Did Member and Nominee shall be Relatives – OPC
One Person Company (OPC), as its name indicates is formed by a single individual. A subscriber/member of an OPC shall name a person (after obtaining his consent) as a nominee of OPC who shall, in the event of the subscriber’s death or his incapacity to contract, become the member of that One Person Company. Further, name of such nominee shall be stated in the memorandum of association.
Some important features of OPC are:
- A One Person Company is incorporated as a private limited company.
- One person cannot incorporate more than one OPC or become nominee in more than one OPC.
- A Person can become a member in one OPC and a nominee in another OPC.
- No minor shall become member or nominee of the One Person Company or hold share with beneficial interest.
- It must have only one member at any point of time.
- It shall have at least one director.
One question which evolved from the concept of nominee is that whether the nominee shall be the relative of the subscriber/member.
Companies Act, 2013 do not put any such requirements with regard to the relationship among the member and nominee. Companies Act, 2013 requires following conditions to be satisfied by a nominee i.e. a nominee shall be –
- a natural person
- an Indian citizen
- a resident in India (stayed in India for at least 182 days in the previous year)
Hence, a subscriber/member can nominate any person meeting aforesaid conditions as the nominee of One Person Company. He need not be a relative of the subscriber/member of the OPC.
References: – Rule 3(1)(b) of Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014
