Pankaj is a director in many companies since long. His DIN is active and has been used many times for filing of the documents and forms with the Registrar of Companies. After attaining the age of 70 he has decided to ret

As per rule 11 of the Companies (Appointment and Qualifications of Directors) Rules, 2014, the Central Government or Regional Director (Northern Region), Noida or any officer authorised by the Regional Director may, upon being satisfied on verification of particulars or documentary proof attached with the application received along with fee as specified in Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 from any person, cancel or deactivate the DIN in case - the DIN is found to be duplicated in respect of the same person provided the data related to both the DIN shall be merged with the validly retained number; the DIN was obtained in a wrongful manner or by fraudulent means; of the death of the concerned individual; the concerned individual has been declared as a person of unsound mind by a competent Court; if the concerned individual has been adjudicated an insolvent. Provided that before cancellation or deactivation of DIN pursuant to clause (b), an opportunity of being heard shall be given to the concerned individual; on an application made in Form DIR -5 by the DIN holder to surrender his or her DIN along with declaration that he has never been appointed director in any company and the said DIN has never been used for filing any document with any authority the Central Government may deactivate such DIN. Provided that before deactivation of any DIN in such case, the Central Government shall verify e-records. Once a person is appointed as a director in any company as per the Companies Act 2013, he cannot relinquish his DIN in the future. Even if he/she doesn't remain a director anymore in that company or in any other company, his/her DIN will exist as it is. In the light of the above provisions Pankaj cannot apply for surrender of DIN as he has already worked as a director and used his DIN in filing of returns or documents.