Sole Proprietorship Registration in India
Number of members
Proprietorship requires one person only.
Proprietor
He must be an Indian Citizen and a resident of India. Prior approval of Government of India is required for non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin to invest in a Proprietorship.
Documents to start a Proprietorship
PAN card of the Proprietor
ID and address proof of Proprietor
Municipal License
Rent agreement or Building tax receipt in the name of office building
Utility bill of office
Capital Required
A Proprietorship can start with any amount of capital. There is no limit on the minimum amount of capital.
Opening a Bank Account
PAN card along with ID and address proof of Proprietor
According to RBI KYC norms, any two of the following is mandatory for opening a bank account :
Registration certificate (in the case of a registered concern)
Certificate/licence issued by the Municipal authorities under Shop & Establishment Act,
Sales and income tax returns
CST/VAT certificate
Certificate/registration document issued by Sales Tax/Service Tax/Professional Tax authorities
Licence issued by the Registering authority like Certificate of Practice issued by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Cost Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, Indian Medical Council, Food and Drug Control Authorities, registration/licensing document issued in the name of the proprietary concern by the Central Government or State Government Authority/ Department, etc. Banks may also accept IEC (Importer Exporter Code) issued to the proprietary concern by the office of DGFT as an identity document for opening of the bank account etc.
The complete Income Tax return (not just the acknowledgement) in the name of the sole proprietor where the firm's income is reflected, duly authenticated/ acknowledged by the Income Tax Authorities.
Utility bills such as electricity, water, and landline telephone bills in the name of the proprietary concern.
These documents should be in the name of the proprietary concern.
Name of proprietorship
There isn’t any separate registry or regulating authority for the registration of the name of business. Therefore, any name can be adopted by a proprietorship which do not infringe on registered trademarks. As there is no separate regulation, Trademark registration of the business name is the only way to prevent use of this name by other businesses.
Partners or Investors in a Proprietorship
The whole business of Proprietorship are owned, controlled and managed by one person, called, Proprietor. So no persons can be admitted into or become investors into a Proprietorship.
Transfer of Proprietorship to another person
A proprietor cannot transfer its business to another person wholly. Through sale, he can transfer only its assets to another person, other intangible assets cannot be transferred.
No separate legal entity
There will be no separate legal identity for the business. The Proprietorship and business are treated as one and same. All assets, liabilities, PAN card, etc. will be one and same for proprietorship and proprietor.
Audit
Preparation of audited financial statement every year is not mandatory for proprietorship. However, tax audit attracts based on turnover and other criterion.
Conversion into a Company or LLP
A proprietorship can be converted into a company or LLP at a later date. But the process of such conversion is very complex, expensive and time consuming.