Company Law Ready Reckoner by Taxman – 18th Edition 2026

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 18^th Edition | 2026, and is updated till 20^th 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:

• 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
• 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)
• 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
• 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
• Finance, Audit & Reporting
  • Accounts and financial statements
  • Declaration and payment of dividend
  • Financial audit
  • Cost audit and secretarial audit
• 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.)
• 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
• 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