NOT Easy to Do Business
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| #(asc) | 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 | 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 | ||
| 31 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:52 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Financial Advisory | Maharashtra | Pune | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | Other | Filing tenders | Can’t find information |
I was told it would take five years for me to get a permanent certificate for my financial services company and until then a temporary certificate would be issued. I bribed Rs. 6,000 and got the registration certificate in three days. My father already had one manufacturing business and intended to open a new business. Since he did not have the time to run around for completing the formalities, we had to hire an accountant and he charged us Rs. 40,000. Like most of the other entrepreneurs, even I had experienced what it really meant to go to bureaucrats and experienced red tape. I had to go various people for ‘n’ number of signatures and stamps. There were so many corrections I had to make in multiple documents to get my company registered. I don’t think there is anything called as – ‘single window clearance’. My father had to set up a chemical plant and had to wait for a year to get environmental clearances. He also had to pay bribes along the way and despite wait for a year. How do we make in India if we are not allowed to make in India? There is no clear knowledge about how to start a company. Most of the people are of the opinion that a lot of money is required to start a company. I started my company with Rs. 8,000 out of which Rs. 6,000 was a bribe. Even if people have some really fascinating ideas, they don’t start a company because they think that it will cost them a lot. The tendering process of the government is flawed and corrupt. It is always given to people who are ‘known’ to the government officials. Once when we managed to get a contract on a fair basis because we really did quote low prices, we were called and blasted by an official. He asked us how we could take up the project when we had no clue about the place where the project was going to start. He finally introduced us to an agent who had taken care of all the previous people who had managed to get the contracts. This is my experience of Pune, Maharashtra. I have no clue how does it work anywhere else in the country. |
It doesn’t take a lot of money to start up a business. So don’t be hesitant if you are thinking about the money and finances are your only concern. | Senior Department Officials | Jason Richardson | - | slamdunk2003@yahoo.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||
| 30 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:47 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Restaurant | Maharashtra | Mumbai | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 |
Register the business Get registration and licenses under labour laws |
Can’t find information |
I had a lot of problems starting my restaurant in Mumbai. It was not easy for me to start my business. I tried to register the property, get permissions and licenses under the labour laws. My restaurant serves alcohol and even has hookah. So for me it was all the more difficult. I had to run from pillar to post to get my permits in place. I also had to pay bribe in order ‘to get things done’ at a faster pace. Apart from that once my restaurant started, I had to tip off the policemen in order to keep my business going. Or else for whatever stupid reason and probably an invalid one, my restaurant would have been shut down permanently. This is my experience in Mumbai and I am not aware of other cities in India. The customers, vendors and clients are also at times indifferent. They don’t feel any remorse in wasting someone’s time, energy and indulge in petty cheating at the cost of others. I am sure such instances take place abroad as well but the magnitude would definitely be significantly lesser. |
Be ready to grease the officials’ palms if you do not want any hindrances in the procedure of getting your business set up, registered and inspected. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | - | rayleigh17@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 29 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:44 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Branding | Gujarat | Ahemdabad | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | Register the business | Other | Didn't know anything about bureaucracy |
In my opinion, it is absolutely not easy to conduct business in India. I tried to establish a brand that produces sunglasses in Ahemdabad, Gujarat. Aside from the total lack of information, I had to submit completely unnecessary documents. I fail to understand as to why my phone bill was required, when I’m already submitting another documents for address proof? I still don't know why they need so many documents. I did not have any foresight, and it was made worse by the bureaucracy at the government offices, where nobody really knew anything. I had to go to various offices and stand in the queue to figure out which document is required by which window. I also did not have a team, and thought I could do everything by myself - one can't fight the bureaucracy alone! |
I acted a bit prematurely in terms of starting a business, but I advise other budding entrepreneurs to establish a team from the start, and trust them. I thought I could run around and do the paperwork myself, but one requires legal help in establishing a business in this country for sure. You cannot do everything on your own even if you are of the idea that you know the procedures. If you want to excel in a certain sector, you need to know the sector in and out. | Media | Siddhant | 9033227176 | sjgupta010@yahoo.in | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||
| 28 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:39 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Media | Maharashtra | Mumbai | 4/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 | Register the business | Other | Requirement of a Broker | I registered my business in the media sector. Though the response time was pretty decent, I was surprised at the lack of information available anywhere on the internet about the steps you need to take to register a company. One of my main issues with the system is that it is essential to have a broker to speed up the process. I could not have done it myself without going through party. | My advice would be you will need a legal expert or some sort of broker who is well versed with the procedure of registering your company or business. | Both | Punit | 8080222210 | punit@mediasolutions.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||
