STARTUP INDIA (DIPP) REGISTRATION
Startup means an entity, incorporated and registered in India
- As a Private Limited Company or Limited Liability Partnership or Registered as a Partnership Firm.
- With an annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 100 crores for any of the financial years since incorporation/registration.
- Working towards innovation, development or improvement or of products or processes or services, or if it is a scalable business model with a high potential of employment generation or wealth creation.
- An entity formed by splitting up or reconstruction of an existing business shall not be considered a ‘Startup’.
- Shall not be more than 10 years old for Startup recognition OR not incorporated before April 2016 to claim Tax Exemption certificate.
An entity shall cease to be a Startup,
- On completion of 10 years from the date of incorporation/registration.
- If its turnover for any previous year exceeds Rs. 100 crores
TRADEMARK REGISTRATION (IPR)
A Trademark distinguishes your goods or services from another same line business or your competitors and can take many forms; for example, words, slogans, logos, shapes, colors and sounds. By trademark registration, you own legal right to use the Brand name or Logo and can put restriction on others from using the same.
Trademark is registered for specific goods or services within individual subjects, known as classes. This should not be descriptive and must not include common surnames, geographical names, registered company names or anything implying royal patronage.
It is possible for others to register identical or similar marks as long as it is in a different, unconnected class. There are total 45 classes to choose for Trademark as per your activities. A Trademark can be registered under more than one class separate application for each class. Which benefits you to secure your brand name through all relevant classes.
COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION (IPR)
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, photograph, Painting, a speech, movies, songs, source code of a software program, the binary executable file, Website, Mobile App, and architecture.
Its registration with IPR Authority essentially ensures that any creative work cannot be copied without the permission of the author or creator. This allows the author to charge others for copying his work, or modifying it, or building on top of it. For example, downloading an image from Shutterstock and using it on your own website without purchasing or taking on rent is violating the copyright of Shutterstock. Shutterstock can file a suit against you to claim its value of the image.
By Registering your work, basically you wanted to protect your right over that and some sort of earning by letting it to others for using.
PATENT REGISTRATION (IPR)
A Patent is an exclusive set of rights granted by the Authority to the Applicant of an invention for a period of 20 years under the Patent Act in India.
Patent is a legal document, which gives an inventor the exclusive right to make, use, and sell an invention for a specified number of years.
What is patentable?
To qualify for a patent, the invention must meet three basic tests.
- First, it must be novel, meaning that the invention did not previously exist.
- Second, the invention must be non-obvious, which means that the invention must be a significant improvement to existing technology. Simple changes to previously known devices do not comprise a patentable invention.
- Finally, the proposed invention must be useful. Legal experts commonly interpret this to mean that no patent will be granted for inventions that can only be used for an illegal or immoral purpose.
DESIGN REGISTRATION (IPR)
The registration and protection of industrial designs in India is administered by the Designs Act , 2000 and corresponding Designs Rules , 2001 which came into force on 11th May 2001 repealing the earlier Act of 1911. The Design Rules, 2001 was further amended by Designs (Amendment) Rules 2008 and Designs (Amendment) Rules 2014. The last amendment in Designs Rules came in to force from 30th December, 2014, which incorporates a new category of applicant as small entity in addition to natural person and other than small entity.
IMPORT EXPORT CODE (IEC) REGISTRATION
IEC is known as many names such as importer exporter code, import export code, import export license, import export number, IE code, IEC license, IE license etc. In simple terms, IEC is a 10-digit code which is provided by DGFT required for import export transactions. You can take IE code in your personal name or company name.
An IEC number issued to applicant shall be valid for all its divisions/ units/ factories/ branches. IEC is valid for lifetime and there is no need to renew the same.
IEC registration is required by a person for exporting or importing goods. It is a 10-digit code which is issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). All businesses which are engaged in Import and Export of goods require registering Import Export Code. IE code has lifetime validity. Importers are not allowed to proceed without this code and exporters can’t take benefit of exports from DGFT, customs, Export Promotion Council, if they don’t have this code.
