Company is a Voluntary association of persons formed under a statue for the purpose of doing business and having a distinct name, separate legal identity and limited liability

Advantages:

1. Limited Liability.
2. Perpetual Succession.
3. Transferability of Shares.
4. Autonomy.
5. Right to Own Property.
6. Separation of Control from ownership.

Disadvantages:

1. More Formalities & Disclosures compared to other forms of business.
2. Taxation – Liable for Minimum Alternative Tax under income tax and also Dividend Distribution Tax.
3. Winding Up is a length and time consuming process.

Companies are broadly classified into two types i.e. Private Limited Company and Public Limited Company. Further these companies are further classified based on different criteria such as Liability, Share Capital, Nationality, Objects, etc.

Private Limited Company: Rs. 1 Lakh.

Public Limited Company: Rs. 5 Lakhs.

In case of Private Limited Company there should be Minimum 2 members and Maximum Members can be 50. Whereas in case of Public Limited Company there should be minimum 7 members and there are no restriction on the maximum no. of members.

Minimum four meeting should be conducted with one meeting in every quarter with no limit for maximum number of meeting to be conducted in a year.

Annual General Meeting as the name suggest is the General Meeting of the members of the company held once in a year to transact business such as adoption of accounts, Directors’ and Auditors’ Report, declaration of a dividend, appointment of directors in place of those retiring, appointment of auditors, etc.

Following Books/Registers are required to be maintained by Pvt. Co.

a. Minutes Book of Board of Directors Meeting
b. Minutes Book of General Meeting
c. Register of Charges.
d. Register of Members
e. Fixed Asset Register
f. Share Application and Allotment Book
g. Register of Share Transfer
h. Copies of Annual Returns
i. Register of Contracts, Companies and Firms in which the directors, relatives of the directors of the Company are interested.
j. Register of Directors, Managers & Secretary
k. Register of Director's Share holdings.
l. Registers of Loans made to Companies under the same management.
m. Register of Deposits.
n. Register of all Investments and loans made, guarantee given or security provided to any body/bodies corporate (whether in same group or not).

Yes. Company being a artificial Judicial person and can hold a bank account in its own name.

LLP is one more form of carrying on any business or profession for profit which has the benefits of limited liability and perpetual existence as enjoyed by Corporate and the flexibility of a Partnership for operations and legal compliances.

By Limited Liability it is meant that each and every partner of LLP is liable only to the extent of Capital contributed or agreed to contribute for being partner of LLP. Liability does not extend to personal assets of Partners as in the case of Partnership firm where each and every partner, except Minors, is liable to pay off debt from their personal assets also. However, the said limited liability is unlimited if there is some intentional fraud or wrongful act of omission or commission by the partner. Further no partner is liable on account of the independent or un-authorized actions of other partners, thus individual partners are shielded from joint liability created by another partners wrongful business decisions or misconduct.

Perpetual Existence means that existence of LLP is not affected by admission / retirement / death / disqualification of any partner of LLP. Further LLP is distinct legal entity separate from its partners were each partner is an agent of LLP and not of other partners.

As per law LLP can carry on any trade, profession, service or occupation. LLP can carry on any business but is suited to Service Sector, Professionals, Small and Medium Enterprises wanting to carry on business in more organized form. Further Professionals can now have multi-disciplinary partnership as the same are now allowed by most of the professional bodies.

Yes, the same business currently carried on can be done by LLP except for business done by Proprietary concern. It has been provided by the Act that existing Partnership Firm, Private Limited and Unlisted Public Companies can convert themselves to LLP subject to certain rules and regulations as specified. With regards to Proprietary Concern current business will have to be sold out to new LLP formed for the said business.

LLP does not restrict on the number of partners. LLP can have ‘n’ number of partners.

To explain the same better kindly refer to table giving comparison for various features of different forms of entity for carrying on business.

