NOT Easy to Do Business
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| # | Submitted | User | IP address | It was | Sector / Industry | State / UT | City | Response-time of officials | Number of documents to be submitted | Availability of information about the process | Overall Rating | It was an attempt to | Other | The problem was | Other cause | Details of experience | Advice for others(desc) | Share my story with | Name | Contact no | Privacy Policy | Contact me | Display it | |
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| 74 | 16 Dec 2016 - 11:39 | Prashant | 49.204.110.82 | Not Easy to Do Business | IT | Maharashtra | Mumbai | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | Register the business | Corrupt officials who asked for bribes |
1) Bribe to complete registration of proprietorship. Didn't have to give bribe for registration of private limited company thankfully. 2) No clarity on taxes. For example, when you pay someone for a service, you have to cut 10% TDS. Now, if that person is Amazon and they are a MNC with offices in India and you pay them for their servers - do you deduct TDS? Amazon wants full payment. I talked to a dozen CAs and even a friend of mine in Indian Revenue Service, all of them had no clue. But they suggested me to pay the TDS just to be safe. So I had to pay Amazon the full amount and then 10% on top of that to Dear Govt of India. 100s of scenarios like this with no clarity. 3) Investment laws are a mess. Angel investments go straight into books of account as income and are taxed. God help you if you ever receive a FDI, I finally returned the money to the investor (it was 5 lakhs), as the amount of running around I had to do was not worth it for that small amount. 4) Terrible legal system- it's effectively a joke. An acquisition for one of my products fell through because the acquirer didn't want to make disputes subject to Indian jurisdiction in the contract because, in his own words, "the Indian legal system isn't held in very high regard here (Australia)" 5) High cost of doing businesses. My gateway charges a 5% premium (so 3%+5%) for Indian businesses, because of the increased costs of operation. So, while an American company can charge only 3%, I have to settle for 8%. So many other small little things - it's like death by a thousand cuts. |
It's a tough road, starting and conducting business in India. Be prepared for a lot of hardships. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | - | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 80 | 16 Dec 2016 - 14:53 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Marketing | Andhra Pradesh | Hyderabad | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 | Register the business |
I own a digital marketing agency and run a small cafe in Hyderabad. We offer premium web services, branding, content creation (including promo videos, blogs, etc) and PPC management for e-commerce clients and product companies who want a premium look and feel. This is my primary business. Starting the business wasn't an issue at all. Andhra Pradesh is very conducive when it comes to start-ups, so I didn't have too much of an issue, though I did hire a CA to look after the process. Overall, didn't really have any problems. |
Keep all your documents in order, right from the time you think about starting a business- address proofs, credit records, etc. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | - | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||||
| 9 | 5 Oct 2016 - 20:48 | Anonymous (not verified) | 116.202.34.98 | Easy to Do Business | ENTERTAIN&ENT | Uttarakhand | DEHRADUN | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business | Ten years of script writing and struggling got me nowhere yet | Keep writing and reading. Work and earn to achieve your dreams. | Media | PRATEEQUE OJHA | 9760320068 | prateequeo@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |||
| 5 | 23 Aug 2016 - 17:51 | Anonymous (not verified) | 60.254.110.86 | Not Easy to Do Business | Health Tech Company | Delhi | New Delhi | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | Get credit | Corrupt officials who asked for bribes | Tax Scrutiny notice came over with standard 30 pointer across the industry irrespective of whether things were applicable to us or not. After submitting a big bunch of documents, another requirement came over with 20 additional points which was not relevant to us. We appeared 5-6 times in order to settle the case and finally we had to carry 20 files and folders with us to show them few invoices of their consent. Then we needed something else to close the case as he was not able to find any fault in records. |
Keep your accounts updated with all documents supporting for all major expenses Audit should be done in detail and with proper annexures Proper approvals from Directors on major Capex & Opex expenses Tax Audit should be properly documented |
Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9910128627 | finance@pharmasecure.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | ||
| 57 | 9 Dec 2016 - 17:05 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Laundry | Maharashtra | Mumbai | 3/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 |
Register the business Get permits and licenses under environmental laws Get registration and licenses under labour laws Pay taxes File returns under labour laws, environmental laws, tax laws, etc. |
Can’t find information | There is no guide book which can direct you to do things. The procedures and processes are complicated. This leads to unnecessary waste of time and a hole in your pocket. The laws are confusing and one has to research a lot beforehand. | Kindly do a good research of what all is required and where you can get them, it might help. Hiring a lawyer or an expert is utmost advised. | Both | Akshay Karkhanis | 9930754656 | mailaku.akshay@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | ||
| 44 | 23 Nov 2016 - 19:41 | Anonymous (not verified) | 112.110.25.51 | Not Easy to Do Business | Skill Development | Delhi | New Delhi | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 |
Trade outside state/ country Other |
Getting due payments cleared from the Government | Delay by the department even though I completed the procedure | Central government does not pay to the states and the state government does not pay to the service provider. And eventually when this happens state government officials seek undue advantages. | Let's gather and raise our voices. It may affect our businesses temporarily buy now that Modi government at the Centre is working selflessly, things can be expected to get better. | Both | Varun Gaba | 8800394950 | Profeasion.gaba@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |
