How to Open Your Own Business in India

Opening a business in India involves a long and tedious process of registration with various bureaucratic agencies, but many entrepreneurs see untapped profit potential in this burgeoning economy. Gaining an understanding of how to open your own business in India can help you to navigate the maze of red tape required to set up shop.

Suggestions

1. Register your company name with the Registrar of Companies (ROC). Names must be unique and must appropriately convey the purpose of the business. Submit your name application online on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) website, where it will pass through several clerks for approval before being posted on the website as approved. It is your responsibility to regularly check the website or call the ROC to ascertain the status of your application.
2. Obtain approval for your articles of association, a certificate of incorporation, and a company seal. Obtain a stamp for your articles of association at an authorized bank. Submit the stamped articles, along with a registration fee and other required documents, to the ROC and await issuance of a certificate of incorporation. A company seal will be required if you plan to offer shares of stock.
3. File for a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Tax Account Number. A PAN is required for the tax purposes, and can be obtained from an agent or franchise appointed by National Securities Depository Services Limited (NSDSL). A TAN is required for the submission of income taxes, and can be obtained from the Assessing Office of the Mumbai Income Tax Department.
4. Register for value added tax (VAT) and profession tax with the Sales Tax Officer in your local ward. VAT is a consumption tax passed on to consumers, while profession tax is a essentially a tax on doing business, and is required for all non-government entities.
5. Obtain medical insurance to cover employees and guests on your premises. Medical insurance is nationalized in India, and is required for all businesses. This step can take from as little as three days to over a week to complete.
6. Register with the Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) if you employ more than twenty people. The EPFO is concerned with ensuring the proper reporting of workforce sizes for purposes of tax accounting. According to doingbusiness.org, this registration cannot be completed online, and must be done in person or via mail.

Tips

• Foreign companies opening a branch or subsidiary in India must undergo even more stringent formation requirements. According to reuters.com, firms must obtain approval from a number of agencies before the process can even begin. Follow the link at the end of this article for a list of approval requirements.
• Numerous documents must be filed with the various agencies at each step mentioned above. Follow the link at the end of this article to find a complete listing of document requirements at doingbusiness.com, and always contact each agency to obtain up to date filing requirements before submitting anything.

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