(1) A Cooperative may not be registered with the same name as another cooperative business already registered under this Act or the Cooperative Societies Act :
Provided that where the articles of association of a secondary cooperative require all its members which are cooperatives to use a common name, the name of each such member cooperative shall have its location or other distinguishing feature included in the name at the beginning or end of the common name.
(2) Every cooperative shall display its full name in legible characters in a conspicuous position––
(a) at every office or place at which it carries on business ;
(b) in all notices and other official publications ;
(c) on all its contracts, business letters, orders for goods, invoices, statements of account, receipts and letters of credit ; and
(d) on all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsement, cheques and orders for money it signs or that are signed on its behalf.
(3) Every cooperative shall display its full name in legible characters on its common seal.
(4) A cooperative with limited liability shall have as a suffix to, or as part of its name, the expression “limited” or its equivalent in any Indian language.
(5) Nothing in sub-section (2) shall prevent a cooperative displaying more conspicuously than the full name, any shorter name by which it is popularly known and which, too, is included in the articles of association.
(6) A cooperative may, by an amendment to its articles of association, change its name :
Provided, however, that before changing its name it shall send notice of its intention to change its name to the Registrar, along with the proposed name/s, and the Registrar shall, within fifteen days of receiving such notice inform the cooperative if such name is already in use by another cooperative.
(7) Where a cooperative changes its name, the Registrar shall enter the new name of the cooperative on the register of cooperatives in place of the former and issue a certificate to this effect.
(8) The change of name of a cooperative shall not affect any rights or obligations of the cooperative or only of its members or post members or render defective any legal proceedings by or against it ; and any legal proceedings which might have been continued or commenced by or against the cooperative by its former name may be continued or commenced by its new name.
(9) A cooperative which changes its name shall publicize such change in name in a popular newspaper in the district in which its head office is located.