What You Must Know About a Company CIN?

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  • CIN, a unique identification number, issued to Indian Companies by the ROC (Registrar of Companies) functioning in various states under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Govt. of India
  • Publishing CIN in all official publications is mandatory according to the Companies Act 2013
  • CIN number is structured in 21 digit alphanumeric form and is categorized into 6 major parts that reveals the listing status, economic activity, incorporation state, year of theestablishment, the type of a company and the registration number
  • In a few cases, the CIN of the company may change
  • The unique identification numbers issued to Foreign Companies are known as FCRN, LLPs are known as LLPIN, and Foreign LLPs are known as FLLPIN
  • You can find or verify CIN of any company from MCA or InstaFinancials website

Introduction to CIN

CIN, “Corporate Identification Number”, is a unique 21 digit alphanumeric code, assigned during the period of company incorporation, by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) functioning in various

states under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Govt. of India. MCA has created “CIN” to track all the aspects of a company from its incorporation by the ROC. Once the company formation is done, the concerned ROC issues a “Certificate of Incorporation” with its unique CIN or CIN Code.

Following are the types of unique identification numbers assigned to different type of legal entities:

FCRN – Foreign Company Registration Number is 6 digit alphanumeric code assigned to any foreign company established its place of business in India. Every foreign company has to file Form FC-1 within 30 days of its establishment. FCRN is a 6 digit alphanumeric code.

  • Example FRCN:  F04662

LLPIN – Limited Liability Partnership Identification Number is issued to LLPs by the Registrar of Companies, India. It is a unique 7 digit alphanumeric code assigned during the period of company incorporation.  

  • Example LLPIN: AAA-7663

FLLPIN – Foreign Limited Liability Partnership Identification Number is issued to any foreign organization incorporated an LLP in India.

Significance of CIN

CIN number is not just an alphanumeric combination, but it also contains vital information. This unique identification number is provided to all Private Limited Company, One Person Company, Section 8 Company, Public Limited Company, Producer Company and Nidhi Company registered in India. The structure of CIN number is categorized into 6 different parts and each part contains some critical information about the company.

Company CIN Example
Company CIN Example (Company Name: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited)

Part 1: Stock Market Listing Status

The first digit of CIN signifies the listing status of the company. It shows whether the listing status of a company is “Listed” or “Unlisted”. If the first letter of CIN contains “L”, the company status is listed and if it contains “U”, the company is unlisted.

  • In the given example, “L” at the beginning of a CIN indicates that the particular company is listed

Part 2: Classification of Economic Activity

The next five numeric digits represent the economic activity of a company. The classification of these five digits signifies the economic activity to be carried out by the establishment. These digits are classified into 4 different categories: Division > Group > Class > Subclass

  • In the given example, “35301” is an industry code that indicates
  1. Division: 35 – Manufacture of aircraft and space craft
  2. Group: 353 – Manufacture of aircraft and spacecraft
  3. Class: 3530 – Manufacture of aircraft and spacecraft
  4. Subclass: 35301 –  Manufacture of aircraft; including flying balloons; gliders; hang gliders and other non-powered aircraft

Takeaway: This industry code is a very useful resource for identifying the nature of business or economic activity of any company. You may approach InstaFinancials to get a list of companies that belong to a specific industry

Part 3: State Code

The next 2 alphabets signify a state code. It reveals about the registered office of a company. It also indicates the concerned ROC of the company.

  • In the given example, KA indicates state of Karnataka

Takeaway: If the company changes its registered office to a different state, the CIN will change accordingly.

Part 4: Year of Incorporation

The next four numeric digits represent the year of incorporation. Thus, one can easily tell the year of incorporation of any company just by looking at these four digits of CIN.

  • In the given example, the company is incorporated in 1963

Takeaway: If any company says, we are incorporated from last five years, you can easily cross check by looking at the CIN of the company.

Part 5: Company Type

The next three alphabets signify the type of company. Following are the company types, you can find in CIN:

  1. FLC: Financial Lease Company as Public Limited
  3. GAP: General Association Public
  4. GAT: General Association Private
  5. GOI: Companies owned by Govt. Of India
  6. NPL: Not For Profits License Company
  7. PLC: Public Limited Company
  8. PTC: Private Limited Company
  9. SGC: Companies owned by State Govt.
  10. ULL: Public Limited Company with Unlimited Liability
  11. ULT: Private Limited Company with Unlimited Liability

In the given example, GOI indicates, the company is owned by Govt.  of India

Takeaway: Whenever a company changes its type from public to private or vice versa, the company CIN will also change

Part 6: Company Registration Number

The last six numeric digits indicate the special ROC code of the company. This code depends partly on the ROC the company is registered with and partly on the type of business allocated to the company.

In the given example, “001622” indicates the ROC code of the company

Takeaway: The company registration number will be unique under a specific ROC. In few cases, the registration number could be same for different companies under different ROCs.

Change of Corporate Identity Number (CIN) of the Company

The CIN of a company remains same but in certain cases, the CIN may change. Consider the following cases:

  1. Change in the listing status of the company
  2. Change in economic business activity of the company
  3. Change in state of the registered office
  4. Change in company type
  5. Change in ROC

Takeaway: You can find old CIN of any company from MCA website

This is what the 21 digit CIN Code of a company holds. Now, if in the future, you see a CIN of any company, there would be a lot of information you can know for yourself. Just follow a breakup of CIN in 6 different parts and have a look! To find the CIN of any company you can visit the MCA website or any Corporate Research website like InstaFinancials.

Statutory Requirement

According to the MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs), it is mandatory for all companies in India to publish its Corporate Identification Number (CIN) along with the registered office name and address in business letters, billheads, letter papers and in all its notices and other official publications. Additionally, fax number, telephone number, e-mail address and website addresses (if any) must be incorporated in such documents.

Useful Links:

Find CIN on MCA website

Download industry codes defined by NIC