Companies

The Companies Act has used an excluding definition for body corporate, defining it as

"Body corporate" or "corporation" includes a company incorporated outside India but doesnot include-

a. a corporation sole

b. a co-operative societyregistered under any law relating to co-operative societies

c. any other body corporate (not being a company company as defined in this Act), which the Central Govt.  may, by a notification in the official gazette, specify in this behalf.

Now, the concept of Corporation Sole is not defined anywhere in the Act. But concisely, apart from those excluded specifically, a body corporate means any entity that has its separate legal existence apart from the persons forming it. It enjoys a completely different legal status apart from its members. So, a body corporate shall include:

a company, a foreign company, a corporation, a statutory company, a statutory body, an LLP, etc. and such bodies that have separate legal existence.