DIN Surrender

DIN Surrender refers to a situation that arises when a director is required to surrender his DIN to the Central Government. Once surrendered, that individual will not be eligible to be appointed as a director until he obtains a fresh DIN. Under the Companies Act 2013, various circumstances are given when the director’s DIN can be surrendered/cancelled/deactivated.  

DIN is surrendered when the director voluntarily decides to give up his DIN. This usually happens in two cases:  

• When the individual has not been appointed as a director in any company or 
• When being appointed as a director but he has never used his DIN to file any documents. 

Cancellation or Deactivation of DIN happens when the director does not comply with the provisions of the act. If any director fails to comply with the required provisions, within the specified time, then the Central Government or any officer authorized by the Regional Director, may cancel or deactivate the DIN of that director.  

What is DIN?  

DIN - Director Identification Number is an 8 - digit unique identification number that is allotted to an individual who is to be appointed as a director of a company. Section 153 of the Companies Act, 2013, provides that every individual intending to be appointed as a director of a company shall make an application, for allotment of DIN, to the Central Government in Form DIR 3.  

The purpose of DIN is to maintain the details of the directors in a database by Central Government. DIN is a very specific identification number for directors. A Director is required to obtain only one DIN for  his whole lifetime. This means that if he is appointed as a director in more than one company then that one DIN would serve the purpose in all the companies. He does not need to obtain a separate DIN for every company.  

Reasons for surrender of DIN or cancellation of DIN  

Rule 11 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014 provides  the reasons or circumstances where the Central Government may cancel or ask the director to surrender his DIN. Those reasons are as follows:  

• Where the DIN is found to be duplicated  
• The DIN was obtained by the director in a wrongful manner or by fraudulent means 
• The director has been declared to be of unsound mind by a competent court 
• If the director has been adjudicated as an insolvent 
• In case of death of the concerned director  

Ways to surrender DIN  

A director or individual who intends to surrender his or her DIN can do so in the following two ways: 

1. On the order of Central Government: The Central Government shall order a director to surrender his DIN in case of five reasons mentioned above.  
2. Voluntary surrender of DIN: an individual or director may voluntarily surrender his DIN where   
3. He has never been appointed as a director in any company or 
4. The said DIN has never been used by the director for filing any document with the authority. 

To surrender the DIN, a director shall file an application electronically to the Central Government under Form DIR-5. The Application shall be filed along with a declaration stating that he has never been appointed as a director in any company and the said DIN has never been used by him for filing any document with the authority.  

 The procedure to file the DIN surrender Form DIR 5 is as follows:  

• Log in to the MCA website and download form DIR 5 from the website.  
• Fill in all the required details in the form. The details required are:  
• Name of the director  
• DIN that intends to be surrendered  
• Reason to surrender the DIN  
• PAN 
• Residential address of the director  
• Other personal details like contact number, email-ID, etc  
• Digital Signature of the director  
• Along with self-attestation, the form shall also be attested by a professional who shall be a Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant or Company Secretary in practice.  
• The Director is required to pay the prescribed fees and attach necessary documents along with the application form  
• After the successful filing of the application, the Central Government or other authorized officer shall verify the validity of the application  
• On completion of verification, the Central Government may deactivate the DIN.

The documents that are required to be attached by the director along with the application in Form DIR 5 are as follows:  

• Self-attested copy of either of the following:  

• Voter ID Card  

• Passport number  

• Driving license  

• UIN 

• Proof of residence 

• Order of the court, if the director has been declared insolvent or of unsound mind 

• Copy of death certificate in case of death of the director.