India has seen a sudden spike in the number of new businesses and startups coming up in the past decade. The country has also been ranked amongst the top 3 startup ecosystems in the world by several industry bodies including NASSCOM. In order to further boost the ecosystem and develop a culture of entrepreneurship in the country, the government launched the Startup India Program a little over a year ago. The program is designed to help startups grow into profitable large businesses and the government has been encouraging ventures to register themselves under the Startup India Program. There are, however, few things that you should keep in mind while registering your startup under Startup India Program.

Incorporation of Business

The first step is to incorporate the business as per the usual procedure which will include obtaining necessary certifications and required compliances. Just keep in mind that the business should be registered as a Private Limited Company, Registered Partnership or a Limited Liability Partnership.

Register with Startup India Program

You can then register your venture with the Startup India Program by logging onto the website and filling a simple form online along with uploading the required documents.

Necessary Documents

While registering your startup the following documents will be required to be uploaded in PDF format.

Recommendation Letter / Support Letter

The following letters qualify as the letter of recommendation / supply and any one of them could be submitted:

A recommendation certifying the innovation in the nature of business from an incubator established in a post graduate college in India or any incubator recognized by Government of India, in the format specified by DIPP

A letter of support by an incubator funded by the Government of India or a State Government in relation to the project as part of any specified scheme to promote innovation

A letter confirming funding of 20% or more in equity by an incubation fund / angel fund / private equity fund / accelerator / angel network that is duly registered with SEBI and endorses the innovation in the nature of the business

Letter of funding by the Government of India or a State Government as part of any specified scheme to promote innovation

Letter of recommendation from industry association recognized by DIPP (refer the website)

Patent filed and published in the Journal by the India Patent Office in areas affiliated with the nature of business being promoted

The list of recognized incubators and list of SEBI registered funds are published on the Startup India portal

• Certificate of Incorporation / Registration

• A brief description of your startup

A brief description of your startup with a focus on highlighting the innovation in the nature of your business will need to be submitted

Requirement for tax benefits

If you want to avail income tax exemption for 3 years as per the Startup India Program, you will be required to get it certified by the Inter-Ministerial Board (IMB). However, IPR related benefits can now be directly availed by startups that are recognized by DIPP without a certificate from IMB

Self-Certification

You will be required to self-certify your startup for the following:

1. Registration as a Private Limited Company, Partnership Firm or Limited Liability Partnership
2. A turnover below 25 crore per annum
3. Incorporation of the business in India not before 5 years
4. The venture should be a new entity and not an offshoot of an existing business
5. Innovation – either a new innovation or significant improvement to an existing technology

6. Recognition Number

A recognition number will be generated when these steps will be completed on the Startup India portal. Verification of all the documents will be done once submitted. In case of any discrepancies or if any documents are missing, you will be fined 50% of the paid up capital of the startup, a minimum fine of Rs.25,000

7. Registration of Patents, trademark

You can register a patent for an innovation or a trademark for your business through any of the government approved facilitators and paying just the statutory fee, i.e. paying only 20% of the fee.

Source: mybigplunge