Nidhi Company Registration in India

A Nidhi company is a Non-banking Financial Company or precisely, a fund that aims more at the mutual benefit of its members. It is more of a member-oriented company that offers to lend and borrow from its members only. It can also be called a savings fund or as said by RBI- a “Mutual Benefit Company(MBC)”. Nidhi companies are not directly regulated by RBI but instead used by the bank for any deposit-taking activities or by DCA for the deployment of funds.

Nidhi companies play a great role in meeting the financial needs of ordinary people in places where nationalized and scheduled banks are reluctant to offer loans to them. Nidhi companies are formed, governed, and regulated by section 406 of the Companies Act, 2013. Their main aim lies in incorporating the habit of savings among the members/shareholders and for this they make sure that the funds contributed are generated from the shareholders only and are even allotted to them only.

Requirements of Nidhi Company Registration

For the registration of Nidhi Company, certain rules and procedures must be followed. Here is a glimpse of those requirements:

Before Registration:

• The company must be a Public Limited Company under the Companies Act.
• The minimum number of shareholders/members that is required for incorporation is 7.
• The company needs to have 3 Directors for incorporation.
• Rs. 5 lakh is the amount of minimum capital required to form Nidhi Company.

After Registration:

• By the end of the first year of incorporation, the Nidhi company must have a minimum of 200 members.
• No preference shares must be issued after the formation of the Nidhi company.
• The company must have a Net Owned Fund(NOF) of Rs. 10 lakhs or more within the first year.
• Free-term deposits are more than 10 % of the outstanding deposits.
• The ratio of the Net owned Funds to the deposits must not be more than 1:20.

How To Register A Nidhi Company?

There are two ways of registering a Nidhi Company:

By visiting the Government portal

• Apply for DIN and DSC: The first step involves applying for a Digital Identification Number and a Digital Signature Certificate. DIN is issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and DSC is a prerequisite for all business-related filings. However, if the depositor has these, then he must not apply for them.
• Name approval: The next step is getting approval for a proper and unique name for the company from the MCA. The proposed name must not be identical to any other company and must fulfill all other provisions.
• MOA and AOA: The Memorandum of Association and the Articles of Association must be submitted along with the relevant documents and INC 32 Form, clearly mentioning the objective of forming the company.
• Certificate of Incorporation: After fulfilling all the necessary obligations, the Registrar of Companies issues the Certificate of Incorporation within 15-25 days.
• Apply for PAN and TAN The final stage is filing the application for the PAN and TAN numbers of the company. The PAN and TAN are received within 7 working days.

By Visiting the Filing Lounge

• The registration process on the government portal is very time-consuming and requires a lot of time and effort. We, at FilingLounge, cater to all your needs and provide you with an effective solution by just clicking over a few things.
• Visit the website FilingLounge and on the homepage, under the Business Formation tab, select Nidhi Company from the drop-down menu.
• Fill up the Nidhi Application form with all the basic details and click on the Submit button.
• Our team of experienced professionals will give you a call shortly to carry forward the application process.

Compliances Required After Forming Nidhi Company

• Every Nidhi Company must maintain Net Owned funds of not less than 10 lakh rupees or an amount prescribed by the Central Government.
• Every Nidhi company must issue equity shares of a nominal value of not less than 10 rupees per share.
• Every depositor must get a minimum of 10 equity shares or shares of not less than 100 rupees.
• Every Nidhi Company must file a return of statutory compliances in Form NDH-1 within 90 days after the closure of the first financial year after its incorporation.
• All the Nidhi Companies must have “Nidhi Limited” as part of their names.
• All Nidhi Companies need to file a Half Yearly return with the registrar in form NDH-3 along with the fee, within 30 days from the conclusion of the half-year.
• Every Nidhi company must submit a certificate issued by the auditor mentioning whether all the compliances have been met or not.
• All the Nidhi Companies must submit all the financial statements in Form AOC-4.
• Every Company must fill out Form NDH-2 to extend the request for 200 members.

Advantages of Incorporating A Nidhi Company

Low capital needed

Nidhi Companies require limited capital for formation. This ensures that the first step can be taken and the following steps will be achieved.

Easy to raise funds

As the Nidhi Companies can borrow money from its members, therefore, fundraising becomes quite easier.

Easy to lend money

Nidhi companies are also called Mutual Benefit Companies because they are readily available to lend money to the members. This feature makes these companies more approachable.

No Need For Outside Management

Nidhi Companies are quite capable of managing themselves as they can select people to manage among their company only. Hence, there is no need for outside management in such companies.

Great service suppliers to normal individuals

Nidhi corporations offer loans to even those ordinary people whom the opposite money establishments don't cater to. These companies are accessible to lower and middle-income groups.

Limited liability

The Nidhi Companies perform as separate legal entities hence, the members aren’t at risk of paying off the companies’ debts and losses from their assets.

Enjoy many provisions and exemptions

Under the Companies Act 2013, the Nidhi Companies are exempted from various provisions and compliances and hence seem quite profitable.

Better than Credit Cooperative Societies

Credit cooperative societies come with many restrictions and compliances. As compared to them, Nidhi companies have to bear lesser compliances and are a better option.

Limitations of Nidhi Companies

• Nidhi Companies cannot perform the chit fund business or hire purchase finance, leasing finance, insurance, or acquisition of securities issued by any corporate body.
• Any Nidhi cannot issue preference shares, debentures, or any debt instrument by any name or in any form.
• A Nidhi Company cannot open any current account with its members.
• A Nidhi company cannot acquire any other company by purchasing securities.
• Nidhi Companies cannot control the composition of the Board of Directors of any other company in any manner.
• Nidhi Companies cannot enter into any modification of management unless and until it has passed a special resolution in a general meeting and taken the approval of the Regional Director.
• A Nidhi company cannot admit a body corporate or trust as its member.
• A minor can never be a member of Nidhi.
• Nidhi cannot open branches collection centers offices or deposit centers outside the state where its registered office is situated.
• Any Nidhi company cannot close any branch unless it publishes an advertisement in a newspaper or gives an intimation to the registrar at least 30 days before such closure.
• Nidhi's cannot accept deposits exceeding 20 times of its Net Owned Funds as per the last audited financial statements.
• A Nidhi company cannot declare a dividend exceeding 25 percent or such a higher amount.
• No Nidhi can appoint or reappoint an auditor for more than one term of 5 consecutive years.
• Nidhi company does not need any license from RBI to operate.
• Nidhi's cannot pay commissions or fees for mobilizing deposits.

Conclusion

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