to know diffrent between

mazhar (Querist) 07 June 2008 This query is : Resolved
dear sir

this is mazharshaik i would like to know the diffrent between company and corporetion this is my long pending doubt if u give ex; i am very thankfull to u

thanking u

mazhar

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amit gupta_lawyer (Expert) 08 June 2008
Introduction
The word 'Company' is an amalgamation of the Latin word 'Com' meaning "with or together" and 'Pains' meaning "bread". Originally, it referred to a group of persons who took their meals together. A company is nothing but a group of persons who have come together or who have contributed money for some common person and who have incorporated themselves into a distinct legal entity in the form of a company for that purpose. Under Halsbury’s Laws of England, the term "company" has been defined as a collection of many individuals united into one body under special domination, having perpetual succession under an artificial form and vested by the policies of law with the capacity of acting in several respect as an individual, particularly for taking and granting of property, for contracting obligation and for suing and being sued, for enjoying privileges and immunities in common and exercising a variety of political rights, more or less extensive, according to the design of its institution or the powers upon it, either at the time of its creation or at any subsequent period of its existence. However, the Supreme Court of India has held in the case of State Trading Corporation of India v/s CTO that a company cannot have the status of a citizen under the Constitution of India.

A company as an entity has several distinct features which together make it a unique organization. The following are the defining characteristics of a company :-

Separate Legal Entity :
On incorporation under law, a company becomes a separate legal entity as compared to its members. The company is different and distinct from its members in law. It has its own name and its own seal, its assets and liabilities are separate and distinct from those of its members. It is capable of owning property, incurring debt, borrowing money, having a bank account, employing people, entering into contracts and suing and being sued separately.

Limited Liability :
The liability of the members of the company is limited to contribution to the assets of the company upto the face value of shares held by him. A member is liable to pay only the uncalled money due on shares held by him when called upon to pay and nothing more, even if liabilities of the company far exceeds its assets. On the other hand, partners of a partnership firm have unlimited liability i.e. if the assets of the firm are not adequate to pay the liabilities of the firm, the creditors can force the partners to make good the deficit from their personal assets. This cannot be done in case of a company once the members have paid all their dues towards the shares held by them in the company.

Perpetual Succession:
A company does not die or cease to exist unless it is specifically wound up or the task for which it was formed has been completed. Membership of a company may keep on changing from time to time but that does not affect life of the company. Death or insolvency of member does not affect the existence of the company.

Separate Property:
A company is a distinct legal entity. The company’s property is its own. A member cannot claim to be owner of the company's property during the existence of the company.

Transferability of Shares:
Shares in a company are freely transferable, subject to certain conditions, such that no share-holder is permanently or necessarily wedded to a company. When a member transfers his shares to another person, the transferee steps into the shoes of the transferor and acquires all the rights of the transferor in respect of those shares.

Common Seal:
A company is a artificial person and does not have a physical presence. Therefore, it acts through its Board of Directors for carrying out its activities and entering into various agreements. Such contracts must be under the seal of the company. The common seal is the official signature of the company. The name of the company must be engraved on the common seal. Any document not bearing the seal of the company

Guest (Expert) 09 June 2008
A corporation is a legal personality, usually used to conduct business. Corporations exist as a product of corporate law, and their rules balance the interests of the shareholders that invest their capital and the employees who contribute their labour. People work together in corporations to produce. In modern times, corporations have become an increasingly dominant part of economic life. People rely on corporations for employment, for their goods and services, for the value of the pensions, for economic growth and social development.

The defining feature of a corporation is its legal independence from the people who create it. If a corporation goes bust, shareholders will lose their money, and employees will lose their jobs, but neither will be liable for debts that remain owing to the corporation's creditors. This rule is called limited liability, and it is why corporations end with "Ltd." (or some variant like "Inc." and "plc"). In the words of British judge, Walton J, a company is...

"...only a juristic figment of the imagination, lacking both a body to be kicked and a soul to be damned."[1]

But despite this, corporations are recognised by the law to have rights and responsibilities like actual people. Corporations can exercise human rights against real individuals and the state,[2] and they may be responsible for human rights violations.[3] Just as they are "born" into existence through its members obtaining a certificate of incorporation, they can "die" when they lose money into insolvency. Corporations can even be convicted of criminal offences, such as fraud and manslaughter.[4] Five common characteristics of the modern corporation, according to Harvard University Professors Hansmann and Kraakman are...

separate legal personality of the corporation (the right to sue and be sued in its own name)
limited liability of the shareholders (so that when the company is insolvent, they only owe the money that they subscribed for in shares)
transferrable shares (usually on a listed exchange, such as the London Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange or Euronext in Paris)
delegated management, in other words, control of the company placed in the hands of a board of directors
investor ownership, which Hansmann and Kraakman take to mean, ownership by shareholders.[5]
Ownership of a corporation is complicated by increasing social and economic interdependence, as different stakeholders compete to have a say in corporate affairs. In most developed countries excluding the English speaking world, company boards have representatives of both shareholders and employees to "codetermine" company strategy. Calls for increasing corporate social responsibility are made by consumer, environmental and human rights activists, and this has led to larger corporations drawing up codes of conduct. In Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, corporate law has not yet stepped into that field, and its building blocks remain the study of corporate governance and corporate finance.
Types of corporations
For a list of types of corporation and other business types by country, see Types of business entity.
Most corporations are registered with the local jurisdiction as either a stock corporation or a non-stock corporation. Stock corporations sell stock to generate capital. A stock corporation is generally a for-profit corporation. A non-stock corporation does not have stockholders, but may have members who have voting rights in the corporation.

Some jurisdictions (Washington, D.C., for example) separate corporations into for-profit and non-profit, as opposed to dividing into stock and non-stock.

[edit] For-profit and non-profit
Main article: non-profit organization
In modern economic systems, conventions of corporate governance commonly appear in a wide variety of business and non-profit activities. Though the laws governing these creatures of statute often differ, the courts often interpret provisions of