MCA21 Version 3.0 is a digital portal for corporate compliance as launched by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in order to fulfil the purpose of “Ease of Doing Business” in India, improve digitalization of government services, and matching the standard of business informational services present in India with the rest of global economy.
The program was a part of the 2021 budget announcement of the Government of India and “Mission ModeProject” of the Union Government which also strives to make information related to the companies accessible to all the stakeholders.
Launched initially in the year 2006, the MCA21 portal has augmented the stakeholder user experience by providing an interactive web design, facility of e – consultation and proper categorization of different information in order to facilitate a user-friendly experience. The newly improved facilities like compliance management systems, feedback services, dashboard facility, user - reporting tools, module cards and even the provision of dark mode have added to the already interactive website by enabling a smooth flow and transition of information from the website to the user.
The Ministry has planned to launch the 3rd Version of the website not in one single go but in phases in order to secure the regulatory compliances and prevent disruption of the already existing services available. The first phase inculcated the features of e-book modules, e-consultation features, revamped website, and new mail services for MCA officers which acted as a first update to the website. The second phase rolled out e-forms pertaining to the LLPs which were made website based along with inclusion of dashboards, reports, and the official liquidator module which was added as a second feature.
The third and the most recent phase, which was rolled out in the month of August, 2022 included a number of web-based forms relating to charges, Director (KYC), Deposit related filings,and various other features. The new updates in various phases have broadened the management of the compliance system and has aided in the standardization of users by giving them a responsive and interactive platform.
In the version 2, forms are required to be filled and uploaded in the portal while in V3 the forms are to be filled online. This enables user convenience including the ability to save a half-filled form and file it later.
The major objective of the portal is to regulate and fully automate the flows pertaining to proper and efficient enforcement of legal necessities of the statute governing companies in India i.e., Companies Act, 1956 and Companies Act, 2013 along with facets of partnership relating to Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 and help the companies and stakeholders to meet the requirements laid down by the act.
MCA has migrated LLP filings to an upgraded Version 3 of the MCA- 21 Portal, and as the first phase, the go-live of the revised and enhanced LLP forms has commenced from 8th March, 2022. In the second phase, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 31st Aug 2022 at 12:00 AM has launched first set of Nine (9) Company Forms on MCA21 V3 portal. Following forms were rolled-out in this phase: DIR3-KYC Web, DIR3-KYC E-form, DPT-3, DPT-4, CHG-1, CHG-4, CHG-6, CHG-8 & CHG-9
Along with the advancement of the technology in the portal, there have been various other measures undertaken by the Ministry such as promotion of Integrated Incorporation Form which is also known as “Simplified Proforma for Incorporation Company Electronically (SPICe)” which has proceeded in a single click to three different departments.
Moreover, a web service called RUN or Reserve Unique Name has also been introduced to secure and reserve a name for a fresh company or to update the name of a company. This also helps to fulfil the objective of checking the uniqueness of the name of the company. Thus, the step taken by the MCA in developing the MCA21 V3 portal has been an instrumental step in integrating the technological front of systematized knowledge for the use of the general public and advancement of the objective of Companies Act of 1956 and 2013.
