, financial statements and press releases.

Through Company Identification Number one can find out all the basic and essential details regarding a company's entity. Today CIN plays an important role in identifying the entity. The 21-digit alpha-numeric code is made up of six parts and can this be differentiated. Every part has its own meaning and is used to track companies at various levels.

The first part of a typical Company Identification Number is an alphabet which denotes whether the company is listed on any stock exchange or is unlisted. If the company is listed the code will begin with "L", else it will begin with "U".

The second part is a 5 digit numeric code which denotes the industry. The MCA has its own set of codes which they use to categorize companies.

The third part consists of two alphabets that denotes the state in which the company has its registered office.

The fourth part of CIN is a four digit numeral which denotes the year which the company was incorporated for instance, 1991, 2002 etc.

The fifth part is the company classification. It comprises of three alphabets which bifurcates companies on basis of classification. For instance, if a company is a private limited company then the 3 alphabets will be PTC and if its a public limited company it will be PLC. The sixth and the last part consists of 6 numbers. This is a company's registration number which also includes the codes of ROCs. For example, for a company registered in ROC Mumbai will have a code 090868.

This is what a CIN looks like. Please comment bellow ...