Company Law Ready Reckoner is a comprehensive, practice-oriented reference work designed to serve as a single-volume operational manual for Indian company law under the Companies Act, 2013. It is expressly conceived as a ready reckoner—a book to be consulted repeatedly in the course of daily professional work—rather than as a purely academic or theoretical treatise. The editorial philosophy of this book is grounded in practical necessity. It focuses primarily on routine, recurring, and compliance-critical issues faced by companies, directors, and professionals in corporate functioning. Matters that are not typically encountered on a day-to-day basis—such as detailed NCLT litigation or public issues of securities (largely governed operationally by SEBI)—are covered at a foundational level, thereby preserving the book's usability, clarity, and speed of reference. The Edition reflects the mature, enforcement-oriented phase of Indian corporate regulation, in which governance standards, management accountability, procedural discipline, and electronic compliance systems play a central role.
This publication is intended for readers who apply company law in practice, including:
- Practising Company Secretaries, Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants, Advocates, and corporate consultants
- In-House Legal, Secretarial, Compliance, & Governance Teams
- Directors, Independent Directors, Key Managerial Personnel, and senior management
- Professionals engaged in ROC filings, board and general meetings, corporate governance, and statutory compliance
- Students of CS, CA, CMA, & Law, seeking a procedural and application-oriented understanding of company law beyond bare provisions
The Present Publication is the 18th Edition | 2026, and is updated till 20th December 2025. This book is authored by Taxmann's Editorial Board with the following noteworthy features:
- Ready-reckoner Design – Focused on routine, practical company law issues encountered in everyday corporate operations
- Integrated Treatment of Law and Procedure – Explains not only statutory provisions but also approval routes, compliance steps, and filing realities
- Governance-centric Coverage – Strong emphasis on shareholder democracy, board functioning, directors' duties, and managerial accountability
- Procedural & E-Governance Alignment – Extensive coverage of MCA-21, electronic filings, registers, records, and returns
- Compliance-at-a-Glance Tools – Use of structured summaries and tabular presentations to enable quick decision-making
- Drafting and Practical Guidance – Includes drafting-oriented discussion where customisation is commonly required (e.g., Articles of Association)
- Clear Scope Delimitation – NCLT matters and public issue mechanisms are addressed at a basic level, maintaining focus on day-to-day compliance
- Comprehensive Indexing – Section-wise and subject indexing ensure fast and precise navigation
The book is structured as a complete company-law operating system, covering the entire lifecycle and regulatory ecosystem of a company through 42 logically sequenced chapters, including:
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Foundations & Incorporation
- Concept and evolution of company law
- Separate legal entity, limited liability, and lifting of the corporate veil
- Incorporation process, name approval, ROC filings, and certificate of incorporation
- Memorandum and Articles of Association—drafting, alteration, and legal effect
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Capital & Securities Framework
- Share capital and its alteration
- Issue and further issue of securities
- Reduction of capital and buy-back
- Debentures and public deposits
- Public issue of securities (foundational coverage)
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Membership & Shareholder Democracy
- Membership and register of members
- Transfer, nomination, and transmission of securities
- Voting rights and shareholder decision-making
- Procedure of general meetings, including the Secretarial Standards linkage
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Board, Directors & Governance
- Appointment, qualifications, disqualifications, and removal of directors
- Duties, rights, liabilities, and fiduciary responsibilities
- Restrictions on directors and board powers
- Meetings of the Board, committees, circular resolutions, and virtual meetings
- Corporate governance principles aligned with regulatory expectations
-
Key Managerial Personnel & Management
- Appointment, role, remuneration, and cessation of KMP
- Managerial accountability and statutory controls
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Finance, Audit & Reporting
- Accounts and financial statements
- Declaration and payment of dividend
- Financial audit
- Cost audit and secretarial audit
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Special Classes of Companies
- Private companies
- Holding and subsidiary companies
- Section 8 companies
- Government companies
- Foreign companies
- NBFCs, Nidhis, Chit Fund companies
- Other specialised forms (OPC, Small Companies, Dormant Companies, Producer Companies, Start-ups, etc.)
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Regulatory Oversight & Enforcement
- Inspection and investigation
- Offences, penalties, compounding, and relief provisions
- Overview of NCLT-related issues
- Administration of company law by the Central Government, ROC, Regional Directors, SEBI, and courts
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E-Governance & Procedural Compliance
- MCA-21 framework and electronic governance
- Digital signatures, e-filing mechanics, SRN tracking
- Registers and records (physical and electronic)
- Periodic statutory returns and ongoing compliance requirements
The structure of the book is as follows:
- Chapter-Based Architecture – 42 chapters arranged in a functional, lifecycle-oriented sequence
- Procedure-led Sub-headings – Emphasis on approvals, compliance steps, and execution pathways
- Index-driven Navigation – Section-wise index maps statutory provisions to practical discussion; subject index enables issue-based access
- Designed for rapid consultation, not prolonged theoretical reading
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