| 27 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:34 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | IT | Rajasthan | Jaipur | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 |
Acquire land Get registration and licenses under labour laws Trade outside state/ country |
I set up an IT firm in Jaipur, Rajasthan. According to me, the only issue I had with the registration process is the lack of information available for someone to start the business. Apart from registration, I also acquired land, and got permissions for labour and trading outside the state. There is a lot of work to be done when it comes to acquiring industrial lands, or getting approvals from different offices. | My only advice to entrepreneurs would be - you need to have patience with the system if you want your work to be done. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9982011116 | ajay.seth@syoninfomedia.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||||
| 26 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:27 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | E-Commerce | Maharashtra | Mumbai | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | Register the business | Confusing laws that say different things |
I tried to set up an e-commerce firm myself in Mumbai. The whole process was just a big headache. You don't understand who is going to look after your concern as people are mostly busy with their own personal schedule and they don't even listen to you or have the time for your concerns or doubts. If you have to get your work done, you have to wait for them to get free and eventually bend a little and be extra buttery to ask them to do your job. When they start doing your work, they would ask you questions in Marathi and that's the most irritating part if you have to register your start up in Maharashtra. Come on, you have to be kidding me, asking me to do something in Marathi! I got the form in English, and Marathi is never simple to comprehend. They use terms in the form and expect us to know the terms. Had we known those terms, we would have not asked for their help. |
Get someone to get your work done. Take a Charted Accountant’s or a lawyer’s help. You would forget about who you are when you step into the mess they are into. The lawyer or the Charted Accountant would handle everything for you. |
Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9820933429 | ramesh.joshi65@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 25 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:18 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Social Sector,Non-profit | Karnataka | Bengaluru | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 |
Register the business Trade outside state/ country |
They keep asking me to submit some new document every time |
I helped to register a non-governmental organisation in the social sector in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The number of documents required to do the work was boggling, and very troublesome. It was quite a task to get a VAT certificate for our social enterprise. It took close to a year, as the process was lengthy and the officials kept asking for newer documents at every visit. |
An advice to younger entrepreneurs would be that if you are not ready to bribe the officials, you should be ready to go through a lengthy process to get necessary certificates and documents. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9916967853 | nitin.anjaneya@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 | ||
| 24 | 16 Nov 2016 - 17:01 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Medical Shop | Maharashtra | Nanded | 2/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
Register the business Acquire land Register property Get registration and licenses under labour laws Get building plan approved Get electricity connection Pay taxes File returns under labour laws, environmental laws, tax laws, etc. |
It was easy for my family to set up our medicines wholesale business. We tried to register our business, acquire land, register property, get permissions and licenses under labour laws, get building plan approved, get electricity connection, pay taxes, file returns under labour laws and tax laws. I would say it was easy for us to set up and register our business because we were ready to bribe the officials. In my opinion that is a given and probably is mandatory to get your work done. | My advice to other businessmen would be either be ready to bribe or have patience for the lengthy procedures and formalities in order to start and register your business or start up. |
Both Keep it Anonymous |
Anonymous | 07350009214 | anurag.jain15@apu.edu.in | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |||
| 23 | 16 Nov 2016 - 16:24 | Anonymous (not verified) | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Media | Gujarat | Ahemdabad | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business |
It was pretty much easy for us to set up our media enterprise in Ahmadabad, Gujarat. We are a partnership firm called as – Videowala and mostly work for the Adani Group and make short films as a part for their Corporate Social Responsibility. We won the 62nd National Film Award for the year 2014 under Best Debut Film of a Director (Non-Feature) Category for our documentary – ‘Goonga Pehelwan’. We are a partnership firm and a partnership firm is one of the easiest to register. It took us just five days to register the business and did not drain out our energies. Hence we could better concentrate on our business. |
My advice to other start ups would be if you have no idea about the procedures involved and the paperwork, go through an accountancy firm or some legal experts. It helps you focus on your business better rather than wasting your energy and time on the processes involved. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9376806111 | mit@videowala.co.in | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes |