Private Limited Company registration through the MCA’s integrated SPICe+ form — DIN, PAN, TAN, EPFO and GST bundled into one filing. Here’s exactly how it runs, what it costs, and where foreign promoters trip up.
The structure decision shapes everything after it — funding, tax, and how much ongoing compliance you're signing up for.
Separate legal entity under the Companies Act, 2013. Limited liability, unlimited shareholders up to 200, and the only structure most VCs and foreign parents will invest into.
Lower compliance than a Pvt Ltd, but FDI is only permitted under the automatic route in sectors with no performance-linked conditions — which rules it out for many foreign-funded businesses.
A Private Limited Company with 100% shares held by your overseas entity, used when RBC Global Advisors and Maxiple Global structure an India entry for a US or UK parent.
For a foreign company that wants a presence without incorporating a new Indian entity. Requires RBI/AD bank approval and is restricted in what commercial activity it can conduct.
The same sequence we run for every India filing — so nothing depends on memory or luck.
Every proposed director needs a DSC to sign the incorporation forms electronically. Typically 1–3 working days once ID and address proof are in.
Reserve your company name on the MCA portal. Approval usually takes 2–4 working days; the two most common causes of rejection are names too similar to an existing company and names implying a regulated activity you're not licensed for.
The Memorandum and Articles of Association are filed electronically (e-MoA, e-AoA) as part of the same integrated form — no separate stamping trip required in most states.
One filing bundles company incorporation, DIN allotment, PAN, TAN, and — through the linked AGILE-PRO-S form — EPFO, ESIC, professional tax (where applicable) and your bank account application.
Once the Registrar of Companies (ROC) verifies the filing, you get the Certificate of Incorporation with your CIN, PAN and TAN attached. This is the point the company legally exists.
Open the current account, register for GST if applicable, and set the statutory audit and ROC filing calendar (AOC-4, MGT-7) from day one — audit is mandatory for every Pvt Ltd company in India.
5–10 working days for a domestic filing with clean documents; budget 6–8 weeks for a foreign-promoted subsidiary once apostille and cross-border document collection are in the critical path.
| Item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Pvt Ltd — all-in | ₹7,000 – ₹25,000 | Government fees + state stamp duty + professional charges; wide range driven mostly by state stamp duty and authorised capital |
| Foreign-promoted Pvt Ltd | ₹60,000 – ₹1,25,000 (≈$750–$1,500) | Adds apostille, translation and FEMA/RBI reporting on top of standard incorporation |
| MCA government fee (SPICe+) | Nominal, capital-linked | Scales with authorised share capital; negligible for a standard ₹1–10 lakh capital startup |
| State stamp duty | ₹200 – ₹12,600 | Varies by state and authorised capital — the single biggest swing factor in total cost |
| Professional fees (CA/CS) | ₹5,000 – ₹15,000 | Drafting MoA/AoA, filing, and coordinating DSC/DIN correctly the first time |
Registration is day one. This is what the calendar looks like after.
Incorporation is the easy part — the compliance calendar starts immediately. Every Private Limited Company in India needs a statutory audit each year regardless of turnover, annual ROC filings (AOC-4 for financials, MGT-7 for the annual return), and an income tax return.
GST registration becomes mandatory once turnover crosses ₹40 lakh (goods) or ₹20 lakh (services) — lower thresholds apply in special-category states — or immediately if you sell through an e-commerce operator or make inter-state taxable supplies, regardless of turnover.
Foreign shareholding triggers ongoing FEMA reporting to the RBI: FC-GPR on share allotment, and annual FLA return every year the foreign holding exists, even with zero activity.
MSME (Udyam) registration is optional but worth doing early — it unlocks payment-protection provisions and priority-sector benefits many founders skip and later regret.
Yes, in most sectors under the FDI automatic route, meaning no prior government approval is needed. A handful of sectors (defence, telecom, some media) have caps or need approval — we check this before you file.
Yes. Every Private Limited Company needs at least one director who has stayed in India for 182+ days in the previous financial year. If none of your founders qualify, we can structure a nominee arrangement, but ownership stays entirely with you.
Ignore any quote under roughly ₹3,000–5,000 — that's the mandatory government-fee floor before DSC, stamp duty or professional charges. All-in for a straightforward domestic Pvt Ltd is realistically ₹7,000–25,000.
Private Limited, in almost every case. LLPs can only receive FDI under the automatic route in sectors with no FDI-linked performance conditions, which excludes many common business types and makes them a poor fit if you plan to raise capital later.
The GST portal targets approval within about a week once you file Form REG-01 with the required documents; low-risk applications can be auto-approved even faster under current rules.