Ask anything about filings & compliance

If you are testing an idea with your own money and no co-founder, a proprietorship or Udyam-registered firm keeps compliance light. The moment you have a co-founder, plan to raise money, or need a separate legal shield for contracts, a Private Limited company is usually the better starting point.

An LLP has partners and a simpler annual filing load; a Private Limited company has shareholders, directors, and a statutory audit every year regardless of turnover. Almost all institutional investors and ESOP structures require a Private Limited company, so LLPs suit profitable service businesses rather than venture-funded startups.

An OPC gives a solo founder limited liability and a corporate identity while still having one member and one nominee. It suits single-founder consulting and product businesses that want a company on paper; it cannot have shareholders, so it is not a fundraising vehicle.

Broadly, proprietorship is lightest, then partnership, then LLP, then Private Limited, then Public Limited. The gap comes mainly from statutory audit and MCA filings — worth paying for if you need credibility, investment, or clean separation of liability.

Yes. Conversion is common once revenue or investor interest arrives, and it involves a fresh incorporation plus transfer of assets, contracts, GST, and bank relationships. Doing it early is usually cheaper than untangling it during a funding round.

A Section 8 company, a public charitable trust, or a society — Section 8 gives the most credibility with donors and CSR funders, while a trust is quicker to set up. Whichever you pick, plan 12A and 80G registration early if you intend to raise donations.

In practice yes — priced equity, SAFE-style instruments, convertible notes, and ESOPs all need a company with share capital. Investors also expect a clean cap table, audited financials, and MCA filings up to date.

A Private Limited company needs at least two shareholders and two directors; an LLP needs at least two partners with two designated partners, one of whom must be resident in India. A single founder can use an OPC or a proprietorship instead.

There is no prescribed minimum paid-up capital for a Private Limited company or an LLP. You choose an authorised capital you are comfortable with, because MCA fees and later increases are linked to it.

PAN and Aadhaar for every promoter, a photograph, an address proof such as a bank statement or utility bill, and proof of the registered office with an owner NOC. Foreign promoters need a notarised or apostilled passport and address proof instead of PAN and Aadhaar.

The name is reserved on the MCA portal before or during incorporation, and rejections usually come from resemblance to an existing company or registered trademark, a generic or restricted word, or an activity mismatch with the stated objects. Always give two options and run a trademark search alongside.

A Digital Signature Certificate is the token used to sign MCA and tax filings electronically. Every director, designated partner, or authorised signatory who signs a form needs their own Class 3 DSC, and it has to be renewed when it expires.

A Director Identification Number is a permanent number allotted to each director. New directors typically get a DIN as part of the incorporation application, while directors joining an existing company apply separately before appointment.

Yes, a residential address is acceptable as long as you can produce ownership or rent proof plus a NOC from the owner. Remember that the registered office address becomes public on the MCA portal and is where statutory notices are served.

Company PAN and TAN are issued along with the incorporation certificate, and the integrated form also lets you apply for EPFO, ESIC, and a bank account. GST registration is often applied for separately once you have the certificate and a bank proof.

It should cover what you do today and the adjacent things you realistically expect to do in the next few years, described plainly. Too narrow and you need an MOA amendment before launching a new line; too vague and name approval or a bank may push back.

With a complete document pack and no name rejection, incorporation is typically a matter of working days rather than weeks. The variables are promoter KYC quality, name approval, and registry processing load — we flag a realistic window once we see your documents.

Yes. Foreign nationals and NRIs can hold shares and be directors, but at least one director must be resident in India, and foreign shareholding brings FEMA reporting obligations on the company.

An unregistered firm is legal, but registration makes the firm far easier to enforce in court and is often asked for by banks and larger customers. A stamped, well-drafted deed covering profit share, capital, and exit is the more important half of the job.

Open the company current account, deposit the subscribed capital, appoint the first statutory auditor, file the commencement of business declaration, and set up books from day one. Missing the commencement filing is one of the most expensive early mistakes.

It is the declaration that shareholders have paid in their subscription money, due within 180 days of incorporation. Skipping it attracts a significant penalty on the company and a daily penalty on officers, and the company is not supposed to borrow or begin operations until it is filed.

Typically the incorporation certificate, MOA and AOA, company PAN, a board resolution naming signatories, KYC for directors and signatories, and proof of the registered office. Banks also ask for GST registration or a business address proof in their own format.

The board appoints the first statutory auditor within 30 days of incorporation, and the appointment is intimated to MCA. You can change the auditor later through the prescribed process — resignation or non-reappointment both have their own filings.

Yes — every company incorporated under the Companies Act needs a statutory audit each financial year regardless of turnover, including a dormant first year. LLPs only need an audit once turnover or contribution crosses the prescribed limits.

