PLANNING TO FORM AN NGO? WHICH ONE SHOULD YOU CHOOSE?

In India, we often hear about many different NGOs working for the well-being of our society and the people living in it. We can't deny the fact that the idea of getting associated with an NGO or starting one has not crossed our minds. But have you ever tried to know about the procedure to start an NGO and in what forms one can incorporate it? Which registrations are needed, and what laws are to be complied with? 
 
NGO registration process can also be done online by taking the help of consultants who does NGO registration online. There are various acts under which one can register an NGO. The three most important laws and forms of NGO out of them are-
 
1: As a company (Section-8 Company) under the Companies Act, 2013
 
2: As a trust under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882
 
3: As a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
 
NGO Registration Consultants makes this registration task easy with minimal NGO registration fees.

SECTION-8 COMPANY- 

If you want to incorporate an NGO in the form of a limited company, you can do so by forming a Section-8 Company. It is very similar to a regular private or public company but has a few different features and restrictions.
 
To start with, it provides for restrictions on the nature of objects. The objects must only be limited to promoting sports, commerce, education, art, religion, science, research and other like objects. The profits of a Section-8 company must only be applied for the company's objects, and dividend distribution to the members is not allowed. 
 
Even existing private or public companies can convert themselves into a Section-8 Company. But an OPC cannot be a Section-8 company as there is a requirement of a minimum of two members. As per the law, there is no requirement for minimum paid-up capital, so a Section-8 company can be incorporated without investing any money in the form of a capital contribution. But as we all know, members of the company have to subscribe to an amount of capital, and it is practically impossible to subscribe to nothing. So, ultimately, they have to bring in some capital in the form of money. Another exemption is that no stamp duty is levied on its incorporation.
 
It enjoys many exemptions under the Companies Act, 2013; some of them are-
 
* Generally, a company is required to issue the notice of the general meeting at least 21 days before the meeting date. But in the case of a Section-8 company, the requirement is relaxed to 14 days only.
 
* There is no limit on the number of directors. 

* Being a director in this type of company is not reckoned to limit the number of directorships a director can hold in companies. 
 
* The quorum for the meeting of directors is 25 per cent of the total number of directors or eight members, whichever is less. 
 
* Even a partnership firm or an LLP can become a member of this company. 
 
There are many service providers who can assist you with Section 8 Company registration in Delhi. They provide for services of Section 8 company registration online in a timely and cost-effective manner.

TRUST-

A trust is an organisation with generally three parties involved. In simple words, one can define trust as a transfer of property by the property owner (author/grantor) to another person who has a fiduciary duty to hold the asset on behalf of the owner(trustee) for others(beneficiaries).
 
There are two types of trust that one can find in India, public and private.
 
Public trusts are the charitable and religious trusts formed for the benefit of the public at large and are governed by the acts like the Religious Endowments Act, 1863, the Charitable and Religious Trust Act, 1920, the Religious Endowments Act, 1863, etc. 
 
On the other hand, private trusts are governed by the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. The beneficiaries, in this case, are specific. 
 
A trust can be made for any purpose which is legally not prohibited in any way. The aim must not be forbidden by the government and must not defeat any law's provision. 
 
Any of the below-mentioned persons can form a trust-
 
* Individual who is competent to contract
 
* Company
 
* HUF
 
* AOP
 
* Minor (if permitted by the court) 
 
Note: A minimum of 2 trustees are required to form a Trust. 
 
After knowing who all can create a trust, the next question is how it is formed?
 
* First, the name, objects, trustees and the trust property are decided. Then a trust deed is created. This deed, like any other deed, contains-
 
* -the names, details of the parties and the registered office.
 
*  -intention, object and purpose of the formation
 
*   -the rights, liabilities and duties of the parties
     
*  -the procedure of appointment, resignation, removal of the parties
       
* -the procedure to dissolve and determine the trust.
 
* The deed is stamped and then registered with the sub-registrar
 
* After registering the deed successfully, one can apply for PAN and bank account opening.
 
Trust Registration in India is a bit time consuming, and for a person who has no experience in this work, this becomes a head-scratching task. To avoid these hardships, one can look for the help of a trust registration consultant for trust registration online with minimal trust registration fees. 

SOCIETY-

A society is formed by persons having a common purpose. Generally, the objectives include promoting charitable activities like religion, education, sports, etc. In India, these societies are regulated by the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It is beneficial to incorporate a society as many tax exemptions are available and the cost of compliance is low. But this exemption is not available to all societies. There may be cases where the department disallows certain activities based on their non-charitable nature.  
 
