A startup is a business managed by a few people that helps to solve a problem. These types of companies are formed when people solve problems by creating a company of their own. It also comes into existence when the founder comes up with innovative ideas, develops new products or redevelops existing products.

To attract talented entrepreneurs the Government of India has launched and promoted the Startup India initiative. The Startup India Scheme aims to help with Startup registration and also ease the registration process.

What is considered to be a startup under a Startup India scheme?

The following is the Startup eligibility criteria under the Startup India Scheme:

• The business structure has to be a Private Limited Company or a Limited Liability Partnership.
• The company will need a guarantee from the Indian Patent and Trademark Office.
• The business will be considered a Startup for the first 10 years after the registration. Recently, this has been changed to 10 years to give opportunities and tax exemptions for the longer run.
• You will need a recommendation letter from an incubation.
• The company will remain a Startup if the turnover of the company does not cross the Rs. 100 crore mark per year in the 10 years. If the company crosses the mark then it will not be considered a Startup.
• The company has to be approved by the DIPP (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion).
• The company should be funded by an Angle Fund, Incubation Fund or a Private Equity Fund. All the funding details must be registered with SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India).
• The company must come up with innovative ideas and schemes.

Procedure to register a Startup in India

The procedure for registering a Startup in India is as follows:

1. You will have to first decide the business structure for your company from a Private Limited Company or Limited Liability Company. You will have to follow the rules to register a business and obtain a Certificate of Incorporation. You will need to fill up the required forms and submit the documents required.

2. You will have to register your company as a Startup under the Startup India Scheme. The Startup India Registration process can be done online and it is simple. You have to go to the Startup India website and log in. Fill out the forms online with your business information. You will have to enter the details like name, mobile number, startup phase, email address and more. You may have to upload the required documents. An OTP and other details are sent to you by email and when you enter it a Startup India profile will be created.

Once your profile is created on the website you can apply for various acceleration, incubator/mentorship programs, learning and development programs, government schemes and more.

3. Once you have created your profile on the Startup India website you need to get approval from the Department for Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Approval from the DPIIT helps Startups to get benefits like access to high-quality intellectual property services and resources, self-certification under labour and environment laws, relaxation of public procurement regulations, access to funds, tax benefits and more.

To get a DPIIT recognition you can click on the ‘Get Recognised’ button on the website if you are a new user. If you are an existing user then you can use the ‘Dashboard button’ and then the ‘DPIIT Recognition’

4. You have to apply for the recognition by filling up the Startup Recognition form. The documents required will be a Certificate of Incorporation, details of your company, details of the director, PAN number, patent and trademark details, authorised representative details, list of accomplishments like rewards and recommendations, evidence of concepts like website link, a video or pitch deck and self-certification.

What will you get once your Startup is recognised?

After completing all the registration steps you will receive an Identification Number for your Startup. After checking all the documents you will be issued a Certification of Identity within 2 days.

If there is a discrepancy in the documents then you will have to pay a fine of 50% of your Startup’s paid-up capital or a minimum fine of Rs. 25,000 whichever is higher.