ONE PERSON COMPANY
One Person Company is a corporation which has only one person as a member. This is the form of corporation organisation which has been introduced in India under the Companies Act, 2013. The main aim of introducing the concept of OPC is to allow the sole proprietorship form of business to flourish and enter into the corporate framework by creating a single person entity in the eyes of the law.
ACCORDING TO SECTION 2(62) OF COMPANIES ACT, 2013
“One Person Company means a private limited company with only one person as its member.”
ACCORDING TO SECTION 3 OF COMPANIES ACT 2013
“An OPC may be either
- A company limited by shares, or
- A company limited by guarantee, or
- An unlimited company.”
FEATURES OF OPC
The following are the features of OPC:
MEMBER OF AN OPC
Only a natural person who is an Indian citizen and resident in India can be a member of an OPC.
‘Resident’ means that person who has stayed in India for a period of not less than 182 days immediately preceding one calendar year.
MINIMUM PAID UP CAPITAL
The minimum paid up capital of OPC should be ₹1,00,000
PURPOSE
It can be formed for business purpose only. In other words, it cannot be formed for charitable purpose.
NUMBER OF DIRECTORS
An OPC can have minimum one and maximum 15 number of directors.
CONVERSION
An OPC cannot convert itself into public or private corporation unless a period of 2 years has expired from that date of its incorporation. Also, the conversion is mandatory or compulsory when the paid-up share capital is increased beyond ₹50 lakh or its average annual turnover during the relevant period exceeds ₹2 crore.
FORM
The OPC may be either
- A company limited by shares, or
- A company limited by guarantee, or
- An unlimited company.”
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
OPC is not required to hold the Annual General Meeting in any year.
DIRECTOR
The shareholder or member of the OPC is its first director.
WORD OPC
The words ‘One person Company’ should be mentioned in brackets below the name of the OPC.
Thus, OPC is the corporation that is registered under the Companies Act 2013 and is not under any obligation to file the Cash Flow Statement along with the financial statements. Also the provisions Notice of General Meetings, Quorum for Meetings, Proxies etc. shall not apply to OPC.