NOT Easy to Do Business
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| # | Submitted | User | IP address | It was | Sector / Industry | State / UT | City | Response-time of officials(asc) | 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 | Privacy Policy | Contact me | Display it | |
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| 32 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:56 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Software | Delhi | Delhi | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
Register the business Pay taxes File returns under labour laws, environmental laws, tax laws, etc. Other |
Acquiring another business | Submitting the same document to different departments |
I had a difficult time starting my software business in Delhi. I didn’t have to pay a bribe to register a Pvt. Ltd Company but had to pay a bribe to complete the registration of a proprietorship. There is no clarity on taxation. For example, when you pay someone for their services you have to deduct 10% TDS. I had no idea of any sorts if that person is Amazon or a MNC who have their offices in India and if I had availed their services did I need to deduct 10% TDS. Amazon demanded a full payment. I contacted a dozen charted accountants and even a friend of mine who is in the Indian Revenue Service. None of them had a clue. But all of them suggested paying TDS to be on a safer side. So I had to pay the full amount to Amazon and on the top of that 10% to the dear Government of India. There are so many scenarios where there is no clarity at all. Investment laws are a total mess. God help you if you ever receive a FDI. I received it once only to the return the amount of Rs. 5 lakhs. This is because the amount of running about I would have to do was not worth the amount. The legal system is terrible. If I may say, it is effectively a joke. An acquisition of one my products fell through because the acquirer did not want to make disputes subject to the Indian jurisdiction in the contract. In the acquirer’s own words – “the Indian legal system isn’t held in very high regard here” (in Australia). There are high costs involved in doing business especially in India. My gateway charges a 5% premium (so a 3% + a 5%) for the Indian Businesses because of the increased cost of operations. So an American Company charges only 3% whereas I have no option but to settle at 8%. There are innumerable other hassles as well. It is like a death by giving thousand cuts. |
Even in the software industry, regulations are very high. Be patient and prepared to wait for a while to get through. |
Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 02026634513 | director@siu.in | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||
| 33 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:59 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Financial | Delhi | Delhi | 3/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | Register the business | Other | Registration of name |
I did not find it easy to set up my financial enterprise in Delhi. It took us a couple of months only to get the name of my company registered. Every time I submitted a name, it used to get rejected without any known reasons. It was very time-consuming, taxing and unnecessary. Only this step set me back by three months at least. Getting the trademark registered was a problem because I had to go through a lawyer. I fail to understand why couldn’t I find all the information myself and do it independently without involving extra costs. An entrepreneur abroad can do these things independently without taking anyone’s help. I could have saved a lot of money if I knew the procedures. |
Consult some expert who will help you out legally and also in financial matters. I think that’s the only way out because I couldn’t do everything on my own. |
Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9649860773 | ishan.techwiz@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||
| 35 | 16 Nov 2016 - 18:03 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | E-Commerce | Maharashtra | Mumbai | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 |
Register the business Trade outside state/ country |
Submitting the same document to different departments |
The biggest problem is the lack of clarity in the process. I went to the company registrar's office and took a form, filled it and submitted it to the officer. He gave me 'n' number of reasons explaining why they cannot accept the form, and I was given a long list of documents needed for my form to be accepted. Now to get each of these documents, I had run around to different departments of the government. No one offered help at the government office, because they expected a bribe to solve my queries. I collected all my documents from all the offices to submit these documents to the same officer only to know another set of reasons why my form won’t be accepted and another set of documents to be submitted. At this point, I was so frustrated that I asked the officer why he didn’t tell me about these reasons and documents earlier. And he simply smiled and said, I forgot. There will be lot more things you experience when you visit a government office. The officer was busy with some government work, which he was not supposed to be given in the first place. So this is used as an excuse to not meet you but the real reason is that he somehow wants to extract bribe from you. The more frustrated you are, the more he earns. Government employees could find a million reasons to not deal with you or your issue, and there is nothing you can do about