NOT Easy to Do Business
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| #(asc) | Submitted | User | IP address | It was | Sector / Industry | State / UT | City | Response-time of officials | Number of documents to be submitted | Availability of information about the process | Overall Rating | It was an attempt to | Other | The problem was | Other cause | Details of experience | Advice for others | Share my story with | Name | Contact no | Privacy Policy | Contact me | Display it | |
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| 49 | 30 Nov 2016 - 16:40 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Fishing | Andhra Pradesh | Vishakhapatnam | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | Register the business | Confusing laws that say different things |
There is a lot of competition in Vizag in the Fishing sector, since the coast is quite favourable for catching fish. Most of the locals just catch the fish for their own subsistence, while a share of them sell it. I decided to register my own company and sell the fish to Tyson, who would package it responsibly, and sell it across the country. I actually started my business before registering the company, and by the time I had enough of a hold in the local market, I applied to Tyson to be a supplier. However, they required me to be registered as an established supplier from Vizag, and to facilitate the same, I had to register my business. When I reached the office, I did not realise I lacked the necessary documents required for registration, so I had to come back two days later. At the office, they thankfully had a token system, and my number was called after three hours. At the counter, the person seemed quite surprised to see that I had applied for a fishing licence. To my surprise, he suggested me to skip this process and continue with my business! I had to tell him that I needed the licence to supply to an MNC, to which he understood. He aided me in the whole process, but it did take a lot of time - various departments required their own set of documents and clearances. In about two weeks, my business was registered, and Tyson bought my product a month later. |
There will be a lot of running around - even if the process is less rocky. I know of people who had to spend weeks running around the offices. Carry extra copies, the department office doesn't have a copier. And lastly, treat the officials well - they are more likely to get your work done if you treat them like humans! | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | - | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 48 | 28 Nov 2016 - 15:07 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Restaurant | Himachal Pradesh | Dharamshala | 3/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 3/5 |
Get construction permit Get water connection |
The process itself was pretty straightforward - I wasn't made to run around. Not much, anyway - except the odd extra copies of my electricity bill. I did have a little issue with how the whole process is carried out. We could certainly do with a paperless process. It's also quite amazing how incoherent the government functions. On one hand, our Prime Minister wants to take things online and go digital, and try to get everyone to use online transactions. On the other hand, these government offices have rather weak internet connections, and really outdated software- Windows 98! These offices also did not have an option to pay by card - how do we conduct business, then? Everyone seemed a little fed up with the whole ordeal, frankly. Thankfully, the officials in McLeodganj were quite helpful, and didn't make me run around. They tried to get everything done by their own deadlines, and in two weeks, I had my own restaurant up and running. A big part went to the fact that these officials wanted to see business flourish in their small town. In fact, they had come for lunch just last week! It feels good to know that among all the experiences I've heard of (and read on the Ease of Doing Business website), there still are some wheels in the system who want the car to run. |
One needs to have immense patience, really and has to be prepared to run around. Also, always carry extra copies of every document you are required to bring. | Both | Abhishek | 9167219169 | abhisheknaiir@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |||
| 47 | 28 Nov 2016 - 12:47 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Media | Delhi | New Delhi | 3/5 | 2/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | Register the business | Submitting the same document to different departments |
I did not know where do we start. The whole process took me about fifteen days, just to register a sole proprietorship. Now, I know it may not sound like a lot, but it is a lot when one circles a government office for two weeks, every single day. Every other day, they would ask me for a different document. Then, they would direct me to another desk, where the same procedure was followed. I was never asked for a bribe, but in retrospect, I wouldn't have minded if I paid a few hundreds here and there, if that meant my work would get done faster. There isn't even a proper parking space outside the offices. Thank god for Uber! One of the worst things about making rounds of these offices was that you had to wait there until your number or name is called for. I remember staying hungry for the first day. From the next day, my mother sent a tiffin with me! A lot of other people brought some food as well, so it was pretty apparent that they were accustomed to such a system. Lastly, I wish the system required less paper - not only for convenience, but also as a concern for the environment. It creates unnecessary hassles and wastage. How about starting an app, on which you can scan and directly send your documents? I think it would make everyone's work a lot more easier. |
