Definitions
Section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 deals with definitions. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "address", in relation to a partner of a limited liability partnership, means-- (i) if an individual, his usual residential address; The Act came into force on 31 Mar 2009.
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(a) "address", in relation to a partner of a limited liability partnership, means--
(i) if an individual, his usual residential address; and
(ii) if a body corporate, the address of its registered office;
(b) "advocate" means an advocate as defined in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961);
(c) "Appellate Tribunal" means the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal constituted under 1[section 410] of 2[the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013)];;
(d) "body corporate" means a company as defined in 3[clause (20) of section 2] of 2[the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013)] and includes--
(i) a limited liability partnership registered under this Act;
(ii) a limited liability partnership incorporated outside India; and
(iii) a company incorporated outside India,
but does not include--
(i) a corporation sole;
(ii) a co-operative society registered under any law for the time being in force; and
(iii) any other body corporate (not being a company as defined in 3[clause (20) of section 2] of 2[the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013)] or a limited liability partnership as defined in this Act), which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf;;
(e) "business" includes every trade, profession, service 5 4[and occupation except any activity which the Central Government may, by notification, exclude];
(f) "chartered accountant" means a chartered accountant as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of 1949) and who has obtained a certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act;
(g) company secretary means a company secretary as defined in clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 (56 of 1980) and who has obtained a certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act;
(h) "cost accountant" means a cost accountant as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 (23 of 1959) and who has obtained a certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act;
(i) "Court", with respect to any offence under this Act, means the Court having jurisdiction as per the provisions of section 77;
(j) "designated partner" means any partner designated as such pursuant to section 7;
(k) ''entity" means any body corporate and includes, for the purposes of sections 18, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52 and 53, a firm setup under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 (9 of 1932);
(l) "financial year", in relation to a limited liability partnership, means the period from the 1st day of April of a year to the 31st day of March of the following year:
Provided that in the case of a limited liability partnership incorporated after the 30th day of September of a year, the financial year may end on the 31st day of March of the year next following that year;
(m) "foreign limited liability partnership" means a limited liability partnership formed, incorporated or registered outside India which establishes a place of business within India;
(n) "limited liability partnership" means a partnership formed and registered under this Act;
(o) "limited liability partnership" agreement means any written agreement between the partners of the limited liability partnership or between the limited liability partnership and its partners which determines the mutual rights and duties of the partners and their rights and duties in relation to that limited liability partnership;
(p) "name", in relation to a partner of a limited liability partnership, means--
(i) if an individual, his forename, middle name and surname; and
(ii) if a body corporate, its registered name;
(q) "partner", in relation to a limited liability partnership, means any person who becomes a partner in the limited liability partnership in accordance with the limited liability partnership agreement;
(r) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
5[(ra) "Regional Director" means a person appointed as such by Central Government for the purpose of this Act or the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), as the case may be.]
6[(s) "Registrar" means a person appointed by the Central Government as Registrar, an Additional Registrar, a Joint Registrar, a Deputy Registrar or an Assistant Registrar, for the purpose of this Act or the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013)];
(t) "Schedule'' means a Schedule to this Act;
5[(ta) "small limited liability" partnership means a limited liability partnership--
(i) the contribution of which, does not exceed twenty-five lakh rupees or such higher amount, not exceeding five crore rupees, as may be prescribed; and
(ii) the turnover of which, as per the Statement of Accounts and Solvency for the immediately preceding financial year, does not exceed forty lakh rupees or such higher amount, not exceeding fifty crore rupees, as may be prescribed; or
(iii) which meets such other requirements as may be prescribed,
and fulfils such terms and conditions as may be prescribed;]
(u) "Tribunal "means the National Company Law Tribunal constituted under 6[section 408] of 2[the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013)].
(2) Words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in 2[the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013)] shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.