| 52 | 8 Dec 2016 - 14:14 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Education | Uttar Pradesh | Meerut | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 |
Register the business Acquire land Register property |
The overall process of getting the registration and acquiring land for setting up a small unit that manufactures stationary was quite simple. I did not have to pay any bribe, though the waiting time was a little more than required. The office in Meerut was filled with people filing registration requests for the textile industry. Since I filed under a different department, my process was a little more smooth and streamlined. It took me a week to get my registration completed, and a another week and a half to get the land clearances completed. The location already had electricity and water connection, so we didn't apply for new connections. The officials, however, behaved as if they were doing us a big favour. They were just doing their job, but still had a bit of an ego about it. I did not appreciate that. |
Make sure what sector you're applying in, it makes things much easier. Also, carry all necessary documents. Having a CA helps. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | - | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||||
| 83 | 16 Dec 2016 - 16:59 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Property | Delhi | Noida | 3/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | Register property | They keep asking me to submit some new document every time | Tranferring a property is perhaps the most painstaking procedure one can go through. I tried to transfer a property to my name, but it took me two months of waiting and running around to get it done. Unfortunately, that too they misspelled my name, but I'm not going through that hell ever again! It's very cumbersome and tiring. | Make sure you spell your name right. | Media | Divyansh Pandey | - | dpandey26@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 84 | 16 Dec 2016 - 17:08 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Clothing | Maharashtra | Pune | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | Register the business | Can’t find information |
In short, it was a nightmare. I tried to start a clothing brand late last year, thinking that I would conduct a fair business in Pune. I wanted to register my company legally, and pay my taxes duly, irrespective of how my business went. But after going through this procedure, I realised why people don't take the white route! It takes a ton of time to get everything sorted, and more so to roll out. Getting clearances from these babus was one thing, and sustaining the business entirely another. It seems like they have all the time in the world to harass us, but not to help us. I am thoroughly disillusioned with the state of the business sector in this country. Though my business is fairly successful now, I can never forget the hell I have been through to make it till here. I can only hope it is the not the same for others. |
Make sure you're wearing running shoes to the government offices, and try and keep a CA handy. | Senior Department Officials | Kavya | 9649860773 | kavvya.t@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 82 | 16 Dec 2016 - 16:26 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | IT | Delhi | New Delhi | 3/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 |
Register the business Trade outside state/ country |
Can’t find information |
I started an IT firm, but it fizzled out within two months. I shortly left the country, and am currently working in San Francisco. Here are the reasons why it didn't work out, and probably never will: 1) Over-demanding yet non-competent talent pool. Bad work ethics. So many graduates, but none employable. In contrast, in Phillipines, you have technically qualified people with no degrees who have tons of freelance work to show as their experience. 2) One employee stole our circuit designs and disappears. Another faked his qualifications. Another got run over while transporting one of our items, we gave compensation to his family but couldn't find the culprit. Installed cameras in trucks where between each state- the police ended up demanding something from truckers! 3) Accounting is really confusing and messy. Border between legal and illegal is very very thin. One of my over enthusiastic employee bribed the customs official and later asked for compensation from the company - imagine what kind of accounting magics you can employ to cover it up among extremely ambiguous and contradictory laws ? Most accountants are part time money launderers. If you are an honest soul, this country isn't for you- sorry, no other way to put it! 4) We imported materials. Customs took items worth double digit lakhs as hostage for stupid reasons. Not much problems in Phillipines or Indonesia. Don't even want to begin talking about the pain we had to go through to export stuff! 5) Clients (read: Scammers) who don't pay, drying up our cash flow. Our clients were renowned businesses in India. 6) Suppliers who take money upfront and don't deliver (read: scammers 2.0). Also renowned businesses in India. 7) Government tenders - bribes, very short notice, unrealistic conditions, money hold up. They expect us to maintain their servers when they don't even have electricity, and blame us for the results of this power outage despite giving recommendations to buy a backup generator. When will babus know the difference between IT and power companies ? 9) Insurance guys who had weird clauses only found in this country. Never trust them - this includes government insurance companies who expect something for validating claims 10) Regulations, Licenses, Permits, Certificates (read: babudom and bribery). Documentation and paperwork is cumbersome and demotivating. 11) Venture Capitalists don't have much funds (compared to Singapore or Canada), inexperienced and hate anything about hardware or technology based businesses (probably they are aware of how risky it was to start in India) - will only prefer e-commerce intermediaries and IIT mafias. The amounts they are willing to invest was less than what I saved working for 3 months in the West. |
Move elsewhere, India isn't the place to do business. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | - | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes |