A proprietorship/sole trading firm is a business that is owned and run by an individual person. The owner and the business are treated one and same. Proprietor is personally liable for all business debts i.e his personal property may also be used to repay business debts.

Proprietorships are not regulated by any particular Act, hence there is no registration. Every buiness needs registration under Shop & Establishment Act whether it is providing a service or dealing in goods. Other registrations such as GST etc depend upon nature of product/service.

TAN is Tax Deduction and Collection number which is needed if you are responsible for deducting tax at source on behalf of Income Tax Department. It is also quoted in various challans, returns etc. Not every proprietor is required to get a TAN unless it is required due to the nature of his business or profession. ClearTax expert will advise you if you need to obtain TAN.

The name of the firm should not contain any words which indicate the approval/support of the government unless the government has given its written consent for the use of such words as part of the firm’s name. The name of the firm can be reserved by getting trade mark registration.

Every Indian state has enacted certain rules and regulations with regard to conditions of work. The objective is to secure uniform benefits for employees working in different establishments, from shops, commercial establishments and residential hotels to restaurants, theatres and other places of public amusement or entertainment.

Every shop and establishment needs to register itself compulsorily under this Act within 30 days of commencement of work. As this is such a basic license, many other licenses require this as proof of a commercial business. For example, most banks will require you to furnish it if you want to open a current account.

Under the Shop and Establishment Act, every business has to seek approval from Department of Labour and keep up-to-date registers regarding details of employment, fines, deductions and advances, salary and holidays. The requirements may vary from state to state. Files related to annual holidays and number of employees need to be submitted to the office of the Municipal Corporation annually.

The service is state specific in case you need a shop license and will be rendered only in specific cities being Mumbai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Surat, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Pune and Delhi.

These are the government fees applicable for registration under Shop and Establishment Act. These depend on the state and the number of employees.

Andhra Pradesh

• 0 Employees: Rs. 30;
• 1 to 5 employees: Rs. 100;
• 6 to 10 employees: Rs. 200;
• 11 to 20 employees: Rs. 1000

Delhi

• 0 Employees: Rs. 5;
• 1 to 10 employees: Rs. 15;
• 10 to 25employees: Rs. 30;
• 25 and above employees: Rs. 50

Madhya Pradesh

• 0 Employees: Rs.100
• 1 to 3 employees: Rs.150;
• 3 to 10 employees: Rs. 200;
• More than 10 employees: Rs. 250

Maharashtra

• 0 employees: Rs. 100;
• 1 to 5 employees: Rs. 300;
• 6 to 10 employees: Rs. 600;
• 11 to 20 employees: Rs. 1000;
• 21 to 50 employees : Rs. 2000;
• 51 to 100 employees : Rs.3500;
• 101 or more: Rs. 4500

Goods and Services Tax(GST) is a comprehensive tax levied on manufacture, trade and services across India. From 1st July, 2017 GST has replaced most of Centre and State imposed indirect taxes like VAT, Service Tax , Excise etc. Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) is a 15 digits state-wise PAN-based number to be used to identify businesses registered under GST. Click here to know your GSTIN.

If you have multiple places of businesses in same state, you can get them all registered under a single GST registration application. Give the name of your registered business place as primary place of busienss, the other branches can be added as additional places of business at no additional cost. There is no limit on number of branches that you can add under a single GST registration application, provided all the branches are in same State.

Every registered person under GST needs to file GST returns for the period starting from the time he got registered or the date when GST got implemented(i.e 1st July)[WHICHEVER IS LATER] . If your business is registered in GST in August, you need to file return for period starting from 1st August, 2017.