Law and You > Corporate Laws > Companies Act, 2013 > Registrar of Companies

The Registrar of Companies (ROC) as defined under Sub-Section 75 of Section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013, is an appointment of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs which is responsible for the regulation of Indian enterprises in Industrial and Services Sector.   Thus the Registrar of Companies (ROC) is an office under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), which is the body that deals with the administration of companies and Limited Liability Partnerships in India.

According to Section 2(75), the term ‘Registrar’ means a Registrar, an Additional Registrar, a Joint Registrar, a Deputy Registrar or an Assistant Registrar. At present, 22 Registrar of Companies (ROCs) is operating in all the major states. However, states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, have more than one ROC.

Registrar of Companies as appointed under Section 396 of the Act primarily have the duty of registering companies incorporated in the respective States and the Union Territories and to maintain a registry of records concerning companies which are registered with them and allows the general public in accessing this information on payment of a stipulated fee.

Functions of the ROC:

• To take care of the registration of a company (also referred to as incorporation of the company) in the country.
• To maintain a register of Companies/LLP by entering the names of newly incorporated companies and removing the names of those which are struck off.
• To complete  regulation and reporting of companies and their shareholders and directors and
• To administer government reporting of several matters which includes the annual filing of numerous documents.
• To foster and facilitate business culture.
• To issue a certificate of Incorporation after authenticating the documents submitted in support for such incorporation which is the conclusive evidence of the existence of any company. A company, once incorporated, cannot cease unless the name of the company is struck-off from the register of companies.
• To ask for supplementary information from any company when necessary. The registrar of companies can search the premises of any company and demand to look into the accounts of the company with prior approval from the court. 
• To file a petition for winding up of a company with the discretion of the government, 

Powers of ROC:

1. Registration of a company formed under Section 3 of the Companies Act is obtained by filing an application with the ROC in whose jurisdiction the registered office of the company is situated under Section 7 of the Companies Act.
2. Under Section 83 of the Companies Act, 2013 the ROC is allowed to make entries of satisfaction, etc. after receiving evidence that, the debt for which charge is given has been paid or satisfied in whole or in part; or that a part of the property or undertaking charged has been released from the charge or has ceased to form a part of the company’s property or undertaking.
3. Under Section 206 of the Companies Act, 2013, the Registrar may require any company to furnish information or explanation or produce any document, if after scrutinizing any document or on receiving any information, he feels that such documents are necessary.
4. Under Section 209 the Registrar is empowered to obtain an order from the Special Court for the seizure of books and papers of the company if upon receiving information or otherwise, he has reason to believe that these books, papers of the company are likely to be altered, mutilated, falsified, secreted or destroyed. The Registrar or Inspector is further allowed to make copies and extracts of such documents.
5. Under Section 248 of the Companies Act, the Registrar can remove the name of a company from the register if provisions in the Act, are not complied with.

List of Registrar of Companies (ROC) State Wise:

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