06 February 2017
1. There is no definition prescribed for Common Seal under the Companies Act, 2013. As per the Secretarial Standards issued by Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Common Seal means, the metallic seal of a company which can be affixed only with the approval of the Board of Directors of the Company. It is the signature of the company to any document on which it is affixed and binds the company for all obligations undertaken in the document. In other words, Common Seal is the official signature of the company and each company shall have only one seal, on its incorporation. It is to be used in the manner prescribed in the Articles of Association and the Companies Act, 2013. Any document, on which the company’s seal is affixed and is duly signed by the authorized official of the company becomes binding on the company.
2. The LLP Act has no mandatory provision to have a common seal. It is at the option of the LLP to have it or not.