Post Incrporation Services

All those, who are planning to enter the business world, need to understand the provisions of Shop and Establishment Act in India. Registration under the Shop and Establishment Act is mandatory for most businesses and since this is the first step towards the promising business world, we have tried to cover the basics of the same.

Shop and Establishment Act is covered under state legislation and each state has framed its own rules and regulations for the same. Since rules are framed by the state government, obviously, rules will differ from state to state and hence rules for the state in which registration is to be obtained needs to be followed.

Applicability of Shop and Establishment Act
Broadly, all shops, hotel, eating house, restaurant, theatres, place of public amusement or establishment and other commercial establishment etc. are covered under the Shop and Establishment Act and are required to obtain registration under the same.

The main objective of the Act is to protect the rights of both employer and employee. The Shop and Establishment Act generally regulates payment of wages, hours of work, terms of service, wages for holidays, leave policy, work conditions, overtime work, interval for meals and rest, prohibition for employment of children, employment of young persons or women, maternity leave and benefits thereof, opening and closing hours, closed days, weekly holiday, dismissal, cleanliness, lighting and ventilation, fire safety and precautions, accidents, record keeping, etc.

Shop and Establishment Act Registration
Establishment covered under the Act must apply for registration, within 30 days from the date of commencement of establishment, in prescribed form along with prescribed fees. Shop and Establishment Act is governed by labour department of the state and generally registration application is to be submitted to local district labour officer. If the concerned officer is satisfied with the application he/she will issue Shop and Establishment Act registration certificate. As mentioned earlier, application procedure would differ from state to state, however, basic details to be provided at the time of applying for registration are as under:

• Name and address of the establishment
• Name of the employer
• PAN of establishment
• Address proof
• Sale deed or rent agreement
• Category of establishment
• Number of employee
• Details of employee
• ther relevant details as called for

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Registration Under Five central Labour Act viz. EPF/ESI/CLRA/BOCW/ISMW is being provided under ‘Ease of Doing Business’ initiative of Government of India. The Online Registration and Licensing facility on Shram Suvidha Portal is developed to facilitate Establishments, Contractors, Employers or Principal Employers to submit application for Registration/License under Labour Laws Online i.e, CLRA Act, EPF Act, ESI Act, BOCW Act, ISMW Act etc. This is the official portal of Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India with objective of single window access for Registration or Licensing related services of Employers/Establishments and other stakeholders.

For most of the entities, ESI and PF, PT registrations are to be required.

Employee State Insurance (ESI): Any factory or establishment employing 10 or more persons drawing wages of less than Rs.21,000 per month on an average must obtain ESI registration and comply with ESI regulations. We will assist and ensure compliance under ESI regulations including monthly and annually returns fillings.

Provident Fund (PF): Provident Fund is applicable for all employers in India having more than 20 employees. Employers required to comply under PF regulations must deduct PF from employees, make the requisite contribution and file PF returns. We will assist with PF compliance.

Professional Tax (PT): Professional Tax is a tax levied by the State government. Professional tax is levied on income however earned in any trade and is usually paid by the employer. We will assist and ensure compliance under the relevant State Professional Tax regulations.

All entities involved in buying or selling goods or providing services or both are required to register for GST. Entities without GST registration would not be allowed to collect GST from a customer or claim an input tax credit of GST paid and/or could be penalised. Further, registration under GST is mandatory once an entity crosses the minimum threshold turnover of starts a new business that is expected to cross the prescribed turnover.

GST Turnover Limit
There are various types of GST registration and some types of entities like casual taxable persons, non-resident taxable persons or persons supplying through eCommerce operators are required to mandatorily obtain GST registration irrespective of turnover limit. The GST turnover limit for regular GST registration for service providers and goods supplier is provided below. As per notification No.10/2019 any person who is engaged in the exclusive supply of goods whose aggregate turnover crosses Rs.40 lakhs in a year is required to obtain GST registration.

