Difference Between Company VS Partnership VS LLP

Features	Company	Partnership firm	LLP
Registration	Compulsory registration required with the ROC. Certificate of Incorporation is conclusive evidence.	Not compulsory. Unregistered Partnership Firm will not have the ability to sue.	Compulsory registration required with the ROC
Name	Name of a public company to end with the word “limited” and a private company with the words “private limited”	No guidelines.	Name to end with “LLP”” Limited Liability Partnership”
Capital contribution	Private company should have a minimum paid up capital of Rs. 1 lakh and Rs.5 lakhs for a public company	Not specified	Not specified
Legal entity status	Is a separate legal entity	Not a separate legal entity	Is a separate legal entity
Liability	Limited to the extent of unpaid capital.	Unlimited, can extend to the personal assets of the partners	Limited to the extent of the contribution to the LLP.
No. of shareholders / Partners	Minimum of 2. In a private company, maximum of 50 shareholders	2- 20 partners	Minimum of 2. No maximum.
Foreign Nationals as shareholder / Partner	Foreign nationals can be shareholders.	Foreign nationals cannot form partnership firm.	Foreign nationals can be partners.
Taxability	The income is taxed at 30% + surcharge+cess	The income is taxed at 30% + surcharge+cess	Not yet notified.
Meetings	Quarterly Board of Directors meeting, annual shareholding meeting is mandatory	Not required	Not required.
Annual Return	Annual Accounts and Annual Return to be filed with ROC	No returns to be filed with the Registrar of Firms	Annual statement of accounts and solvency & Annual Return has to be filed with ROC
Audit	Compulsory, irrespective of share capital and turnover	Compulsory	Required, if the contribution is above Rs.25 lakhs or if annual turnover is above Rs. 40 lakhs.
How do the bankers view	High creditworthiness, due to stringent compliances and disclosures required	Creditworthiness depends on goodwill and credit worthiness of the partners	Perception is higher compared to that of a partnership but lesser than a company.
Dissolution	Very procedural. Voluntary or by Order of National Company Law Tribunal	By agreement of the partners, insolvency or by Court Order	Less procedural compared to company. Voluntary or by Order of National Company Law Tribunal
Whistle blowing	No such provision	No such provision	Protection provided to employees and partners who provide useful information during the investigation process.

This Article has been posted by CA Prashant Doshi. He Can be reached at prashantdoshi22@gmail.com

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