Two distinct nominal-capital fields
Companies with share capital can have authorised and paid-up capital recorded in their master data. Companies without share capital and missing dataset fields require different treatment. Do not assume every entity has two positive comparable amounts.
Authorised capital concerns the permitted nominal ceiling; paid-up capital concerns nominal amounts credited as paid. Neither is a total-funding, valuation or cash measure.
What authorised capital means
Authorised capital is the maximum nominal value of shares a company is legally permitted to issue to shareholders at any point in time. This ceiling is set by the company's Memorandum of Association at the time of incorporation and can only be increased later through a formal procedure — a shareholder resolution, a filing of Form SH-7 with the ROC, and payment of the corresponding ROC fees.
Authorised capital is a nominal ceiling, not the total amount a company can receive from an issue priced above face value. Share premium must be distinguished from share capital. Borrowing and other financing are separate questions.
What paid-up capital means
Paid-up share capital is the amount credited as paid on issued shares under the statutory definition. It concerns nominal share capital; amounts received as share premium are separate, and shares may be allotted for consideration other than cash. The number on a directory page is therefore not a bank balance or a total of all investor money.
For example, an illustrative issue of 1,000 fully paid shares with a face value of ₹10 records ₹10,000 of nominal capital. If the issue price is ₹100 per share, the premium component is separate. This arithmetic illustrates the distinction; it does not describe a CorpIntel company or establish the accounting treatment of a particular transaction.
Read issued and paid-up amounts separately
Authorised capital constrains nominal shares a company may issue. Paid-up capital and issued capital are different concepts; partly paid shares make that distinction important. A paid-up figure alone does not tell you precisely how many additional shares could be issued.
Where figures appear equal, state that observation without predicting a raise or an administrative problem. For an actual proposed issue, inspect current capital documents, articles and approvals. If stored amounts conflict, check dates and units before drawing a conclusion.
What the ratio can and cannot tell you
When authorised capital is positive and both figures refer to the same date and currency unit, paid-up divided by authorised capital describes the recorded nominal-capital proportion. Missing amounts and zero authorised capital do not produce a meaningful ratio.
A ratio of 100% does not predict a funding round, prove financial stress or reveal the amount of cash available. A new issue may involve premium, existing holders may transfer shares, and transactions can have different legal requirements. Read the actual capital and allotment documents before drawing a transaction-specific conclusion.
A practical comparison checklist
First check whether the amount is missing, explicitly zero or positive. Second confirm the units: a rupee amount is not directly comparable with a value expressed in lakhs. Third compare observation dates and source documents. Fourth distinguish authorised, issued, subscribed and paid-up capital rather than treating them as interchangeable.
If recorded paid-up capital appears to exceed authorised capital, check units, dates, source extraction and later filings. A directory discrepancy is a correction candidate, not evidence of misconduct. For a consequential decision use current official filings and qualified advice.