Section 2, The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (Act 6 of 2009).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
- Advocates Act s. 2 Definitions
- Chartered Accountants Act s. 2 Interpretation
- Company Secretaries Act s. 2 Definitions and interpretation
- s. 7 Designated partners
- s. 18 Omitted
- s. 46 Power of inspectors to carry out investigation into affairs of related entities, etc
- s. 47 Production of documents and evidence
- s. 48 Seizure of documents by inspector
- s. 49 Inspector's report
- s. 50 Prosecution
- s. 52 Proceedings for recovery of damages or property
- s. 53 Expenses of investigation
- s. 77 Jurisdiction of Courts
Referred to by 19
- Arunachal Pradesh Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act s. 2
- Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act s. 2 Definitions
- Chartered Accountants Act s. 2 Interpretation
- Company Secretaries Act s. 2 Definitions and interpretation
- Cost Accountants Act s. 2 Definitions and interpretation
- Finance Act s. 20 Substitution of new section for section 44AD
- Finance Act s. 19 Insertion of new Chapter XII-BA
- Finance Act s. 14 Amendment of section 44ADA
- Fugitive Economic Offenders Act s. 14 Power to disallow civil claims
- Income-tax Act s. 44AD Special provision for computing profits and gains of business on presumptive basis
- Income-tax Act s. 44ADA Special provision for computing profits and gains of profession on presumptive basis
- Income-tax Act s. 80HHF Deduction in respect of profits and gains from export or transfer of film software, etc
and 7 more
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
-
Madhav Saran Agarwal vs Msx Mall Pvt. LTD
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 138/141 proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act against a corporate debtor are covered by the moratorium provision in Section 14(1)(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, as such proceedings relate to transactions evidencing debt of the corporate debtor and result in depletion of its assets through compensation orders, thereby directly impacting the object of the moratorium which is to preserve the corporate debtor's assets during the insolvency resolution process so it can continue as a going concern and be rehabilitated. However, the moratorium applies only to the corporate debtor and not to natural persons (Directors/officers) in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business of the corporate debtor, who remain liable to prosecution under Section 138/141 as the corporate debtor is a necessary party to such proceedings.
On this section: Cited in Section 32A context regarding liability of designated partners
-
Naresh Kumar Gupta vs Sood Resins and Polymers
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Section 138/141 proceedings under the Negotiable Instruments Act against a corporate debtor are covered by the moratorium provision in Section 14(1)(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, as such proceedings are 'proceedings' within the meaning of that section. The moratorium applies only to the corporate debtor and not to natural persons (Directors and officers) who can continue to be prosecuted under Section 141 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. The rules of statutory construction (noscitur a sociis and ejusdem generis) cannot be applied to restrict the meaning of 'proceedings' in Section 14(1)(a) when the expression is designedly wide and the object of the statute is clear - which is to preserve the corporate debtor's assets during the insolvency resolution process.
On this section: Cited in context of Section 32A of IBC
-
Kalyani Transco vs M/s Bhushan Power and Steel Limited
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Once a Resolution Plan is duly approved by the Adjudicating Authority under Section 31(2) of the IBC, the claims as provided in the Resolution Plan stand frozen and binding on all stakeholders. Claims not part of the approved Resolution Plan or the RfRP stand extinguished, and no person can initiate proceedings for such claims. The Committee of Creditors does not become functus officio after plan approval but continues to exist until full implementation or finality of appeals, with authority to monitor and supervise implementation through a monitoring committee. The commercial wisdom of the CoC in approving a Resolution Plan is paramount and non-justiciable, and courts cannot interfere with the CoC's business decisions unless the plan violates mandatory statutory provisions or is based on extraneous considerations or is ex facie arbitrary and illegal. Delay in implementation of an approved Resolution Plan does not justify setting aside the plan unless the delay is unjustified and attributable to the SRA. Compulsorily convertible debentures are treated as equity instruments as they involve mandatory conversion without repayment obligation. EBITDA generated during CIRP cannot be claimed by creditors unless specifically provided for in the RfRP or Resolution Plan. Erstwhile promoters and directors, as personal guarantors vitally interested in the Resolution Plan's outcome, have locus standi to appeal under Sections 61 and 62 of the IBC, but their appeals must be decided on merits considering their conduct during CIRP.
