As per Section 146 of the erstwhile Companies Act, 1956, Companies were only required to print their names and address of the registered office in all its business letters, billheads, letters, and papers and in all its notices and other official publications.The new Companies Act, 2013 makes it mandatory for all Companies to paint or affix its name and the address of its registered office in English and in Vernacular Language, outside every office or place of business and to print the following details in all its business letters, bill heads, letter papers and in all its notices and other official publications which shall ensure transparency in dealings by the company with stakeholders at large:

1. Name

2. Address of its registered office

3. Corporate Identity Number

4. Telephone number

5. Fax number, if any

6. Email Address

7. Website addresses, if any

8. Former names if any, so changed in the last two years (Where a company has changed its name or names during the last two years, it shall paint or affix or print, as the case may be, along with its name, the former name or names so changed during the last two years as required under this section, that is in all its letters, bill heads, letter papers and in all its notices and other official publications giving the particulars as mentioned above.

9. A private company which is a One Person Company shall mention the words One Person Company, in brackets, below its name.

The requirement of having a registered office is now necessitated on and from the 15thday of its incorporation, thus giving sufficient time to the companies to establish it registered office. The company will be required to file verification of its registered office with the Registrar of Companies within 30 days of its date of incorporation.

Notice of every change of the situation of the registered office, after the date of incorporation of the company, will have to be intimated to the Registrar within 15 days of the change instead of 30 days as prescribed u/s. 146 of the Companies Act, 1956.

If any default is made in complying with the requirements of the Section, the Company and every officer who is in default shall be liable to a penalty of Rs.1,000/- for every day during which the default continues (Penalty was Rs.500/- per day under erstwhile Companies Act,1956) but not exceeding Rs,1,00,000/-.