NGO Registration

What do you mean by Non - Government Organisation?

It's a kind of non-profit organization whose main objective is to support and lift up the poor and under privileged sections of the society in the country and they carried out their activities for the betterment and to solve the issues such as social, cultural, legal, environmental, art, science etc. Such organisations are run by the individuals on voluntary basis without the interference of central or state governments.

What is the main motive to establish Non - Government Organization in India?

Non government Organization registration is obtained by the individuals who are enthusiastic to work for the betterment of the society. As such registration provides a legal title to the entity; therefore obtaining registration becomes necessary due to which such entity becomes more credible in the eyes of law and contributors.

There are three legally possible ways in order to obtain registration as a NGO:

  • Trust Registration under The Indian trusts Act, 1882
  • Society registration under Societies Registration Act, 1860
  • Section 8 Company Registration under Companies Act, 2013

Separate acts have been introduced to regulate such different models of entities as each and every model has different features. One can obtain registration on the basis of personal requirement and preference, scale and level of operation.

What is the purpose of Non - Government Organization registration?

The objectives / motives / aims of the Organization are the only thing that distinguishes a non-government organization from any other organization. Profit making is the main objective of every Organization but the one and only objective of this organization is to help others. The working culture or systems of such entities may differ from other organisations but the ultimate objective and inherent desire of such organisations is to support the under privileged, and perform the social welfare activities such as education, trade, art, skill development, cultural promotion etc.

The objective and goals of establishing a non government Organization should be clearly defined before obtaining registration and must also define the beneficiary. Beneficiary can either be public in general or a set of people.

What are the modes for obtaining registration as a Non - Government Organization in India?

The modes of obtaining registration are discussed below along with their features:

1. TRUST

There are two ways to register a trust i.e. public trust or a private trust. Education, healthcare, support of under-privileged etc., these are the main fields under which public trust can work.

Basic Features:

  • Respective State Trust Acts regulates and operates the Non - Government Organization as trust. In case the state in which is planned does not have a separate Trust Act then it will be regulated by central Indian Trusts Act, 1882 shall regulates the trust Organization where there is no separate State Trust Act.
  • Pre-reservation of the name is not required of such proposed trust.
  • Minimum 2 trusties and 1 settler are required to register a trust organisation.
  • No specific provision is framed for dissolving a registered public trust.
  • Trust's incorporation document must contain all the principles related to the operation of the business along with the clear definition of beneficiary.

2. SOCIETY

A non-profit organization can be registered as a Society under Society Registration Act 1860. Such society must perform the activities of with the objective of promotion of science, arts, literature or any other non-profit objective.

Basic Features:

  • Society is required to follow the regulations as per Societies Registration Act 1860. A special attention must be given to this Act before initiating the procedure to register the NGOs as interpretation of this act is done in different manner by many states.
  • Such Societies are basically membership based organizations.
  • Minimum 7 members are required to obtain registration as a society. Minimum 8 members from different states are required to register the NGO as a society on a national level.
  • Pre-reservation of the name is not required of such proposed society. However, the name should be different from any other NGO registered as  a society in that jurisdiction.
  • Through the discussion among its members, any registered society can be dissolved by its members.
  • Society’s incorporation document / Memorandum of Association (MOA) must contain all the principles related to the operation of the business along with the clear definition of beneficiary..

3. Section 8 Company

It can also be done in the form of a Section 8 Company under Companies Act, 2013. Unlike any other company, Section 8 Company registration is not allowed to issue any kind of dividend to its shareholders. As they are formed for charitable purpose any profits earned are reinvested in the organization for furtherance of its main objects.

Basic Features

  • Provisions of Companies Act, 2013 regulate the Section 8 Company.
  • To incorporate a Section 8 Company, minimum 2 directors and 2 promoters are required. Promoters or shareholders can be same person who are appointed as directors.
  • Application for name approval is required to be submitted through RUN service before filing final application for incorporation of the company.
  • Section 8 company’s Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Article of Association must contain all the principles related to the operation of the business along with clear defined rules and regulation of Section 8 Company.

Which Factors influences the choice of model for Non - Government Organization Registration

For obtaining registration of Non - Government Organization, the first crucial decision among many is to choose the type of model among trust, society and Section 8 Company. So, here the list among which, you can make choice.

So these are the points you need to keep in mind while choosing the model of Non Government Organisation:

What's your Orientation?

Objective / purpose and vision of the Organization must be cleared before obtaining the registration. As such factors also influence the decision to make choice among models.

Operation Level of the organisation

Scale of operation is another main point to make choice among models. Therefore, area of operation such as whether it will be regional, state-level, national etc. must be decided before obtaining registration.

Organization structure

Organizational structure also helps in making choices of models therefore structure of the organization must be decided. Where the contributors are different from the actual management then Section 8 Company is a better option from a society and vice versa.

Requirements related compliances

As there are different compliance requirements to be follow for different models so decision regarding the same must be taken. Annual compliances under Companies Act, 2013 are a compulsory requirement in case of section 8 company whereas registration as a Trust or as a Society are not required to follow much annual compliances.

What are the steps for registering the Non - Government Organization?