From the first transaction, including pre-incorporation expenses reimbursed to founders. Clean books from day one are what make audit, ITR, GST reconciliation, and investor diligence uneventful later.

Yes, as salary or as directors remuneration, provided it is authorised, documented, and run through payroll with TDS where applicable. Ad-hoc withdrawals recorded as loans or reimbursements are a common source of audit and diligence problems.

Broadly, registration is required once aggregate turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for goods or ₹20 lakh for services, with lower limits in special category states. Several situations require registration from the first rupee regardless of turnover, so check applicability rather than assuming.

Common triggers include interstate supply of goods, selling through an e-commerce operator, supplies attracting reverse charge, acting as a casual or non-resident taxable person, and businesses that must deduct TDS under GST. Voluntary registration also makes sense when your customers want input credit.

It helps if your buyers are businesses that want input credit, if you are claiming credit on significant purchases, or if marketplaces require a GSTIN. The trade-off is a monthly or quarterly return cycle that starts immediately, including nil returns.

Yes. Nil returns are still mandatory once you hold a GSTIN, and skipping them builds up late fees and can eventually lead to suspension or cancellation of registration.

Most businesses file GSTR-1 for outward supplies and GSTR-3B for the summary and payment, monthly or quarterly under QRMP, plus an annual return. Composition dealers instead file a quarterly statement and an annual return.

It lets small businesses pay tax at a flat rate on turnover with far lighter filings, but you cannot collect tax from customers, cannot claim input credit, and cannot make interstate outward supplies. It suits local B2C businesses, not B2B suppliers or exporters.

Credit generally depends on your supplier actually reporting the invoice, so mismatches usually trace back to a supplier who has not filed. Some credits are also blocked by law regardless of documentation, and there is a time limit after which credit for an invoice lapses.

Exports are treated as zero-rated, so you either pay IGST and claim a refund or export without paying tax under a Letter of Undertaking. The LUT route avoids blocking working capital, and the LUT has to be filed afresh each financial year.

Marketplace sellers generally need a GSTIN, and the operator collects tax at source that you reconcile against your own returns. Stocking inventory in another state, such as in a fulfilment centre, usually means registering in that state too.

Note the reply deadline, identify the exact section and period involved, and pull the underlying returns and invoices before drafting anything. Most notices are resolved by a clear reconciliation plus a corrective filing, but ignoring the timeline is what turns them into demands.

If cancellation was initiated by the department, you can apply for revocation within the prescribed window after clearing pending returns and dues. Once revocation is no longer available, the practical route is a fresh registration.

Yes — core and non-core amendments are filed on the GST portal, with core fields such as address and promoters requiring officer approval and supporting proof. Changes should be filed promptly because returns and e-invoices carry the registered details.

A virtual office can work where you genuinely need a presence in a state and can produce a valid agreement, NOC, and utility proof, but registrations are subject to physical verification. Treat it as a considered decision rather than a shortcut, especially where goods are stored.

Most domestic companies opt for the concessional regime at 22% plus surcharge and cess, with a lower rate available to eligible new manufacturing companies. Which option is best depends on the deductions and carried-forward losses you would give up, so it is a decision to model once.

Firms and LLPs are taxed at a flat 30% plus surcharge and cess, with no slab benefit and no concessional company regime. Partner remuneration and interest on capital are deductible within the limits set by the Income Tax Act if the deed authorises them.

Companies file ITR-6, LLPs and firms file ITR-5, trusts and institutions file ITR-7, and proprietors report business income in their personal return. Filing on the wrong form is a common cause of defective return notices.

Tax audit is triggered by turnover crossing the prescribed limit, with a much higher limit for businesses whose receipts and payments are almost entirely digital, and a separate lower limit for professionals. It is independent of the statutory audit a company already needs.

Yes, once your estimated annual tax liability crosses the prescribed threshold, payable in quarterly instalments through the year. Underpaying attracts interest, so it is worth revisiting the estimate each quarter rather than only at year end.

Business losses can generally be carried forward for eight assessment years, and unabsorbed depreciation indefinitely, but only if the return was filed by the due date. Closely held companies also face restrictions when shareholding changes significantly, with a relaxation for eligible startups.

Expenses genuinely incurred for the business — salaries, rent, software, professional fees, marketing, and depreciation on assets — are deductible when supported by invoices and paid through the business account. Personal spends routed through the company and cash payments above the prescribed limit are the usual disallowances.

Many notices are routine: a mismatch with Form 26AS or AIS, a defective return, or an adjustment intimation. What matters is responding within the stated window with the right evidence, because an unanswered notice can escalate to an assessment or demand.

Yes, a revised return can be filed within the permitted window, and an updated return is available for a longer period in specified cases. Correcting proactively is almost always cheaper than waiting for the department to spot it.

