• A NGO or Non Profit Organisation is an entity that operates for promotion of art, science, sports, education, research, social welfare, religion, charity, protection of environment or any such other object.
• In India, an NGO can be registered as any of the three structures being Company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013(section 25, companies act 1956), Trust or Society.
• Section 8 Company format of a NGO is most popular form of NGO in India. It is easy to register, run or manage a Section 8 Company in comparison of a Trust and a Society.

The key characteristics of an NGO section 8 company are:

• Object: *It operates for common welfare of masses at large, for promotion of commerce, art, science, sports, education, research, social welfare, religion, charity, protection of environment or any such other object.
• Profit Earning: *The objective is not to earn profit. If any profit is earned during course of its operation, the same is not to be shared among owners/members rather utilised for attaining the objects for which NGO was formed.
• Utilisation of funds and earnings: *The profits, if any, or other income is used towards promoting of specific objects of NGO. Further there is restriction on declaration of profits as dividend to members.

• Minimum two shareholders;
• Minimum two Directors (Directors and shareholders can be same person);
• At least one Director shall be resident in India;
• No Minimum capital required;
• Income-tax PAN is a mandatory requirement in case of Indian nationals;
• Any one of the Identity Proof (Voter ID/Aadhar Card/Driving License/Passport); Passport is mandatory requirement for proof of identity in case of foreign nationals;
• Any one Proof of Residence (Electricity Bill/Telephone Bill/Mobile Bill/Bank Statement);
• Registered Office address proof (rent agreement along with latest rent receipt and copy of latest utility bill in the name of landlord and a no objection certificate from the owner of the premises, in case the premises are rented);In case the premises are owned by a Director and Promoters, any documents establishing the ownership such as Sale Deed/House Tax receipt etc along with the no objection certificate.

Multiple forms need to be filed to apply for license. The most important form is eForm INC 12 (for issuance of license under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013). This application shall be accompanied by:

• Memorandum & Articles of Association of the proposed company;
• A declaration confirming the application by a Company Secretary in Practice on the Non – Judicial stamp paper of prescribed value;
• List of names, descriptions, addresses & occupation of the promoters as well as Board Members of the proposed company;
• A statement showing details of assets and liabilities of the company as on date with the application;
• An estimate of future annual income and expenditure of the proposed company, specifying the source of income and object of expenditure;
• A statement giving brief description of work, if any, already done by the association;
• A statement specifying briefly the grounds on which the application is made;
• A declaration in prescribed form on non – judicial stamp paper by each person making an application;
• A letter of authority;
• Payment of prescribed fee Looks like too much effort? The whole process will be carried out online. You just need to upload the required documents on our encrypted Document vault and our experts will take care of all formalities for you.

Digital Signature is the only secure and authentic way that a document can be submitted electronically. All filings of e-forms on MCA Portal are required to be filed with the use of Digital Signatures by the person authorised to sign the documents.

Under the plan you can obtain 2 class II digital signatures along with E-token, having a validity of 2 years.

In Expert'se, you already have a DSC, our experts will offer you some concession accordingly on the above package

In India, NGOs can be registered as Section 8 Company, trust or society. While, Trusts and Societies are registered under State Government regulations, section 8 companies are registered under Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Forming a section 8 company is prefered due to following reasons: Improved recognition Better legal standing. Higher credibility amongst donors, Government departments and other stakeholders. Relaxation from a number of companies act regulations

Yes, you need a minimum of two directors for a section 8 company registration.

Any individual/organization can become the member of Section 8 Company including foreigners/NRI’s.

The entire procedure is 100% online and you don’t have to be present at our office or any other office for incorporation. A scanned copy of documents has to uploaded on document vault and our experts will carry out all registration formalities for you.

The incorporation process gets completed on obtaining the license and issue of incorporation certificate under section 8 of Companies Act 2013, (earlier section 25 of Companies act 1956). The whole process of company incorporation can be closed less than 15 days. The time taken also depends on relevant documents provided by the applicant and speed of approvals from government. To ensure speedy registration, please pick a unique name for the proposed Company and make sure you have all the required documents prior to starting the registration process.

In addition to registration, a non-profit engaged in certain activities might also require special license/permission. Some of these include (but are not limited to):

• A place of work in a restricted area (like a tribal area or a border area requires a special permit – the Inner Line Permit – usually issues either by the Ministry of Home Affairs or by the relevant local authority (i.e., district magistrate).
• To open an office and employ people, the NGO should be registered under the Shop and Establishment Act.
• To employ foreign staff, an Indian non-profit needs to be registered as a trust/society/company, have FCRA registration and also obtain a No Objection Certificate. The intended employee also needs a work visa.
• A foreign non-profit setting up an office in India and wanting staff from abroad needs to be registered as a trust/society/company, needs permission from the Reserve Bank of India and also a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of External Affairs.
• Under this plan ClearTax will help you register your NGO as a section 8 company. Our customer support will help you connect with an expert who shall advise you on applicability of other registration required. The additional registrations services(such as shop & establishment act registration etc) shall not form part of the plan and will be charged separately.

Below are the charges applicable for DIN, DSC and other government forms:

• DIN-Director Identification Number (2 Nos): Rs.1000
• DSC-Director Identification Number(2 Nos): Rs.2000
• RUN Form (Name Approval): Rs.1000
• INC 12 Form (Registration under section 8): Rs. 2000
• AoA-Article of Association: Rs.1000 (up to Rs.10 lakh of authorized capital)
• MoA-Memorandum of Association: Rs.5000

In the current package, we cover upto 2 digital signatures for two directors. For two additional shareholders, you need to secure two additional digital signatures certificates. We offer digital signature certificate - Click hereto purchase digital signature

To bring in additional director, you need to secure digital signature (DSC ).

• Click here to purchase digital signature

Only passport of the foreign director is required. In some countries, residency certificate will be provided. These need to be submitted for the application. Any incidental charges here is not covered in the package.

To bring in additional director, you need to secure two digital signatures (DSC)

• Click here to purchase digital signature

If the individual is residing outside India at the time of the application, then he or she needs to get the PAN, Aadhaar, current address (in the country of residence), permanent address attested by Indian embassy in that country. Any incidental charges here is not covered in the package.