On this section: Definition of 'designated partner' in context of Section 32A liability provisions
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
-
… the corporate insolvency resolution process against such corporate debtor, it shall stand discharged from the date of approval of the resolution plan subject to requirements of this sub-section having been fulfilled: Provided further that every person who was a "designated partner" as defined in clause ( j ) of Section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 (6 of 2009), or an "officer who is in default", as defined in clause (60) of Section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), or was in any manner incharge of, or responsible to the corporate debtor for the conduct of its business or associated with the corporate …
-
… (4) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to such transactions as may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with any financial sector regulator." 10.1. From the above provisions, it is clear that the term "Corporate Person" includes a company as defined under Section 2(20) of the Companies Act, 2013, and a Limited Liability Partnership. However, there is a subtle difference in the protection available to the Directors and the Partners. In case of a partnership firm, the interim moratorium protects not only the firm, but also the partners. But in case of a company, such protection …
-
… (4) The provisions of this Section shall not apply to such transactions as may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with any financial sector regulator." 10.1. From the above provisions, it is clear that the term "Corporate Person" includes a company as defined under Section 2(20) of the Companies Act, 2013, and a Limited Liability Partnership. However, there is a subtle difference in the protection available to the Directors and the Partners. In case of a partnership firm, the interim moratorium protects not only the firm, but also the partners. But in case of a company, such protection …
Made under this section, and citing it
3 instruments state that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
- Extension of time in Filing Annual Return by Limited LiabilityPartnershipsCircular 2012
- Extension of time in Filing of annual return by Limited Liability Partnerships(LLPs)Circular 2012
- Clarification regarding 'Body Corporate' for the purpose of section 226(3)(a) of the Companies Act,1956.Circular 2011
Another 6 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
- Notification of sections 1, 2 (except clauses (c) and (u) of its sub-section (1)), Sections 3 to 30, Section 31 except of its application in context of the 'Tribunal', Sections 32 to 50, Sections 52 to 54, Sections 59 to 62, Sections 66 to 71, Sections 74 to 80, Section 81 except clasuses (b) to the extent of its application to Sections 51, 63 and 64 and clause (c), First ScheduleNotification 2009
- Corrigendum to LLP amendment rules, 2012 (GSR 430(E) dated 5th June 2012): G.S.R 485(E) (220 KB)Rule 2012
- Limited Liability Partnership (Winding up and Dissolution) Rules, 2012: G.S.R. 550(E) (8 MB)Rule 2012
- LLP Winding Rules, 2010: G.S.R 266(E) (14.3 MB)Rule 2010
- LLP (AMENDMENT) Rules, 2009: G.S.E. 385(E) and G.S.R. 386(E) (153 KB)Rule 2009
- Limited Liability Partnership Rules, 2009: G.S.R. 229(E) (6.8 MB)Rule 2009
Questions about Section 2
What have the courts held on Section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act?
Madhav Saran Agarwal vs Msx Mall Pvt. LTD (01 Mar 2021) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Cited in Section 32A context regarding liability of designated partners. Another 2 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2021 to 2025.
How do I find court cases under Section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Limited Liability Partnership Act 2, section 2 Limited Liability Partnership Act, section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 3 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Madhav Saran Agarwal vs Msx Mall Pvt. LTD (01 Mar 2021).
What should I read with Section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on Advocates Act 2 (Definitions), Chartered Accountants Act 2 (Interpretation), Company Secretaries Act 2 (Definitions and interpretation), section 7 (Designated partners), and on 9 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 19 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there are 3: most recently Extension of time in Filing Annual Return by Limited LiabilityPartnerships (2012), then Extension of time in Filing of annual return by Limited Liability Partnerships(LLPs) (2012), and 1 more.
When did Section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act come into force?
Section 2 of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, cited as Limited Liability Partnership Act 2, came into force on 31 Mar 2009, having been enacted on 07 Jan 2009. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 79. Power to make rules1184 words
- 76A. Adjudication of penalties709 words
- 62. Provisions for facilitating reconstruction or amalgamation of limited liability partnerships685 words
- 47. Production of documents and evidence559 words
- 39. Compounding of offences530 words
- 58. Registration and effect of conversion461 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.