Take loads of copies of all your documents when you go. Carry food. Try not to bribe them, in spite of how alluring it may seem! | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 7767021676 | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 46 | 24 Nov 2016 - 17:02 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Labour | Karnataka | Mysore | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | Get registration and licenses under labour laws | Other | Labour issues |
For me the problem was dealing with the labour. The problem is that they deserve better, but I cannot pay them more than the market for the fear of being noncompetitive and losing business. But then they don't care much for the money they are paid. Timelines, work ethics, etc. mean nothing to them. But I don't blame them. Right now it's Modi ji's kripa. My business is dead for next few months. No new projects are going to come in, as people are going to hold onto their money now especially if their net worth is less now maybe due to black money, or maybe due to crashed property. The future is uncertain. This policy is really anti-small trade business. People like Ambani selling the daily essentials to common men will not be affected, since demand will never drop. Then, there is also the fear of being prosecuted for something you haven't done wrong. For example, not deducting the right TDS, or putting the wrong tax. Kejriwal had come out with a system of code for each item. Nobody implemented it! We do our work, but need to keep up with stupid compliances, which are subject to whims and fancies of illiterate politicians- most of whom haven't seen a business meeting in their lives, I am sure! It just takes up so much of your time. Harassment by officials is a valid and certain threat. |
Have contingency plans. Be prepared to run around offices, and be harassed by the ones who run them. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | - | abcd@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | ||
| 45 | 24 Nov 2016 - 15:35 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | IT | Telangana | Hyderabad | 2/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | Register the business | Confusing laws that say different things |
Bureaucrats are more often insensitive than not, and do not have the mentality of helping citizens. Rather, they have the mentality of making things as difficult as possible - they think their job is to make things more difficult for citizens. A lot of markets are controlled by guilds and associations of existing businessmen. They place a high cost of entry for new entrants, especially someone without connections in the business community. I experienced extortionate behavior by local working class people, goons, thugs and small time politicians/crooks. Bribes on the preface of "donations" for 100 different religious festivals a year are taken. There is a total lack of rule of the law and lawlessness. It is a utter failure on the part of the police and judiciary since they do not have the capacity to dispose cases in a timely manner. One needs to be careful and look out for extortionate,fraudulent and deceiving behavior by lawyers and some Charted Accountants. |
Hire a good and trustworthy lawyer/CA who has experience in dealing with bureaucrats. They are also well-versed with the processes and procedures of the laws related to a start-up. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 77898764578 | advaygoyal52@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes | |||
| 44 | 23 Nov 2016 - 19:41 | Anonymous (not verified) | 112.110.25.51 | Not Easy to Do Business | Skill Development | Delhi | New Delhi | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 | 1/5 |
Trade outside state/ country Other |
Getting due payments cleared from the Government | Delay by the department even though I completed the procedure | Central government does not pay to the states and the state government does not pay to the service provider. And eventually when this happens state government officials seek undue advantages. | Let's gather and raise our voices. It may affect our businesses temporarily buy now that Modi government at the Centre is working selflessly, things can be expected to get better. | Both | Varun Gaba | 8800394950 | Profeasion.gaba@gmail.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |
| 43 | 23 Nov 2016 - 18:51 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Entertainment | Delhi | Hauz Khas | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business |
It was quite easy for me to set up my business (LIMN Entertainment) which I would categorize under the entertainment sector. It was easy for me because I registered under my company as a sole proprietorship and also consulted my accountant who handled everything for me. I had to submit just three documents and the process went pretty quick. Infact the process to register my company took only a week or probably 10 days. The difficult part was finding a office space in South Delhi. I looked for 25 to 30 places and my current office where we are sitting was the last place I saw. Different people have different needs. I wanted a place with natural light and parking space and this was the only place I liked which had both of them. Registration of this office (property) was a bit difficult and was an elongated process. It needed a lot of unnecessary paper work. I had got the keys of this office before the paperwork and other formalities were completed. Also had it been a Pvt. Ltd or a Public Limited company, the process of registering the company would be very tedious and no procedure is very clear and straightforward. The process online is also not very easy to understand. One other thing I would like to mention is that the procedure of registering any business or company and the documentation should be online and paperless. It would be much easier that way. But I have heard we are getting better with time unlike how it was in the past. Like taxation is steadily becoming online, I would like the procedure of registering the business or documentation process of registering your start up should be paperless and online. |