it. According to the standard government procedure one can complain to his higher officers but the higher officers are equal partners in taking bribe. All have defined what charges will be taken as a bribe when you want something from them. How do I know about this? I am a son of a government officer (not company's registrar, but another government department) and despite that I tried to register my company honestly. I know both the sides of the coin. My dad tried to fight this as an honest officer when he was young. He has to visit courts till this date because some senior officers framed him in the wrong case. The last case has been running for last 2 years. My dad tried to contact everyone he can above his officers but all told him to shut up and be part of the system or else he will be in jail for sure. If you ask me for a solution, then it's done already in passport offices. TCS is running that department amazingly. The process is exactly described on their website. No local laws affect that procedure. And your turn is decided once you register online. You will surely be able to finish with the procedure in 1 or 2 hours. You know exactly what is needed before going to that department. |
Don't plan on doing business in India. Move abroad! |
Senior Department Officials Keep it Anonymous |
Sanjay Gedam | 8652786590 | gedamsanju@yahoo.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 36 | 21 Nov 2016 - 12:10 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Passport | Maharashtra | Palghar | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Other | Obtaining a passport | They keep asking me to submit some new document every time |
Doing business in India is like travelling on a road with multiple roadblocks. Every hurdle has to be crossed in order to reach your destination. Unnecessary & excessive laws hamper business growth. Time consuming approvals required at every step.(1) As an example, Indian passport applicants in Palghar district of Western Maharashtra are asked to bring one witness(2) who is not a relative and should reside in the same building as the person who wants a passport. Does such a rule even exist? No such law is clearly mentioned on Passport Seva website(3). So, an applicant has to visit the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) with original documents, then again to Police Station with same original documents and also the witness from same building. Why can't both be integrated? Also, laws need to clear cut for valuable documents like a passport. Any genuine entrepreneurs, small businesses or solo travellers in Palghar district may not be able to expand their journeys, if they can't bring witness from same building. In my opinion, this is just ridiculous! One shouldn't have to go through such pains to obtain a passport. And even if the procedure is a little lengthy, they should at least mention it clearly on the website. (1): http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/licence-raj-replaced-by-time-consuming-approval-raj-biocon-cmd-kiran-mazumdar-shaw/articleshow/53490079.cms?from=mdr (2): https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CpQ2_2dUMAE70RB.jpg (3): http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/faqPoliceVerification |
Patience is required. The Indian bureaucracy will frustrate you! | Senior Department Officials | Turbasu Chatterjee | 9987654687 | tarbasuchatter@hotmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||
| 40 | 23 Nov 2016 - 18:18 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Manufacturing | Delhi | Delhi | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business | It was not a very complicated process to register the business. However the rules of Excise Duty and Sales Tax is one hassle I face. I have to redesign the process according to the various needs of our clients. At times this becomes a problem. Sanitation and cleanliness is to be maintained because inspection is something unexpected. | One has to be very persistent if you want to start a business. Stick with your project and fight the system. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9310533008 | saurabh@dynapen.in | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||||
| 43 | 23 Nov 2016 - 18:51 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Entertainment | Delhi | Hauz Khas | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business |
It was quite easy for me to set up my business (LIMN Entertainment) which I would categorize under the entertainment sector. It was easy for me because I registered under my company as a sole proprietorship and also consulted my accountant who handled everything for me. I had to submit just three documents and the process went pretty quick. Infact the process to register my company took only a week or probably 10 days. The difficult part was finding a office space in South Delhi. I looked for 25 to 30 places and my current office where we are sitting was the last place I saw. Different people have different needs. I wanted a place with natural light and parking space and this was the only place I liked which had both of them. Registration of this office (property) was a bit difficult and was an elongated process. It needed a lot of unnecessary paper work. I had got the keys of this office before the paperwork and other formalities were completed. Also had it been a Pvt. Ltd or a Public Limited company, the process of registering the company would be very tedious and no procedure is very clear and straightforward. The process online is also not very easy to understand. One other thing I would like to mention is that the procedure of registering any business or company and the documentation should be online and paperless. It would be much easier that way. But I have heard we are getting better with time unlike how it was in the past. Like taxation is steadily becoming online, I would like the procedure of registering the business or documentation process of registering your start up should be paperless and online. |