A profit-linked deduction is available to eligible DPIIT-recognised startups for three consecutive years out of the first ten, but it needs a separate inter-ministerial certificate and conditions on incorporation date and turnover. Recognition alone does not grant the exemption.

You need a TAN as soon as you make a payment that attracts TDS — typically salaries, professional fees, contractor payments, rent, or commission. Company TAN is usually allotted at incorporation, so the practical trigger is the first such payment.

Professional and technical fees, contractor payments, rent, commission, salaries, and certain purchases and e-commerce payouts all have their own sections, rates, and thresholds. TDS is deducted at payment or credit, whichever is earlier, so timing matters as much as the rate.

Late deposit attracts interest, late filing attracts a daily fee, and the deductee cannot see the credit in their Form 26AS until the return is filed. Non-deduction can also mean the expense is disallowed in your own computation.

PF applies once you cross the prescribed employee count, and ESI applies at a lower count for employees within the wage ceiling, with some state variation. Once registered, monthly contributions and returns continue even in months with no additions.

Professional tax is a state levy, so applicability depends on where you operate and employ people — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Telangana all levy it. It usually needs both an employer registration and an enrolment, with periodic returns.

You can engage genuine independent contractors, deducting TDS on fees instead of running payroll, but the arrangement has to reflect reality. Fixed hours, full-time exclusivity, and supervision make a contractor look like an employee, exposing you to PF, ESI, and gratuity claims later.

A simple structure with basic, allowances, and statutory components is easier to administer and defend than an elaborate one built purely to minimise tax. Get payslips, appointment letters, and PF or ESI treatment right early, because fixing payroll history is painful.

Audited financials and the annual return go to MCA after the AGM, alongside the income tax return and any event-based forms for the year. Directors also complete their annual KYC, and companies with outstanding money receipts may need a deposit return.

An LLP files an annual return covering partner details and a statement of accounts and solvency, on two different due dates, plus its income tax return. These are due even for a dormant LLP with no transactions.

Every director with a DIN must complete an annual KYC with MCA. Missing the deadline deactivates the DIN, which blocks all filings that need that director, and reactivation requires paying a fixed late fee.

Annual filing delays attract a daily additional fee with no upper cap, so a forgotten year can cost far more than the filing itself. There is no waiver mechanism, which is why a due-date calendar is the cheapest compliance you can buy.

Appointments and resignations are approved by the board or shareholders as applicable and then intimated to MCA within the prescribed window, with consent and disclosure documents on record. A new director also needs a DIN and a DSC before they can sign filings.

Share transfers use a stamped transfer deed, board approval, and an update to the register of members, with the share certificate endorsed or reissued. Fresh shares issued to an investor are an allotment instead, which has its own valuation and filing requirements.

Whenever the shares you want to issue would exceed the authorised capital in your MOA — typically before a funding round or a large ESOP allotment. It needs a shareholder resolution, MCA fees on the increase, and an MOA amendment.

If you may revive the business, dormant status keeps the entity alive with reduced compliance; if you are done, striking off ends the filing obligation permanently. Either way, pending filings, bank closure, and GST cancellation have to be dealt with first.

Yes — backlog filings are made in sequence with the applicable additional fees, and MCA periodically opens settlement schemes that reduce the burden. We map the backlog and the exposure before filing anything so there are no surprises.

Udyam is the MSME registration and is free and largely self-declared off your PAN and GST details. It unlocks priority-sector lending, government tender benefits, subsidy schemes, and the delayed-payment protections available to MSMEs.

DPIIT recognition is free and gives access to self-certification on some labour and environment laws, IP fee rebates, tender relaxations, and eligibility for certain tax benefits. It suits companies and LLPs within the prescribed age and turnover limits working on something innovative or scalable.

Shop & Establishment is a state law tied to having a place of business and employees, so requirements differ by state and a fully remote team may fall outside it. It is still commonly asked for by banks and landlords, so confirm your state position early.

It depends on turnover and reach — a basic registration for the smallest operators, a state licence in the mid band, and a central licence for large or import-export operations. Every food business, including cloud kitchens and online sellers, needs one of the three before selling.

IEC is mandatory for importing or exporting goods and is often required for service exporters claiming certain benefits or dealing with banks on inward remittances. It is PAN-based, does not expire, but must be confirmed or updated annually.

ISO is voluntary, not a statutory licence, but many tenders and enterprise procurement processes award points for it or make it a qualification criterion. The value comes from actually running the documented processes, not just holding the certificate.

Build one calendar covering every licence expiry alongside your GST, TDS, and MCA due dates, with a reminder well before each date. Most penalties we see are not disputes about the law — they are missed renewals.

No. Incorporating a company reserves a name on the MCA register; only a trademark gives you rights in the brand for the goods or services you actually sell. Many founders discover this when someone else registers their brand name.

