A society is an association of several individuals combined using a mutual accord to deliberate, govern and act cooperatively for some communal purpose. Societies are usually registered for the advancement of charitable activities like sports, music, culture, religion, art, education, etc.
Society Registration, under, The Society Registration Act, in India, lays down certain procedures for the sake of society registration & operation. This act was implemented with the purpose of augmenting the legal stipulations of society registration for the advancement of literature, fine arts, science or distribution of awareness for bountiful purposes. The society registration act, 1860 has been accepted by several state governments without or with further amendments.
A society registration can be done for the development of fine arts, science, or literature or else for the diffusion of purposeful knowledge or charitable purposes of political education. According to section 20 of the Society Act, 1860, a society registration can be done for the following purposes:
A Society can be created by a minimum of 7 or more persons. Apart from persons from India, companies, foreigners, as well as other registered societies can also register for the Memorandum of association of the society.
Similar to Partnership firms, society can also be either unregistered or registered. But, only the registered societies will be able to withstand consigned properties and/or have an ensemble filed against or by the society.
Society registration is maintained by state governments. Thus, the application for society registration must be created to the specific authority of the state, where the registered office of the society is situated.
For Society registration, the establishing members must agree with the name of society first and then prepare for the Memorandum, followed by Rules & Regulations of the society.
When selecting a name for society registration, it is vital to understand that according to Society Act, 1860, an identical or similar name of a currently registered society will not be allowed. Moreover, the proposed name shall not suggest for any patronage of the state government or the government of India or fascinate the provisions of the Emblem & Names Act, 1950.
The Memorandum of Association of the society along with Rules & Regulations of society must be signed by every establishing member, witness by Gazetted Officer, Notary Public, Chartered Accountant, Oath Commissioner, Advocate, Magistrate first-class or Chartered Accountant with their official stamping and complete address.
The memorandum must contain the name of the society, the object of the society. Also, it consists of details of members of the society registration along with their names, addresses, designations, and occupations. The following document has to be prepared, submitted and signed for the sake of registration:
Following are the documents required for the Society Registration in India:
PAN Card: PAN card of all the members of the proposed society has to be submitted along with the application.
Residence Proof: The residence proof of all the members of the society also has to be submitted. The following can be used as valid residence proof:
Memorandum of Association: The memorandum of association has to be prepared which will contain the following clauses and information:
Rules & Regulations of the Society: The rules and regulations of the society also have to be prepared which will contain the following information:
Once the rules have been formed, they can be changed but the new set of rules will be signed by the President, Chairman, Vice President and the Secretary of the Society.
Covering letter: A covering letter mentioning the objective or the purpose for which the society is being formed will be annexed to the beginning of the application. It will be signed by all the founding members of the society.
Proof of Address: A copy of the proof of address where the registered office of the society will be located along with a NOC from the landlord if any has to be attached.
List of all the members: A list of all the members of the governing body has to be given along with their signatures.
Declaration: A declaration has to be given by the president of the proposed society that he is willing and competent to hold the said post.
All the above documents have to be submitted to the Registrar of Societies along with the requisite fees in 2 copies. On receiving the application, the registrar will sign the first copy as acknowledgement and return it while keeping the second copy for approval. On proper vetting of the documents, the registrar will issue an Incorporation Certificate by allotting a registration number to it.
The signed Rules & Regulations, as well as Memorandum, has to be filed with the concerned society or registrar of state with a mentioned fee. If the registrar is fulfilled with the society registration application, then they will certify that the society is registered.
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