THE COMPANIES ACT, 1956

     COMPANIES ACT, 1956
          [Act no. 1 of 1956]

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to companies and certain other associations
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows :
PART I : PRELIMINARY
1. SHORT TITLE, COMMENCEMENT AND EXTENT

(1) This Act may be called the Companies Act, 1956.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,appoint.
(3) It extends to the whole of India :Provided that it shall apply to the State of Nagaland subject to such modifications, if any, as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.
2. DEFINITIONS

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, -

1[(1) "abridged prospectus" means a memorandum containing such salient features of a prospectus as may be
prescribed ;]
2[(1A) "alter" and "alteration" shall include the making of additions and omissions ;
3[(1B) "Appellate Tribunal" means the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal constituted under sub-section (1) of
section 10FR ;]
(2) "articles" means the articles of association of a company as originally framed or as altered from time to time in
pursuance of any previous companies law or of this Act, including, so far as they apply to the company, the
regulations contained, as the case may be, in Table B in the Schedule annexed to Act No. 19 of 1857 or in Table A in
the First Schedule annexed to the Indian Companies Act, 1882 (6 of 1882), or in Table A in the First Schedule
annexed to the Indian Companies Act, 1913 (7 of 1913), or in Table A in Schedule I annexed to this Act ;
(3) [Omitted by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2000 with effect from 13-12-2000 ;]
(4) [Omitted by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2000 with effect from 13-12-2000 ;]
(5) "banking company" has the same meaning as in the Banking Companies Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) ;
(6) "Board of directors" or "Board", in relation to a company, means the Board of directors of the company;
(7) "body corporate" or "corporation" includes a company incorporated outside India but does not include -
(a) a corporation sole ;
(b) a co-operative society registered under any law relating to co-operative societies ; and
(c) any other body corporate (not being a company as defined in this Act), which the Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf ;
(8) "book and paper" and "book or paper" include accounts, deeds, vouchers, writings, and documents ;
(9) "branch office" in relation to a company means -
(a) any establishment described as a branch by the company ; or
(b) any establishment carrying on either the same or substantially the same activity as that carried on by the head
office of the company ; or
(c) any establishment engaged in any production, processing or manufacture,
but does not include any establishment specified in any order made by the Central Government under section 8 ;
(10) "company" means a company as defined in section 3 ;
(10A) "Company Law Board" means the Board of Company Law Administration constituted under section 10E ;
(11) "the Court" means, -
(a) with respect to any matter relating to a company (other than any offence against this Act), the Court having
jurisdiction under this Act with respect to that matter relating to that company, as provided in section 10 ;
(b) with respect to any offence against this Act, the Court of a Magistrate of the First Class or, as the case may be, a
Presidency Magistrate, having jurisdiction to try such offence ;
(12) "debenture" includes debenture stock, bonds and any other securities of a company, whether constituting a
charge on the assets of the company or not ;
4[(12A) "depository" has the same meaning as in the Depositories Act, 1996 (22 of 1996) ;]
4[(12B) "derivative" has the same meaning as in clause (aa) of section 2 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act,
1956 (42 of 1956) ;]
(13) "director" includes any person occupying the position of director, by whatever name called ;
(14) "District Court" means the principal Civil Court of original jurisdiction in a district, but does not include a High
Court in the exercise of its ordinary original civil jurisdiction ;
4[(14A) "dividend" includes any interim dividend ;]
(15) "document" includes summons, notice, requisition, order, other legal process, and registers, whether issued, sent
or kept in pursuance of this or any other Act or otherwise ;
4[(15A) "employees stock option" means the option given to the whole-time directors, officers or employees of a
company, which gives such directors, officers or employees the benefit or right to purchase or subscribe at a future
date, the securities offered by the company at a pre-determined price ;]
FOR DOWNLOADING COMPLETE COMPETETION ACT,1956 CLICK HERE