Particulars	LLP	Partnership	Company
Law Governing	The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008	The Indian Partnership Act, 1932	The Companies Act, 1956
Composition i.e. Number of Partners	Minimum: at least 2 Partners. Maximum: No limit.	Minimum: at least 2 Partners. Maximum: 10 in case of Banking business 20 for any other business.	Private Minimum:   2  Members. Maximum: 50 Members. Public Minimum: 7 Members. Maximum No limit
Registration	Registration is compulsory as the same is creation of Law.	Registration is Optional as created by contract. However only Registered firms can sue third party.	Registration is Compulsory as the same is creation of Law.
Legal Status	Distinct Legal entity which is separate from its partners. Partners are agents of LLP and of not other partners	No separate entity as partners are collectively called Partnership. Partners are agents of other partners and also of the firm.	Body Corporate having a Separate Legal Entity separate from its members.
Liability	Limited to the extent of capital contributed or as agreed to contribute as per the LLP Agreement. No partner is liable on account of an independent action on part of any other partner. However, intentional fraud or wrongful act of omission or commission by the partner lands up to unlimited liability.	Unlimited Every Partner is liable jointly (with all the other partners) and severally, for all acts of the Firm done while being a Partner. Liability extends to personal assets of all partners, except Minors admitted to Partnership for the benefit of partnership.	Limited to the extent of Equity Capital Subscribed for as per Memorandum of Association of the Company.
Perpetual	LLP being a legal entity enjoys perpetual succession and is not affected by Admission / Retirement / Death of any partners	Firm does not enjoy perpetual succession and depends on the will of partners. Admission / Retirement and Death of a partner affects continuity of partnership	Company being a separate legal entity enjoys perpetual succession and is not affected by transfer of shares by one person to another.
Ownership of Assets	LLP can own Assets in its own Name.	Partners jointly own assets of Partnership Firm.	Company can own assets in its own name.
Management/ Administration	By Designated Partners. Experts in the field of Management and business can be introduced as partners without them being entitled to share any profits.	By Partners themselves.	By Board of Directors. Management can be different from ownership. Experts in the field of management and business can be employed as directors
Inspection	Accounts/Solvency Statement available but LLP Agreement not available for inspection.	Restricted to Registration status of Firm and name of Partners	All documents are open for inspection.
Incorporation	Name Availability; MOA equivalent Incorporation Document; AOA equivalent LLP Agreement; Declaration by CA/CS/Advocate/ plus 1 subscriber to the Incorporation Document.	Deed of Partnership Application to Registrar of Firms for Registration of Partnership Firm	Name Availability; MOA; AOA; Declaration by CA/CS/Advocate/or person named as 1st Director
Name	Name must end with LLP or Limited Liability Partnership	No Statutory requirement. Can mention word registered after Name.	Name must end with Private Limited or Limited depending on the form of registration
Method of Accounting	Cash/Accrual	Cash/Accrual	Accrual method of accounting is compulsory
Taxation	LLP is taxed @ 30% flat plus education cess as applicable. Since LLP is paying tax, surplus received by Partners is exempt from tax	Firm is also taxed @ 30% flat plus education cess as applicable. Since Firm is paying tax, surplus received by Partners is exempt from tax	Company is taxed @ 30% flat plus education cess as applicable. Surcharge @7.5% is also levied. In addition Dividend Distribution Tax @ 16.995%
Common Seal	Optional	Not required	Compulsory
Minimum number of Directors/ Designated Partners (DP)	Designated Partners: At least 2. One must be a Resident in India. DP’s must have DPIN.	There is no concept of DP’s.	At least 2 directors for Private, 3 for Public. No resident status is compulsory except Managing Director. DIN compulsory.
Annual Return filed with Registrar	Yes	No	Yes
Annual Statement of Account & Solvency	Annual Statement of Account & Solvency as at the last day of financial year has to be filed with ROC within 6 months from the end of each financial year.	No	Annual Financial Statement has to be filed with ROC within 6 months from the end of each financial year
Statutory Audit	If turnover > 40lakhs or Contribution >25 lakhs	Only Tax Audit if turnover more than 40lakhs/10 lakhs.	Compulsory in all cases irrespective of turnover of the company.
Appointment of First Auditors	Anytime before end of Financial Year	No such time limit	Within one month of incorporation of company
Re-appointment of Auditors	Within 30 days before end of financial year. If no re-appointment current auditors deemed to be Auditors.	No such limit	By Members in Annual General Meeting.
Removal Of Auditors	If not mentioned in Agreement then consent of all partners necessary	No such regulation	By Members only.
Regulators	Regulated by Registrar of Companies	Regulated by Registrar appointed by the respective State Government under the Partnership Act.	Regulated by Registrar of Companies
Management/ Administration	By Designated Partners	By Partners	By Board of Directors
Voting Rights	As per agreement or in absence One partner, One vote	Equal	As per Articles of Association. In absence of any specific method Proportionate to number of shares held
Disclosures on documents and stationery	Apart from other normal details, Registration Number along with statement of Limited Liability.	No statutory disclosures.	No statutory disclosures on the documents except for Registered Address
Raising of Capital	Only through private sources not through public	Cannot raise through Public	Can raise through private and public sources also.
Remuneration	As per Agreement	As per Agreement	As decided by Board of Directors and Members
Winding Up/ Dissolution	Simple as compared to Company	Simple	Lengthy and time consuming.

For details of Fees for Limited Liability Partnership to be paid with ROC refer to table appended below.

Sr. No.	Particulars	Statutory Filing Fees for Registration of LLP or conversion into LLP	Statutory Filing Fees for Filing, Registering or Recording any other document/Forms
1	LLP whose contribution does not exceeds Rs. 1 Lakh	500.00	50.00
2	LLP whose contribution exceeds Rs. 1 Lakh but does not exceeds Rs. 5 Lakhs	2,000.00	100.00
3	LLP whose contribution exceeds Rs. 5 Lakhs but does not exceeds Rs. 10 Lakhs	4,000.00	150.00
4	LLP whose contribution exceeds Rs. 10 Lakhs	5,000.00	200.00