Registering your company is step one. What trips up most first-time founders is everything that comes after, the registrations and filings that need to happen in the first few months, often before you’ve even made your first sale. Miss one, and it tends to surface later as a notice or penalty rather than a friendly reminder.
Here’s what to have on your checklist.
PAN and TAN
If you’ve registered a company or LLP, PAN and TAN are usually allotted alongside incorporation. For proprietorships and partnerships, you’ll need to apply separately. TAN is mandatory the moment you start deducting TDS on salaries, rent, or contractor payments.
GST Registration
Mandatory once turnover crosses the threshold for your category and state, but many businesses register earlier anyway, particularly if they’re selling to other GST-registered businesses that expect an input tax credit trail. Check whether your business model actually needs early registration rather than defaulting to “register now” or “wait until forced.”
Professional Tax
A state-level levy on salaries and, in some states, on the business itself. Applicability and rates vary by state, so this is easy to overlook if you’re used to compliance rules from a different state.
Shops & Establishment Registration
Required for most commercial establishments under state labour law, covering things like working hours, holidays, and employee records. Often needed to open a current bank account, so it tends to surface as a blocker early rather than late.
MSME / Udyam Registration
Not mandatory, but worth doing early. It’s free, quick, and unlocks benefits like priority payment protection from larger buyers, easier collateral-free loans, and eligibility for certain government tenders and subsidies.
PF and ESI
Once employee headcount crosses the applicable threshold, Provident Fund and Employee State Insurance registration become mandatory, not optional. These thresholds catch a lot of growing businesses off guard because they’re based on headcount, not revenue.
A Simple First-Year Checklist
- PAN and TAN in place
- GST registration assessed (and completed, if applicable)
- Professional tax registration checked against your state’s rules
- Shops & Establishment registration completed
- MSME/Udyam registration done, even if not mandatory yet
- PF/ESI thresholds tracked as you hire
Getting the Sequence Right
Some of these depend on others being done first, and doing them out of order can mean redoing paperwork. If you’d rather have this mapped out for your specific business type and state, get in touch with our team before you start ticking boxes.
