What is CIN Number- Full Form & Meaning Explained

The full form of CIN number is Corporate Identification Number or Corporate Identity Number. This number is licensed to all kinds of Central Government, State Government, private companies as well as non-profit companies and Nidhi companies, etc. registered in India.

It is a 21 digit alpha-numeric number given by the Registrar of Companies regulated by every state that comes under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Government of India. You can get access to the details of those companies that are registered under the Ministry of Corporate affairs via its official website www.mca.gov.in. However, LLP (Limited Liability Company) is provided with LLPIN instead of CIN.

A CIN number can be decoded, which consists of crucial details regarding the company. Let’s take an example per se,

L(U)-45822-DL-1212-PLC-000656

1. Listing Status(L/U)

The first letter of the CIN number can indicate the listing status of a company in the stock market. The letter ‘L’ indicates that the company is listed, and the letter ‘U’ indicates that the company is not listed.

2. Industry Code(45822)

Industry codes are represented with only five numbers, according to the industry of the company. Industry codes have five categories, i.e., section, division, group, class, and sub-class.

3. State Code(DL)

This code depends on which state the company is incorporating. It usually consists of 2 characters, taking the 7th and 8th position of the CIN number.

4. Incorporation Year(1212)

The incorporation year takes up to 4 positions from 9th to 12th position in the CIN number. It indicates the number of the year in which the company started.

5. Ownership(PLC)

The status of the company’s ownership takes up three positions, i.e., 13th, 14th, and 15th. This position uses the abbreviation form of the kind of company as per its ownership status. Here is the list of abbreviations in CIN number.

• Companies owned by the Government of India – GOI
• Companies owned by State Government – SGC
• Private Limited Company – PTC
• Public Limited Company – PLC
• Public Limited Company (unlimited liability) – ULL
• Private Limited Company ((unlimited liability) – ULT
• General Association Public – GAP
• General Association Private – GAT
• Financial Lease Company (as Public Limited) – FLC
• A subsidiary of a Foreign Company – FTC
• Not For Profit License Company – NPL

6. Registration Number(000656)

The registration number code is consists of 6 characters; hence the rest six positions, i.e., 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st, are filled up by the registration number of the company in the CIN number.

A CIN number is necessary for a company to mention in the legal documents such as annual reports, financial reports, business letters, any emails to the ministry of corporate affairs or any other individual that are not part of your business, notices, journals, books, receipts, invoices, etc.

A CIN number can’t be changed if there are no such instances of change in listing status, change in registered office location or any industrial change of the company, change in the ownership of the company, or if there is a change in the registrar of the company.

If the CIN number is absent in the important documents as per the necessity, the company would need to pay Rs. 1000 per day till the date of continuation of such default. However, the penalty charges must not exceed Rs. 1,00,000.