It is not advice to others but rather it is a necessity to have all your paperwork in place. A lot of learning takes place only while you are ‘in the process’. I wasn’t aware of running a company or for that manner even manage a team before I started this company. But the journey has been very interesting and I have learnt a lot in the process. One advice would be – you need to be patient. Immense patience is needed if you want to be an entrepreneur. It takes time to set up your company and also for your company to grow unless your business is inherited. My mantara has been – “choose happiness over money!” I was in a very decent and good paying job. But my happiness lied in setting up LIMN and I am very happy about how it is steadily gaining momentum and growing. |
Both | Divij Kaul | 011 4660 2773 | bhavya@limnentertainment.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |||
| 47 | 28 Nov 2016 - 12:47 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Media | Delhi | New Delhi | 3/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | Register the business | Submitting the same document to different departments |
I did not know where do we start. The whole process took me about fifteen days, just to register a sole proprietorship. Now, I know it may not sound like a lot, but it is a lot when one circles a government office for two weeks, every single day. Every other day, they would ask me for a different document. Then, they would direct me to another desk, where the same procedure was followed. I was never asked for a bribe, but in retrospect, I wouldn't have minded if I paid a few hundreds here and there, if that meant my work would get done faster. There isn't even a proper parking space outside the offices. Thank god for Uber! One of the worst things about making rounds of these offices was that you had to wait there until your number or name is called for. I remember staying hungry for the first day. From the next day, my mother sent a tiffin with me! A lot of other people brought some food as well, so it was pretty apparent that they were accustomed to such a system. Lastly, I wish the system required less paper - not only for convenience, but also as a concern for the environment. It creates unnecessary hassles and wastage. How about starting an app, on which you can scan and directly send your documents? I think it would make everyone's work a lot more easier. |
Take loads of copies of all your documents when you go. Carry food. Try not to bribe them, in spite of how alluring it may seem! | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 7767021676 | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 48 | 28 Nov 2016 - 15:07 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Restaurant | Himachal Pradesh | Dharamshala | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 |
Get construction permit Get water connection |
The process itself was pretty straightforward - I wasn't made to run around. Not much, anyway - except the odd extra copies of my electricity bill. I did have a little issue with how the whole process is carried out. We could certainly do with a paperless process. It's also quite amazing how incoherent the government functions. On one hand, our Prime Minister wants to take things online and go digital, and try to get everyone to use online transactions. On the other hand, these government offices have rather weak internet connections, and really outdated software- Windows 98! These offices also did not have an option to pay by card - how do we conduct business, then? Everyone seemed a little fed up with the whole ordeal, frankly. Thankfully, the officials in McLeodganj were quite helpful, and didn't make me run around. They tried to get everything done by their own deadlines, and in two weeks, I had my own restaurant up and running. A big part went to the fact that these officials wanted to see business flourish in their small town. In fact, they had come for lunch just last week! It feels good to know that among all the experiences I've heard of (and read on the Ease of Doing Business website), there still are some wheels in the system who want the car to run. |
One needs to have immense patience, really and has to be prepared to run around. Also, always carry extra copies of every document you are required to bring. | Both | Abhishek | 9167219169 | abhisheknaiir@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 | ||||
| 56 | 9 Dec 2016 - 16:30 | Anonymous (not verified) | 42.106.53.253 | Not Easy to Do Business | Medical | Gujarat | Vadodara | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business | Can’t find information |
I have had 5 years of experience of helping my cousin in his medical shop In Vadodra itself. And I thought of opening my own. But it was not an easy task. I could not find any information about how do I go about it. It was quite difficult and a task to get my business registered. I had to consult a third party despite of having 5 years of experience. |
Think twice before you start a new business. Think whether you get profit from it. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 8141295566 | omsaimedical28@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 |