Benefits
The advantages of conversion of a firm into a private limited company are as below.
Capital Funding
It becomes easier to raise capital funding under the private limited company as it offers flexibility. In case of firm, capital can be brought in by partners only. Whereas, in a private limited company, capital funding can be obtained from any person. The best choice of investors is a private Limited company.
FDI
A Private Limited company does not require FDI approval under the automatic route. Whereas a partnership firm requires approval from the Government. Again, Foreign Direct investment is an important criteria for growing business to manage its capital needs.
Method
There are two different methods to convert a Firm into a Private Limited company.
1. New Company Formation: Incorporate and new private limited company and takeover the existing firm business by a written business transfer agreement. However, Capital gains tax (Income tax) and Stamp duty is applicable for transfer of assets from firm to private limited company.
2. Conversion of Firm into Private Limited Company: In this method, the existing firm is converted into a private limited company. More on this method is elaborated in subsequent sections. A minimum of 7 partners is required to convert an existing firm into a Private Limited Company.