For obtaining the registration, following steps need to be followed.

Registration Procedure of Trust in India

Below mentioned are the minimum requirements for a trust as per Indian trust Act;

  • The objective must be cleared
  • Intention to create a Trust
  • Beneficiary clear definition
  • Trust property assigned by the assignee

Need to follow following steps once all the above required pre-requisites are met;

  • Step 1: Selecting an appropriate name for Non - Government Organization
  • Step 2: Determination of settlor, requirement of minimum 2 trustees and a clear definition regarding the one who will be the beneficiary.
  • Step 3: Preparation of Memorandum of Association (MOA) and execution of a proper trust deed in which all the key provisions and clauses are mentioned.
  • Step 4: Such trust deed is required to be executed on stamp paper which should of significant value on the basis of the value of property which is assigned to the Trust.
  • Step 5: All the trustees and settlor will sign the Trust Deed and the same shall be registered with the Local Registrar of the area in which registered office of the Non - Government Organization (NGOs) is located.

Society Registration Procedure in India

Following steps shall be followed in case of obtaining registration of Non government Organization as a Society.

  • Step 1: Selecting an appropriate name for Non - Government Organization
  • Step 2: Governing body shall be formed of the proposed Trust.
  • Step 3: Such Society is required to prepare Memorandum of Association (MOA) and by-laws in which all the rules and regulations regarding the registration and performance of the Non - Government Organization activities must be contained.
  • Step 4: After all the above formalities applicant is required to submit the  MOA and documents containing the rule and regulation along with the registration forms to the Registrar of Society of state in which jurisdiction registration is obtained.

Section 8 Company Registration Procedure in India

Following steps shall be followed in case of obtaining registration of Non government Organization under section 8 company:

  • Step 1: Selecting an appropriate name for Non - Government Organization and must not matched with any other registered company or Limited liability Partnership. Reservation of such name is required to be done through RUN services available on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal. Maximum 2 names can be filed through in one go.
  • Step 2:  Memorandum of Association (MOA) and Article of Association (AOA) of the organization along with some other required documents such as projected Profit and loss statement, statement of assets and liabilities, brief description of work etc are required to be prepared after approval of the name by the MCA portal.
  • Step 3: Form INC-12 shall be submitted for obtaining the license to the respective ROC after the preparation of the all the documents.
  • Step 4: License shall be granted after the review by the ROC after that incorporation application in SPICe Form along with the required document as attachments shall be filed.
  • Step 5: Certificate of Incorporation (COI) shall be granted after verifying the application properly in which Company Identification Number (CIN) along with Company's Permanent Account Number (PAN) & Tax Deduction Account Number (TAN) number shall be mentioned.

Do You Have Any Questions?

Generally, government funding shall be eligible after the 3 years from the successful registration of Non Government Organization. However in certain special cases, government funding can be taken after the 1 year of obtaining the registration of Non government Organization where such Non - Government Organization get project approvals.

All the earnings of the Section 8 companies are utilized in the promotion of its objective and none of the profit is distributed to its promoters. Therefore no dividend shall be provided to the promoters. Only reimbursement shall be given in case the promoter has incurred any expenses or cost while performing any duty on behalf of the Non - Government Organization.

  1. Minimum 3 members (One Assignee and minimum two trustees) are required in case of trust.
  2. Minimum 7 members are required in case of society and, minimum 8 members from different states are required in case the society is registered on national level.
  3. Minimum 2 members are required in case of Section 8 Company

FCRA registration under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 is required to be obtained by the Non - Government Organization to accept any kind of foreign grants.

Generally, FCRA registration can be obtained after 3 years from the date of obtaining registration of Non government Organization. In order to accept or acquire foreign remittances, “prior approval” under FCRA regulation can be applied subject to the following conditions:

  1. Specific contributor is required to remit the foreign grant.
  2. Utilization of such grant shall be for a specific project.
  3. Such contributor is required to issue the approval letter and such letter must be in possession of Non - Government Organization.

Finalizing a name of the Non - Government Organisation is the first thing to do before proceeding further for the registration process. Following factors must be considered for the selection of the name;

  1. There should not be any violation of the provision of The Names and Emblems (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950.
  2. The name shall not hurt the sentiments of the any section of society or group of people.
  3. The name must not show kind of affiliation to any government body.
  4. The name of the organization must not match with any other registered entity in that particular category.

Following person are eligible to become member of the company;

  1. Any individual (resident).
  2. Any foreigner are also eligible to subscribe to the incorporation document.
  3. Any registered partnership Firm or limited Liability Partnership (LLP).
  4. Company registered under Companies act, 2013.
  5. Any registered society.

After successful registration of Non - Government Organization, 80G and 12A registration under Income Tax Act, 1961 are required to obtained. These registrations ensure dual tax exemptions, to the Non - Government Organization as well as to its donors.

We have group of expert and talented professionals who are well aware of the latest and updated provisions of various acts dedicated towards the common i.e. client satisfaction. Consultation in choosing the best business model, legal services and many other services are offered by us. Along with that we ensure smooth and hassle free Non - Government Organization registration services.