DIN or the Director Identification Number is a unique ID number (8-digit number with lifetime validity) provided to the existing or a potential Director of any business entity. As an amendment in the year 2006, DIN was introduced after the addition of section 266A and 266B to the Companies Act, 1956.
DIN was created to serve a similar purpose like any other identification tag; to provide traceability options in case of any possibility of wrongdoing(s). It was a long-sought demand that surfaced on account of shell companies and crony capitalism. Many instances of fraud have been registered, where such companies and businesses milk vast amounts of money out of investors from the public domain and vanish overnight without a trace. So, DIN provided the upper hand in tracing these culprits in the event of any of the incidents of fraud and money laundering. DIN is actually a live database (any change, whatsoever in the name, address, etc. happens, the DIN holder has to inform the Government of India for the same duly) of all the directors or potential directors of the companies registered with the Registrar of Companies, under the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. DIN is mandatory for all the directors because it is individual specific. It’s not company particular; so only a single DIN is required per Director irrespective of how many companies he/she is managing simultaneously.
As startups, the selection of a director or directors for a small scale business is somehow mostly ignored on purpose, and the workforce (at most 10-15 people) is treated as a single unit and a happy family of people working towards expanding the business and earning profits. Take a pause here and think like a visionary; 10 years ahead.
Will your business be evolving and expanding only in the number of clients/customers and profits or also in the engaged workforce?
If there are going to be a significant number of people working at your startup, confident executive and managerial roles will have to be allotted to the decision makers. One of the persons will be CEO, another one will be CTO, someone will head the marketing domain, and few will compose the Board of Directors. These directors will have to be allotted individual DINs.
But again, the DIN is just a number to identify someone as a Director to a company/companies. It has nothing to do with the DIN holder’s capacity of formulating business-benefiting policies, taking tough decisions, managing the assets and liabilities, supervising the other office bearers, arranging high-level meetings where brainstorming happens, etc. In some businesses, directors take their DIN as a tag to the company.
No!
DIN is for an individual; it has got nothing to give to / take from a company at all.
Although the DIN refers to an identification right in the middle, it’s just a small part of all the things that account for a director’s identity.
The following points summarize the noticeable and significant traits of a director to a company: –
- The flaming motivation to go above and beyond limits.
- Aspirations towards innovation & creativity.
- Risk-taking capabilities.
- The desire to succeed by overcoming the bottlenecks.
- Excellent persuasive communication skills.
- Excellent patient listening skills.
- Open-minded to incorporate new things, strategies, and methods.
- Ability to learn from decision errors, planning mistakes, and missteps.
Although there are many other qualities in a good director to a company, building and sustaining long-term professional relationships is one of the most crucial ones because the entire business expansion depends upon how you treat your clients/customers. Directorship doesn’t start or end with the initiation or dissolving of any business. It gets clenched-on to the behavior, the nature, the character and even the style of talking, walking, decision-making, etc. of any potential director. One cannot merely scrap that out.
The word direct is embedded in the word Director; it means that people are going to look towards you seeking directives and instructions. The subtle trick is to be persuasive enough to get everyone dances to the same steps.
Always remember – Your DIN is a just a small part of your identity in the business world; but certainly not all of it.