It is not advice to others but rather it is a necessity to have all your paperwork in place. A lot of learning takes place only while you are ‘in the process’. I wasn’t aware of running a company or for that manner even manage a team before I started this company. But the journey has been very interesting and I have learnt a lot in the process. One advice would be – you need to be patient. Immense patience is needed if you want to be an entrepreneur. It takes time to set up your company and also for your company to grow unless your business is inherited. My mantara has been – “choose happiness over money!” I was in a very decent and good paying job. But my happiness lied in setting up LIMN and I am very happy about how it is steadily gaining momentum and growing. |
Both | Divij Kaul | 011 4660 2773 | bhavya@limnentertainment.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |||
| 42 | 23 Nov 2016 - 18:40 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Not Easy to Do Business | Management Consultancy | Delhi | Hauz Khas | 4/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 | 2/5 | Register the business | Can’t find information |
Coming from the UK, the whole procedure went a little quicker than I expected. We hired a lawyer who handled all of the legal work. As per the experience, the lack of information regarding how to set up a business here is terrible. In the UK, every piece of information is on the government’s website, which makes the whole procedure very simple, whereas in India, it is so difficult to understand on your own! I would count this alone as a barrier to entry. Every step had to be explained to me by the lawyer or the accountant. And I had no option but to trust my lawyer. There are many grey areas regarding taxes and you don’t know surely what you need to do. Some of our clients are international and we receive certain fees for our expertise in dollars. Hence my accountant advised me to pay certain taxes since but he said it wasn’t a rule and I wasn’t sure whether I needed to pay that tax or not. The procedure could be set up online and that way it could be much easier and less complicated for people like me to go through the procedure. |
To newer entrepreneurs, I would advise you to pick out good lawyers and accountants, and trust them. They know this system best, and work very well with it. In India, such services are quite reasonable in terms of costs – back home; the legal fees alone are too high! Lastly, I’d advise them to get all their paperwork in order before they start, which would make the registration and paperwork a lot faster. |
Both | Laura Quinn | 98107 76929 | laura.quinn@doonething.in | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | ||
| 41 | 23 Nov 2016 - 18:31 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Textiles | Delhi | Hauz Khas | 4/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business |
I registered Safomasi in 2012, when I set it up with my wife, and started it a year later. Signing the business up was the easy part. As a textile business, I also needed a big, clean space. That was really difficult. In fact, this current office is only the second location I took a look at – I did not want to look further and risk losing this one. It suits our needs. Overall, the process seemed complicated though. I wasn’t really involved in the set-up of the business myself. I handed down all the work to my accountant, who did it himself. In terms of the experience, it wasn’t a hassle to me personally, but I found the amount of paperwork required by the government to be too much, taxing and frankly, unnecessary. Moreover, there was no information available about the procedure online, so I didn’t know what the next step was and hence my accountant handled all of that. Hence like everyone even I had to go through a third party despite me having all the paperwork and documents in place. So there is registration fees involved and on the top of it there is this lawyers’ or accountants’ fees involved. If one has all their documents in place, he/ she should be able to independently register the start up and not required to go through a third party. I did not know any of the costs involved as well. They were nowhere to be found – not on the websites, nowhere. When I visited the government office, all kind of unnecessary questions were posed at me rather than asking relevant information pertaining to my business or documents. |
One has to learn how to deal with people. I’ve had different experiences with different people. I’d also advise them to conduct their business, keeping their finances in mind, and only take decisions that are financially sound. At the start, there will be a lot of costs involved, and the profits will trickle in slowly – one has to be patient with it. | Both | Mahinder Singh | 9650869053 | hello@safomasi.com | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Keep me updated about responses to my report and experience. | Yes | |||
| 40 | 23 Nov 2016 - 18:18 | Prashant | 203.122.16.122 | Easy to Do Business | Manufacturing | Delhi | Delhi | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | Register the business | It was not a very complicated process to register the business. However the rules of Excise Duty and Sales Tax is one hassle I face. I have to redesign the process according to the various needs of our clients. At times this becomes a problem. Sanitation and cleanliness is to be maintained because inspection is something unexpected. | One has to be very persistent if you want to start a business. Stick with your project and fight the system. | Keep it Anonymous | Anonymous | 9310533008 | saurabh@dynapen.in | I have read and I agree with the Privacy Policy mentioned below | Yes |