Aggregate Turnover:  Aggregate turnover = (Taxable supplies + Exempt Supplies + Exports + Inter-State Supplies) – (Taxes + Value of Inward Supplies + Value of Supplies Taxable under Reverse Charge + Value of Non-Taxable Supplies).

Aggregate turnover is calculated based on the PAN. Hence, even if one person has multiple places of business, it must be summed to arrive at the aggregate turnover.

Voluntary GST Registration
Any person or entity irrespective of business turnover can obtain GST registration at any-time. Hence, GST registration is obtained by many businesses in spite of not reaching the aggregate turnover limit. Some of the main reasons for obtaining voluntary GST registration are:

• To improve the business credibility
• To satisfy the requirements of B2B customers
• To claim input tax credit benefits

GST Registration Responsibilities
Entities registered under GST have various responsibilities and compliance requirements from time to time. Failure to comply with the GST regulations or compliance requirements can lead to penalties and revocation of GST registration by the authorities. Some of the main responsibilities of a person registered under GST include:

• Collecting and remitting GST amount from customers
• Issuing proper GST invoice as per the GST rules and regulations
• Filing GST returns whenever due based on turnover – even if there is no turnover or business activity
• FIling annual GST return
• Maintaining all records pertaining to GST for a period of 8 years

What We Do

1. Advice on applicability of GST and picturing the GST scenario.
2. GST Registration
3. Setting up the books of accounts , invoice format and suggest the suitable software to be GST compliant
4. Maintaining books of Accounts, credit ledger, reconciliation etc.
5. Filling monthly, quarterly and Yearly returns.

Trademark, Copyright and patents are three forms which are mainly considered as Intellectual Property of any business.

Trade Mark: A trademark is a visual symbol, which may be a word, name, device, label or numerals used by a business to distinguish it goods or services from other similar goods or services originating from a different business. A registered trademark is an intangible asset or intellectual property for a business and is used to protect the company’s investment in the brand or symbol. A trademark is registrable if it is distinctive for the goods and services you provide. Proposed trademarks that are similar or identical to an existing registered trademark cannot be registered. Also, trademarks are not registrable if it is offensive, generic, deceptive, not distinctive, contains specially protected emblems, etc.,

Trademarks in India are registered by the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Trademarks are registered under the Trademark Act, 1999 and provide the trademark owner with a right to sue for damages when infringements of trademarks occur. Once a trademark is registered, R symbol can be used and the registration will be valid for 10 years. Registered trademarks nearing expiry can be easily renewed by filing a trademark renewal application for a period of another 10 years.

Copy Right : Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection like trademark and patents. A copyright is a legal right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. Copyright give the owner of the work certain safeguard to ensure the intellectual work is protected and creativity is rewarded. Copyright includes a bundle of right like the rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work.

In India, Copyrights are registered under The Copyright Act, 1957. The Copyright Act, 1957 protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and cinematography films and sound recordings from unauthorized uses. However, ideas, procedures, methods of operation or mathematical concepts cannot be copyrighted. Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematography films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work.

Patent: Patent is an exclusive right for an invention provided by the law for a limited time to the Patentee. By patenting an invention, the patentee is able to control the making, using, selling or importing of the patented product or process for producing that product without his/her consent. For an invention to be patentable in India, the invention must be a new product or process, involving an inventive step and capable of being made or used in an industry. Patent registrations have a validity of 20 years from the date of filing of patent application, irrespective of whether it is filed with provisional or complete specification.

Patent registration applications are handled by the The Patent Office, Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks. Patent applications can be filed electronically with provisional or complete specification, at the appropriate Patent Office.

What We Do

1. Prior consultation to registration. Clarifies the advantages, time frame and cost involved in getting it registered.
2. Preparation of documents for registration
3. Filling the application
4. Checking the status and filling the responses to authority.
5. Getting the registration done.
6. Guiding our clients on how and where to take the benefits.