When I set up my first company in India, I assumed incorporation was the hard part. It was not. The real work started after the certificate arrived, when a steady list of compliance tasks began landing on my desk.
Here is the short checklist I wish I had kept from week one.
Right after incorporation
- Open the current account early. Banks ask for several documents and the process can take longer than you expect.
- Get your PAN and TAN sorted and saved in one shared folder that your cofounder and accountant can both reach.
- Check whether GST registration applies to you now or later. Registering too early can mean filing returns with nothing to report, which is still work.
The recurring stuff
- Board meetings and minutes. Even a tiny private limited company needs them on a regular schedule. I keep a simple template and fill it in the same day.
- Annual ROC filings. These have fixed windows and late fees add up quietly.
- TDS on payments to contractors and vendors. This one surprised me most, because it shows up the moment you pay your first freelancer.
What actually helped
The single most useful habit was a shared compliance calendar. Every due date goes in with a reminder two weeks ahead. Nothing clever, but it removed the panic of discovering a deadline the night before.
The second habit was choosing an accountant who explains things instead of just filing them. I did not need to become an expert, but I needed to understand why each filing existed so I could plan cash around it.
The third was keeping founder agreements and share records clean from day one. Fixing them later, especially before raising money, is slow and stressful.
The takeaway
Compliance in India is not difficult once it is routine. It becomes painful only when it is invisible until the last minute. Treat it like any other recurring product task with an owner and a due date.
What is the one compliance task that caught you off guard after you registered your company?
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