UDYOG AADHAR OR MSME REGISTRATION
MSMEs have been facing stress ever since the country entered a lockdown due to COVID-19. Businesses were shut, salaries delayed and cash crunch was a reality.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on May 13 announced measures to help support and revive the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) battered by the COVID-19 outbreak under Atmanirbhar Bharat package.
The measures taken by the Finance Ministry include,
- Rs 3 lakh crore of collateral-free automatic loans,
- Rs 20,000 crore subordinated debt for stressed MSMEs,
- Rs 50,000 equity infusion through fund of funds,
- MSME definition change; more widen
- Global tender restrictions upto Rs 200 crores as well as e-market linkages.
Now both manufacturing and servicing enterprises will be under one segment. Firms with less than Rs 1 crore investment and below Rs 5 crore turnover will be called micro entities while those with below Rs 10 crore investment and less than Rs 50 crore turnover will be small entities. Medium entities will be those with less than Rs 20 crore investment and turnover below Rs 100 crore.
EMPLOYEE PROVIDENT FUND (EPF) REGISTRATION
Every establishment in which 20 or more employees are working (whether employed directly or through contractor) shall comply the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme under The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
EPF Contribution on employee’s salary (Basic +DA+ Retaining Allowance) drawing up to Rs.15,000: -
- 12% of Basic (Include DA & retaining earnings if any) by Employee from his salary
- Equal Amount is i.e. 12% of Basic (Include DA & retaining earnings if any) by Employer's. Out this 12% of employer’s contribution, 8.33% diverted to Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) and 0.5% towards Employees' Deposit linked Insurance (EDLI) and balance towards EPF.
- Employer also pays 0.85% as EFP Admin fee and 0.01% as EDLI admin charges
In certain specified cases as applicable to industry EPF contribution rate apply 10% in both Employee and employer case.
EMPLOYEE STATE INSUARANCE (ESI) REGISTRATION
ESI Scheme is govern by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, implemented as per the ESI Act 1948.
The ESI Scheme applies to factories and other establishment's viz. Road Transport, Hotels, Restaurants, Cinemas, Newspaper, Shops, and Educational/Medical Institutions wherein,
- 10 or more workers (20 or more in some states) working and
- Drawing Salary/wages up to Rs.21,000/- per month.
ESI Corporation has extended the benefits of the ESI Scheme to the workers deployed on the construction sites located in the implemented areas under ESI Scheme w.e.f. 1st August, 2015.
ISO CERTIFICATION
ISO certification has been largely considered as a quality management tool which provides a kind of identity to company’s quality management system. It standardizes how businesses and organizations involved in commerce and industry manage information and processes. It simply means that organization has met certain requirements.
Some Important ISO Standards
- ISO 9001-Quality management (Basic)
- ISO 10012-Measurement management systems
- ISO 14001 – Environmental management
- OHSAS 18001 – Occupational Health & safety management
- ISO 20000-1 – Information technology management
- ISO 22000 – Standard for food safety
- ISO 27001 – Information media security system
It must be noted that ISO itself does not provide certification to the companies. Certification is done by the external bodies. It is very important that you choose recognized and credible certification body
FSSAI (FOOD LICENSE) REGISTRATION
FSSAI stand for Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. FSSAI license is mandatory before starting any food business. All the manufacturers, Marketing Company or Seller Packaging Food Products, must obtain a 14-digit registration or a license number which must be printed on food packages.
This step is taken by government to ensure that food products undergo certain quality checks, thereby reducing the instances of adulteration, substandard products and improve accountability of manufacturers.
3 Types of FSSAI registration - based on Turnover
- FSSAI Basic registration
- FSSAI State license
- FSSAI Central license
DIGITAL SIGNATURE (DSC)
Digital signatures use a certificate-based digital ID issued by an accredited Certificate Authority (CA) or Trust Service Provider (TSP), so, when you digitally sign a document, your identity is uniquely linked to
you, the signature is bound to the document with encryption, and everything can be verified using underlying technology known as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
Digital signature is stored in USB token which is a password-protected physical device Usage wise Types of Digital Signature:
- Class III Individual - uses for company registrations, IT Return E-filing, GST Return E-Filing, PF/ESI, etc.
