NOT Easy to Do Business

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#(asc) 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 Share my story with Name Contact no Email Privacy Policy Contact me Display it
77 Prashant 203.122.16.122 Not Easy to Do Business Manufacturing SME Delhi Noida 2/5 1/5 1/5 2/5 Register the business
Pay taxes
Confusing laws that say different things There are various problems if one wants to start their own business in India.

Firstly, the confusion of requirements to start business. Unless you contact a broker or a CA, you cannot get required certificates done.

Secondly, taxation. There are whole lot of tax procedures which are too complicated. VAT, CST, Income tax, TDS- the list is endless. There are too many loopholes and too many things to take care of.

Every month, the tax clerk comes to our office and takes 300 rupees just to ensure we are compliant and in no trouble, and gives his signature on our monthly VAT returns. If we dont pay him, it would atleast take 2 days of our time to get things done properly.
Hire a good CA or a broker. Bribes are commonplace; don't be surprised if you're asked for one. Keep it Anonymous Anonymous - abcd@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
76 Prashant 49.204.110.82 Not Easy to Do Business Investment Delhi New Delhi 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 Other Investment was troublesome Confusing laws that say different things As an NRI, I invested 5 lakhs in 2005 in an infrastructure fund in 2005. Due to US compliance, it was very cumbersome to keep it functional. I was in India for the last two months and was not able to liquidate it due to one excuse or the other- first it was getting documents from all corners, and then demonetisation.

Excuse 1. Signature does not match.
Excuse 2. Your application does not mention what type of bank account you have. (A cancelled copy of the cheque was attached, and it clearly stated it is a savings account)
Excuse 3. ID not attached. (Copy of PAN number was filed with the application)

So my money is stuck for another year at least.
Don't invest in Indian companies. Keep it Anonymous Anonymous - abcd@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
75 Prashant 49.204.110.82 Not Easy to Do Business Steel Delhi Gurgaon 1/5 1/5 1/5 1/5 Register the business Submitting the same document to different departments Government offices are a massive, massive pain to deal with. Even a bigger pain is dealing with the officials. Huge lines, obscure offices, forms that sometimes exist and sometimes don't, always angry and lethargic staff.

My co-founder and I spent an entire day collecting random forms, but in the end gave up and paid 5k to a clerk who got the job done within an hour.
Avoid spending your time and grey matter on running around, and hire somebody to do it for you. Keep it Anonymous Anonymous - abcd@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
74 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
73 Prashant 49.204.110.82 Not Easy to Do Business Restaurant Uttar Pradesh Lucknow 3/5 3/5 2/5 3/5 Register property Corrupt officials who asked for bribes My whole issue was not while setting up the actual business, but while conducting it here. I run a restaurant, and officials often come and ask for bribes.

What would you do if a food inspector comes to your restaurant and demands a bribe for the inspection? If you don't comply he will file a report which claims he found 10 cockroaches at your facility, and shut you down until an investigation is completed.

You don't have a choice. If you don't pay a bribe, you can't do business in India. Government officers won't even let you register your company or get basic approvals to function!
Corruption is rife and necessary. Be prepared to bribe someone or the other. Keep it Anonymous Anonymous - abcd@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
72 Prashant 49.204.110.82 Easy to Do Business Food Delhi Gurgaon 2/5 3/5 1/5 2/5 Register the business Getting the permits was not an issue, apart from finding information about it. I did everything myself, and got all the permits within a month, and my food supply company was up and running within six weeks. The real problem arises after you start the business.

The attitude of customers/vendors/clients. People feel no remorse about wasting someone's time, or indulging in petty cheating. Of course things like these are present in the west too, but the magnitude is different. Oh, and this is more present in North India than in South! This reflected even while I was getting my permits- people just wasted everyone else's time, if it meant getting their work done five or ten minutes earlier.
Be mindful of people. Don't give anyone any way in your lines. Senior Department Officials Sumit Pathak 9873056915 pathaksumit@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
71 Prashant 49.204.110.82 Easy to Do Business Software/IT Delhi Gurgaon 3/5 3/5 1/5 2/5 Register the business Registering an online company under sole proprietorship is the easiest way to run a business in this country. I did mine that way, and it took less than three days for it to come through. My business was up and running three days after that. I honestly think others make a big deal out of starting a business in India. All one has to do is talk to someone who has done this before- they'll guide you. Both Mayank Gupta 99876547864 mayankgupta52@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
70 Prashant 49.204.110.82 Not Easy to Do Business Sports Delhi Gurgaon 3/5 2/5 1/5 2/5 Register property
Get permits and licenses under environmental laws
Other Laziness on the part of officers I opened a sports shop in Gurgaon, which unfortunately did not work. However, my experience was mostly a pleasant one.

Unlike most people, I chose not to hire a CA, mostly because I couldn't afford to spend so much money on something that I thought could be done alone.

Unfortunately, I was made to run around a fair bit on my first day. It was quite taxing, and just when I thought there could be some progress, they broke for lunch.

Now, there is some sort of an unwritten rule at these government offices- lunch breaks shall last for about double the time they are supposed to last. The stipulated break was from 1 pm to 2 pm, but I couldn't spot anyone at the office till about 2:45 pm, and the counter only opened at 3 pm. So much for efficiency.

I ultimately got my work completed a week or so later, but not without lots of effort and running around from my side.
Patience is utmost needed, really. Carry copies. Don't bribe. Senior Department Officials Anurav - abcd@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
69 Prashant 49.204.110.82 Easy to Do Business Marketing Delhi Gurgaon 3/5 4/5 2/5 3/5 Register the business I decided to start my own marketing firm in Gurgaon, after I was quite dismayed with my previous job. However, I did not know anything about the procedure, so I consulted a CA about it.

He told me a fairly decent amount for the registration, and told me that I needn't worry about anything. It took me a week to get my registration done, and I did not have any issues with it, mainly because my CA completed all my formalities.

I had to only submit my Aadhar card and PAN card, nothing more. Since I didn't go to the office myself, I wouldn't know how many copies of each were required.
Hire a CA, you won't have to worry about anything. Both Sneha Bhattacharya 7042823213 b.snehaaa@gmail.com I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below Yes
68 Prashant 203.122.16.122 Not Easy to Do Business Farming Maharashtra Mumbai 2/5 1/5 2/5 2/5 Register the business Other Documentation was a headache My experience was not good. I have a farming related activity in Mumbai. Even in a city like Mumbai - city of dreams where people have so many aspirations, doing business is not that easy. Documentation was a big headache. Every time I had to submit some new documents. I had to bribe under the table to get my business registered. I don't know what advice to give to others. I am new to the business. The only advice is get all your documents in place. Keep it Anonymous Anonymous 9145510501 abcd@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