Starting from the registration of the limited liability partnership (LLP) to the filing of the annual returns, all of this would now be done electronically as the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has decided to introduce a new e-governance regime for all users of LLP which will be effective from April 1.

LLP, which is becoming functional from April 1 will have an advantage of giving the ownership of assets to the partners. In such a case, the partner can use his asset anytime and if he exits from the LLP, he will be in a position to easily take out his money without the LLP being dissolved. In the case of companies and partnerships, this flexibility does not exist.

With the new electronic regime being made effective along with the LLP, all services for the LLP can be availed easily. This electronic mode will be on lines with the MCA 21 which is an e-governance mode for companies that come under the Companies Act, 1956.

The e-governance regime is intended to provide for an ease of operation for filing and access to corporate data over the Internet to all stakeholders, on round the clock basis.

A senior MCA official told FE that the e-governance mode will not just help in registration of the LLP but would also enable the LLP users in making changes regarding the details of the partners like their change of addresses. The annual return can also be filed to the registrar of LLP through the electronic mode.

There can be multifarious activities under the LLP umbrella. Chartered accountants, company secretaries, lawyers, cost accountants and others can all come together as partners as the present system doesn?t permit a chartered accountant to have a company secretary as a partner. The LLP will involve signing of an agreement which would assign the responsibilities to the partners. In this, every partner would come to know about his or her share of responsibilities.

In case of LLP, there is no hard and fast rule to prepare a balance sheet as maintaining a simple statement of account is also enough. The LLP model has been designed by MCA keeping in mind the small and medium enterprises.