What is SPICe+?
SPICe+ is the web form on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal for incorporating a company. It replaced the PDF SPICe form. One application reserves the name and incorporates the company, and it can also take PAN, TAN, EPFO, ESIC, profession tax where that state is linked, a bank account, and GST.
What did SPICe+ replace?
Until the web form, incorporation was an upload of a PDF called SPICe (INC-32), often after a separate name approval in RUN. From the deployment of SPICe+, a new company is filed in the web form. A name that had already been approved in RUN, and a resubmission of a SPICe form filed before that deployment, stayed on the older form. A fresh incorporation does not.
Which services sit in the same form?
- Reservation of the name. RUN is not the path for a new company.
- Allotment of the Director Identification Number for the first directors who need one.
- Incorporation, and the issue of the company’s PAN and TAN.
- Registration as an employer with EPFO and ESIC, profession tax where the state is on the form, opening of a bank account, and GSTIN as a linked option.
One web form. Name, incorporation, PAN, and TAN are part of SPICe+. RUN is for a later change of name.
Which companies use it?
A private limited company, a public company, a one person company, a section 8 company, a Nidhi, and a producer company are incorporated this way. The substantive rules remain Chapter II of the Companies Act. The form does not change how many directors or members the type requires.
Can SPICe+ amend a company later?
No. After the certificate of incorporation, a change of directors is DIR-12. A change of the registered office, the name, or the capital uses the amendment form for that change. RUN is the name-change route for a company that already exists. SPICe+ is not reopened to edit the company.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover the old PDF form, RUN, GST, and a later change of director.
Is the PDF SPICe form still used for a new company?
No. A new company is incorporated through the web form SPICe+. The PDF form was the earlier filing. Resubmission of a case filed before SPICe+ went live stayed on that older form.
Does RUN still reserve a name for a new company?
Name reservation for a new company is part of SPICe+. RUN remains the route for changing the name of a company that already exists.
Does SPICe+ include GST?
The form offers GSTIN as one of the linked services, along with PAN, TAN, EPFO, ESIC, and a bank account. The company still meets the GST rules if it takes that registration.
Can a director be changed in SPICe+?
No. SPICe+ incorporates the company. A later appointment or resignation is Form DIR-12.
Sources
Incorporation is Chapter II of the Companies Act, 2013. The web form is SPICe+ on the MCA portal.