This business registration checklist guide covers the registrations required to start a business in India, the order to do them in, and the trigger that makes each one compulsory. Before you trade you need the business itself and a PAN; GST, ESI, PF, Shops and Establishments and FSSAI each switch on at their own trigger, such as ₹20 lakh of service turnover for GST or 10 employees for ESI.
Which registrations are required to start a business in India?
Before you trade you need the legal entity and a PAN: incorporation for a company or LLP, a deed for a partnership, while a proprietor trades on their own PAN. Everything else has a trigger: turnover or inter-state sales for GST, premises and staff for state labour registrations, headcount for ESI and PF, food for FSSAI, and imports or exports for an IEC.
A useful way to plan is by stage rather than by law:
- Before you trade: the entity, its PAN, a TAN if you will deduct tax at source, and a bank account in the business name. In Maharashtra, a company or LLP also enrols for its own professional tax (PTEC).
- Before the first sale: GST if you will sell goods to another state or expect to cross the limit soon, FSSAI for any food business, and an IEC before your first import or export.
- Before the first hire: the state's Shops and Establishments filing and, in Maharashtra, professional tax registration to deduct tax from salaries.
- As you grow: ESI at 10 employees, PF at 20, GST once turnover crosses ₹20 lakh for services or ₹40 lakh for goods in most states.
- Worth doing early: Udyam registration, which is free on the government portal (Ofin can guide you through it), and a trademark application for your brand.
Worked example: a Mumbai startup's checklist in its first two years
The checklist grows with the business. A small services company in Mumbai starts with four items and adds GST, Shops and Establishments registration and ESI once it passes 10 employees and ₹20 lakh of turnover.
Example. Tidewave Analytics Private Limited, a made-up company, opens an office in Andheri with 4 employees and expects ₹15 lakh of service turnover in its first year. The checker lists, for now: company incorporation, PAN and TAN, a Shops and Establishments intimation in Form F, and professional tax (PTEC and PTRC). GST is listed for later, because ₹15 lakh is within the ₹20 lakh limit for services in Maharashtra.
| Stage | What the checklist adds | Trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1: 4 employees, ₹15 lakh turnover | Company, PAN and TAN, Form F intimation, PTEC and PTRC | Incorporation, first workers, salaries |
| Year 2: 12 employees, ₹26 lakh turnover | GST registration, Form A registration instead of Form F, ESI | Turnover above ₹20 lakh, 10 or more workers |
| Later: 20 employees | PF registration | 20 or more employees |
GST must then be applied for within 30 days of the day turnover crosses ₹20 lakh. The GST registration checker shows the limit for your state and the cases where GST is compulsory at any turnover.
Shops and Establishments and professional tax in Maharashtra
In Maharashtra, an establishment with fewer than 10 workers files an online intimation in Form F and gets a receipt in Form G. One with 10 or more applies for registration in Form A and should get its certificate in Form B within seven working days. The 2018 Rules prescribe no fee, only e-service charges.
You may see a limit of 20 workers quoted elsewhere. Maharashtra Ordinance VIII of 2025 set that figure from 1 October 2025, but it lapsed without being replaced by an Act, and a state government circular of 30 April 2026 still applies the intimation rule below 10 workers.
The Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Rules 2018 also require changes to the registration to be notified in Form I within 30 days, and a permanent closure to be reported in Form J (10 or more workers) or Form K (fewer than 10). Other states have their own Shops and Establishments Acts, so confirm the rules with that state's labour department.
Professional tax works on two tracks in Maharashtra. PTEC is the business's own tax of ₹2,500 a year, due by 31 March, for companies, LLPs, partners and GST-registered persons. PTRC is the employer registration for deducting professional tax from salaries. Other states set their own professional tax rules, and some levy none.
Licences needed for a new business in regulated activities
Beyond the general registrations, the licences you need depend on what you do. Food businesses need FSSAI, importers and exporters need an IEC, and many trades also need a municipal licence or a sector regulator's approval, which is worth confirming before you sign a lease.
- FSSAI. From 1 April 2026, basic registration covers food businesses with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore, a State licence covers turnover above ₹1.5 crore up to ₹50 crore, and a Central licence applies above ₹50 crore (FSSAI order of 13 March 2026). Importers and e-commerce food businesses need a Central licence at any turnover. The FSSAI licence type finder applies these rules.
- IEC. Compulsory for importing or exporting goods, unless you are exempt. Only one IEC is issued per PAN, it has permanent validity unless suspended or cancelled, and you must update it at least once a year and within 30 days of a change such as a new address or bank account (DGFT Handbook of Procedures, Chapter 2).
- Municipal licence. Some trades, such as eating houses in Mumbai, may need a licence from the municipal corporation. Check with your corporation before you open.
When do PF and ESI become compulsory for a new business?
Under the Code on Social Security 2020, in force from 21 November 2025, ESI is compulsory from 10 employees and PF from 20, in any industry. In notified hazardous occupations ESI applies from the first employee. Below these limits, both can be joined voluntarily if the employer and most employees agree.
- The PF wage ceiling rose from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 a month from 17 September 2026 (S.O. 5109(E)), so more employees must now be PF members.
- ESI covers employees earning up to ₹21,000 a month, and contributions start once ESIC provides benefits in your district.
- PF and ESI contributions for a month are due by the 15th of the next month.
The PF and ESI calculator works out both contributions for any salary.
What changed for new businesses in 2025 and 2026
Five changes matter for anyone starting out now: new MSME limits from 1 April 2025, faster GST registration under rule 14A from 1 November 2025, the Labour Codes from 21 November 2025, new small company limits from 1 December 2025 and new FSSAI thresholds from 1 April 2026.
- MSME limits. Micro means investment up to ₹2.5 crore and turnover up to ₹10 crore; small, up to ₹25 crore and ₹100 crore; medium, up to ₹125 crore and ₹500 crore. Check yours with the MSME classification calculator.
- GST rule 14A. An applicant whose output tax on supplies to registered persons will not exceed ₹2.5 lakh a month can get registration electronically within three working days after Aadhaar authentication (GST Council newsletter, October 2025).
- Small company. A private company with paid-up capital up to ₹10 crore and turnover up to ₹100 crore is a small company and files its annual return in Form MGT-7A, the form for small companies and OPCs.
- FSSAI. Licences and registrations granted from 1 April 2026 have no expiry while the annual fee is paid.
The 57th GST Council on 8 October 2026 also recommended a simpler registration route for small e-commerce sellers in states where they have no physical presence. That is a proposal until notified.
Common mistakes when registering a new business
Most problems come from registering too late after a trigger, or from assuming one registration covers another. Each registration has its own law, portal and deadline, and none replaces the others.
- Treating a proprietorship as unregistered. It has no registration of its own, so its GST, Udyam or Shops and Establishments records are what show the business exists.
- Staying on Form F after the 10th worker joins, instead of registering in Form A.
- Missing the PTEC payment of ₹2,500 due by 31 March.
- Forgetting the yearly IEC update, even when nothing has changed.
- Waiting for the year-end accounts to check the GST limit, when the 30 days run from the day turnover crosses it.
How Ofin Legal can help
Ofin Legal's private limited company registration from ₹8,999 includes PAN, TAN and PF and ESI registration. Add GST registration from ₹1,499 and professional tax registration from ₹7,899 when your checklist calls for them. If you have not chosen a structure yet, start with the business structure finder.