- Class III Organizational- Uses for E-tendering and participating in E-Auctions
SHOP AND ESTABLISHMENT REGISTRATION (TRADE LICENCE)
A ‘Shop and Establishment Registration’ or popularly known as ‘Trade license’ in many States and ‘Gumasta License’ in Maharashtra.
Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 1958 was enacted to regulate the working hours, weekly/monthly off, payment of wages, terms and condition of employment, holidays, leave etc. of persons employed in shops, commercial establishments.
Trade license issuing authority varies state to state, therefore Rules and Regulations of Trade license varies state to state as per State Shops and Establishment act or Some other specific Act to regulate Shops and Establishments within the state and its process and documentation also varies slightly.
Every employer shall within 30 days from the date on which the establishment commences its work shall file statement together with fees to the Chief Inspector of the area concerned. In some state period for Registering may differ state to state.
Municipal Corporation or Local Authority is the concern department in the state/Locality to issue Trade License.
BARCODE REGISTRATION
A barcode is “A machine-readable code in the form of numbers and a pattern of parallel lines of varying widths, printed on and identifying a product.”
The lines and patterns on a barcode are actually representations of numbers and data and their development allowed basic information about a product to be easily read by an optical scanning device (a barcode scanner) and automatically entered into a computer system. This massively reduces the time to record products information and eliminates human data entry error.
Barcode systems help businesses and organizations track products, prices, and stock levels for centralized management in a computer software system allowing for incredible increases in productivity and efficiency.
DRUG LICENSE REGISTRATION
For any Individual/Corporate/Partnership Firms etc. it is mandatory to obtain a valid Drug Licence from concerned State Authorities (Drugs Control Department). The provisions for this have been made in Drugs and Cosmetic Act 1940 and Rules 1945 applicable in India.
basic pre-requisites for a Drug License
- Minimum area of the Office/Shop.
- Granted in the commercial premises or other premises independent of residence.
- Refrigerator or Air Conditioner on the premises.
- Needs to comply with the conditions of licence of the issuing Authority.
- Displayed at premises of business.
- A technical staff: - A registered pharmacist or competent person with same line experienced as approved by the Department if Drug Control.
Based on business type, an entity may require different types of drug license. For exact requirement and applicability, consult with our Consultant.
ISI MARK OR BIS CERTIFICATION
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards body of India, functioning under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Government of India. BIS has published more than 20000 Indian Standards (IS) and Priced Publications (PP) to ensure the quality of products, more than 400 new standards and 400 amendments are published.
The Product Certification Scheme of BIS (ISI Mark) aims at providing third-party guarantee of quality, safety and reliability of products to the ultimate customer.
Voluntary Certification: - Any manufacturer who feels confident enough that his product has the ability to meet the BIS standard can apply for product certification
Mandatory Certification: - Which is also known as Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS). While product certification is otherwise voluntary, the Government of India, on considerations of public health and safety, security, infrastructure requirements and mass consumption has enforced mandatory certification on various products through Orders issued from time to time under various Acts.
GST REGISTRATION
Goods and Services Tax is single tax combining VAT, CST, Service Tax, Excise duty, Entertainment Tax, etc. and has been applicable all over India since 1 July 2017. Rates of GST varies between 0% to 28%.
Registration of GST is mandatory if,
- Annual turnover exceeds Rs. 20 Lakhs ( Rs. 10 Lakhs in case of North Eastern States)
- Sale of Goods or Services outside your own state ( Iner-state)
- Running E-commerce Company
However, any business can take voluntary registration and claim input tax credit on purchases or Services taken by filing return. Here we mean to say Tax Refund on Purchases or Service Taken.