A society can only be formed with seven persons or more. The persons don't have to be individual or Indian. Even non-residents and companies can also subscribe to the Memorandum of society. 
 
Only some steps need to be followed to form a society. First, a name is decided, which must not be similar to an existing society. After this, a memorandum of society is made and signed by all the members. 
 
Following are the documents that one needs to submit to the Registrar of joint-stock companies-
 
A copy of Memorandum of society 
 
Proof of registered office's address and the NOC from the owner of the property (as the case may be)
 
* A copy of Articles of the society
 
* A covering letter containing the objectives of the society
 
* PAN card and residence proof of all the members
 
* The society's president signs a declaration that he could hold the position. 
 
After submitting all these documents to the Registrar, the Registrar issues an incorporation certificate. 
 
Even after incorporating an NGO, many people are clueless about what comes next. By forming an NGO, one cannot expect all the exemptions and benefits to come hand in hand. We need to apply for them separately. So, let's dig into some registrations related to these benefits enjoyed by the NGOs. 

12AA CERTIFICATE

This certificate exempts NGOs from the liability of paying tax on their surplus income. To get this certificate, one needs to file Form 10A online.  
 
Not every NGO is eligible to obtain this certificate. There are some conditions to meet the eligibility criteria- 
 
* The firm must be a public trust, as private and family trusts are not eligible for this certification.
 
* The organisation must be engaged in activities having a charitable purpose. If any motive is involved for personal gain, the NGO will become ineligible for this certificate.
 
* In case the NGO is into trade and commerce activities, the receipt from these activities must be less than 20 per cent of the total receipts.  

80G CERTIFICATE

This certificate is for the benefit of both the NGO and donors. If a donor donates his money to an NGO with this certificate, he can deduct his donation under section 80G. 
 
This deduction will encourage the donors to donate their money to the NGOs having this certification, which will help the organisation raise more funds.
 
It is now very convenient to do 80G 12AA registration online with all the recent changes. To read more about the 80G 12AA certificate, click on the link given below:
 
https://www.manishanilgupta.com/blog-details/major-amendment-in-registration-procedure-u-s-12a-and-80g

FCRA

Before an NGO receives a donation through a foreign source, it must register itself under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act. This registration is done in the form of certification. This certificate is proof of permission that the NGO has received the government's consent to receive funds. An FCRA account is mandatory to receive the funds under this act. There are two types of approval one can request for-
 
* Normal registration
 
* Prior Permission
 
In the case of regular registration, the NGO must be active for at least three years, and it must have spent a minimum of 10 lacs in the last three years for social work. The validity of this certificate is five years. This certificate needs to be renewed six months before its expiry date.
 
The other type is the prior permission route. This route is for NGOs that do not qualify for general registration pre-requisites. This certification is given to raise a fixed amount of funds from a particular donor and use the funds for pre-decided activities. 
 
One can look for the best consultants for FCRA registration in Delhi who provides the services for FCRA registration online. 

CSR-1

As per the requirements for compliance with the Companies Act, 2013 & the latest amendments, FORM CSR-1 must be filed with the ROC, with effect from the 1st day of April 2021, for entities for undertaking CSR Activities. This form mainly consists of 2 parts:-
 
1: The first part is related to the information about the entity that intends to take CSR activities.
 
2: The second part consists of a certification by a practising professional.
 
One should hire a professional with expertise in handling CSR matters and holding a good amount of experience in CSR-1 Registration online.  

List of attachments and documents required for the form-

* Copy of certificate of registration of entity 
 
* Copy of PAN of entity 
 
* Basic details of the company
 
* DIN/PAN of the director
 
* Copy of the resolution authorising the person by the entity.
 
* DSC of the person

NGO DARPAN NITI AAYOG

NGO Darpan is an initiative of our government through which an NGO can register itself and become recognised among other existing NGOs. It is a type of repository maintained by NITI Aayog where NGOs fill in their information. The process to apply for NITI Aayog Registration online is very simplified. Then a unique ID is generated, which is further required to take benefit of different government schemes and grants. 
 
The above mentioned are only a few of the benefits that an NGO has. Government always try to introduce more and more relaxation to these NGOs. To sum up, there are multiple ways to form an NGO. Based on how many persons are involved, what exemptions favour the organisation more, the purpose of the NGO, one can choose which form it wants.