Plain-English guides to registering, running and staying compliant as a business in India.
They are two separate permissions that people often mix up because both are “the licence for my shop”. A trade licence is issued by your municipal corporation or council under municipal law, and is about the activity carried on at the premises: whether that trade can be carried on there, and whether it is safe
Use ™ with any brand you are claiming as your trademark, whether or not you have applied. Use ® only after the Trade Marks Registry has registered the mark, and only on the goods or services it is registered for. Putting ® on a mark that is not registered in India is a false representation
The next TDS statement deadline is 31 October 2026, for the July to September quarter. After that come 31 January 2027 and 31 May 2027. These are the first statements filed under the Income-tax Act, 2025, so the form names have changed. What used to be 26Q is now Form 140, and 24Q is now
A tax audit is required in three situations. The first is a business whose turnover crosses ₹1 crore in the year, or ₹10 crore if it runs almost entirely on non-cash transactions. The second is a professional whose gross receipts cross ₹50 lakh. The third is a presumptive-scheme taxpayer who declares profit below the deemed
A company that has stopped trading, owes nothing and owns nothing can usually be closed by asking the Registrar to strike its name off, using Form STK-2. A company that still has assets to sell or debts it can pay in full goes through voluntary liquidation under section 59 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,
DPIIT recognition is the government’s confirmation that your business counts as a “startup” for the Startup India programme. Since February 2026 the test has been set by notification G.S.R. 108(E), which replaced the 2019 definition. The short version: an Indian private limited company, LLP, registered partnership firm or cooperative society that is under ten years
The startup tax holiday lets an eligible company or LLP deduct 100% of the profits of its eligible business for three consecutive years, chosen from its first ten years. Under the Income-tax Act, 1961 this was section 80-IAC, and most founders still call it that. From 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies, and
Starting a business in India comes down to three layers, done in order. First, choose a legal structure. Second, register that structure, if it needs registering. Third, take the registrations your activity triggers: tax, labour, state and sector. Most of the delays people complain about come from doing these out of order, for example signing
If you run a small business alone or with one or two others, the real choice is usually between three forms: a sole proprietorship, a partnership firm and a limited liability partnership (LLP). The first two are cheap and quick to start but leave your personal savings exposed to the business’s debts. The LLP costs
A company can move its registered office from one state to another, but it is the most involved of the registered office changes because it alters the memorandum and moves the company to a different Registrar of Companies. It needs four things in sequence: a special resolution of the shareholders, a public notice and notice