As early as you are confident about the brand, because rights in India largely follow first use and first filing. Filing before a launch or funding round is cheaper than rebranding after an objection or an opposition.

Marks are filed against classes of goods and services, and you need one filing per class. Most startups begin with the one or two classes covering their core offering and add classes as the business expands.

A search shows conflicting marks and similar names already on the register, which is what drives most objections. It is far cheaper to adjust the mark or the class strategy before filing than to fight an examination report.

No. An examination report is normal and is answered with a written reply, evidence of use, and a hearing if required. Outcomes depend on the ground cited and the strength of your use, which we assess from the report itself.

You can use ™ once an application is filed, but ® only after the mark is actually registered. Using ® prematurely is a misrepresentation and can be held against you.

A registered trademark runs for ten years from the application date and can be renewed indefinitely in ten-year blocks. Missing a renewal puts the mark at risk of removal from the register.

Code and content are protected by copyright, the visual shape of a product by design registration, and a genuinely novel technical invention by a patent. Startups often combine copyright plus trademark first, because patents are slower, costlier, and only worth it for real inventions.

Board and shareholder approvals, a valuation report where required, allotment within the permitted window of receiving funds, share certificates with stamp duty, updated registers, and the allotment return to MCA. Foreign investment adds RBI reporting on top.

Issuing shares above face value generally requires a valuation report from a registered valuer or merchant banker, depending on the investor and instrument. It protects the round from tax and regulatory challenge later.

You adopt a scheme by shareholder resolution, reserve a pool, and grant options that vest over time and are exercised into shares. Employees are taxed on the benefit at exercise and again on capital gains at sale, with a deferral available to eligible startups.

Directors can lend from their own funds with proper documentation, but a private company accepting money from the public or from most non-relatives runs into the deposit rules. Unsecured loans on the books also need reporting in the annual deposit return.

Audited financials, MCA filing history, GST and TDS return status, the cap table and share registers, ESOP records, related-party transactions, and whether statutory dues are current. Gaps rarely kill a round, but they cost time and negotiating leverage.

Inward foreign investment is reported through the RBI portal shortly after share allotment, and companies with foreign holding also file an annual return on foreign liabilities and assets. Late reporting attracts a compounding process, so these dates are worth tracking.

Fees depend on the entity type, transaction volume, and how much clean-up the work needs, so we scope after a short discovery conversation rather than publishing a list price. You get a written scope and fee before any work starts.

We separate professional fees from statutory fees such as MCA charges, stamp duty, trademark filing fees, and portal payments. Your quote states which is which so there is no surprise at filing time.

Accounts, audit, and tax sit with a chartered accountant; company secretarial and MCA matters with a company secretary; agreements and disputes with a lawyer. We tell you which desk your question belongs to and loop in the right specialist rather than stretching one.

Almost all of it — document collection, e-signing, portal filings, and review calls are online, and our metro desks handle anything needing a physical presence. A few regulators still require notarised or couriered originals, which we flag upfront.

We take over from wherever you are: a handover list of past returns, filing history, portal access, and books, then a short review to spot open items before we file anything. The review matters more than the transfer — it is where backlogs surface.

Every filing and opinion is reviewed by a qualified CA or CS. Intake and checklists may be digital, but specialists own document review and the final filing — nothing goes out without a professional sign-off.

Documents are collected through our own channels rather than open chat groups, access is limited to the team on your engagement, and we do not share your data with third parties beyond the filings themselves. Ask us for the specifics for your engagement and we will put them in writing.

The usual route is a Private Limited company with the foreign parent as shareholder, at least one resident director, and apostilled parent documents. Most sectors allow investment under the automatic route, with reporting to the RBI after allotment.

A holding company abroad can help with certain investors and customers, but it adds transfer pricing, FEMA, and round-tripping considerations that are expensive to unwind. Decide it with a tax view before you incorporate, not after.

Yes, under the overseas investment rules, with reporting to the RBI through your bank and an annual performance return for the foreign entity. The structure needs to be checked against the rules before money moves.

Cross-border payments generally need a declaration and, in many cases, an accountant certificate confirming the tax treatment before the bank processes the remittance. Treaty benefits often reduce withholding, but only with the right documents on file.

Export of services is zero-rated when the conditions on place of supply and receipt of convertible foreign exchange are met, so you can export under an LUT without paying tax. You still report these supplies in your returns.

Yes — non-resident and casual taxable persons have their own registration route, usually with an authorised signatory in India and advance tax deposited for the registration period. It is required before making taxable supplies, not after.

Indian registration only protects you in India, so exporters and SaaS businesses usually file in their main markets too, directly or through the Madrid system. Filing early in a key market is cheaper than buying the name back from a squatter.