PROFESSIONAL TAX REGISTRATION
Professional Tax is a state-level tax that applies to salaried employees and professionals, including chartered accountants, lawyers and doctors. Business owners, working individuals, merchants and people carrying out various occupations comes under the purview of this tax.
State in which Professional Tax is applicable:
Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Orissa, Tripura and Madhya Pradesh.
Professional Tax Deduction Slab:
The maximum amount payable per annum towards professional tax is Rs. 2,500. It is deducted from his/her monthly salary by Employer or from Monthly Income in all other cases. Professional Tax deduction monthly slab varies depending on salary /income range and applicable state.
RWA/BUYERS ASSOCIATION REGISTRATION
Resident Welfare Association (RWA) is a civic body that represents interests of the residents living within the society or in specific locality.
RWA can be legally formed by group of Resident Owners. Basic requirement for registration slightly varies state to state.
With Minimum 7 Members within the state can apply for RWA registration with Jurisdictional Registrar Office. In many states Builder Apartment or Group housing society covered under state Apartment Act and therein Apartment Owners Association (AOA) can be formed. And in other cases, RWA can be formed. For Example, Noida Sector 34 Block C resident can form RWA as they are not in Group housing society and not covered by UP Apartment Act.
A Welfare Association under Society Registration Act 1860, can be formed at a) State Level with 7 members from same state or b) Central Level with 7 members from each states.
NON-GOVT. ORGANIZATION (NGO) REGISTRATION
The main purpose of the NGO is to promote non-profit objectives such as trade, commerce, arts, charity, education, religion, environment protection, social welfare, sports, research etc. The profits/ income of the company if any is also applied towards promoting the objectives of the company and are not distributed as a dividend to the shareholders. That is Why it is also termed as Not-for-Profit Origination.
NGOs raise money from donors, who may or may not receive tax breaks on their donations. In India, an NGO can be set up as a Trust, Section-8 company or a society.
FCRA REGISTRATION
Charitable Trusts, Societies, Section 8 Company that receive foreign contribution or donation from foreign sources are required to obtain registration under Section 6(1) of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010.
Such a registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 is called a FCRA registration. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining FCRA registration in India.
RBI FIRM REGISTRATION
Reserve Bank of India with the objective of introducing one Single Master Form (SMF) for all types of foreign investments in India introduced an online application, FIRMS (Foreign Investment Reporting and Management System). The registration under same has two phases i.e. Entity User Registration and Business User Register.
TRUST REGISTRATION
A Trust is registered and governed by Indian Trust Act, 1882. Income Tax Act, 1961, defines a Trust as “An arrangement by which property is handed over to or vested in a person, to use and dispose off for the benefit of another person”. Creation of a Trust can be broadly classified into two methods namely
- Public Trust (Charitable Trust); and
- Private Trust formation.
Simply, a trust is legally created body, wherein property is transferred from its owner to the trust for lawful purpose. Usually we hear the word trust for religion or charitable purpose; however, there is no such restriction. There are even sports academies also can be registered as trusts.
In India, even many societies are registered as a public charitable trust. Often, you’ll even hear of the wealthy creating private trusts; this is done because of the tax-efficient nature of the trust (because dividend distribution tax or minimum alternate tax do not apply). It is the easiest way to transfer than making a will.
PAN CARD APPLICATION
The PAN (Permanent Account Number) card is an important document for conducting even the simplest of financial transactions like opening a savings bank account or applying for a debit/credit card.
It is a 10-digit alphanumeric identity allotted by the income tax department to an individual, company, Firm, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), AOP, or any other person.
These days you can apply for PAN online, albeit partially. This is because once all the steps have been completed, you still have to send the acknowledgment receipt to National Securities Depository (NSDL) or UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITSL) - agencies authorized by the income tax department to facilitate PAN applications on its behalf.
PAN card become a primary document for many things like, opening a bank account, Buy/Sale of Immovable Property, Investment, Loans, Credit Card, Buy/Sale of Motor Vehicle etc. and in many cases PAN card is accepted as ID proof of individual.