Section 8 (NGO) Company Registration

What a Section 8 company is

A Section 8 company is a company licensed under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 to promote charitable objects — education, art, science, sports, research, social welfare, religion, charity or protection of the environment. Its income and profits must be applied to those objects: no dividends to members, and on winding up any surplus goes to a similar organisation, not to the owners. In exchange, it operates with the credibility, limited liability and governance of a registered company.

Section 8 vs trust vs society

Trusts and societies are simpler and cheaper to form, but a Section 8 company is the structure serious funders take most seriously: MCA-registered, with public filings, a mandatory audit and a board accountable under company law. That is why CSR donors, institutional grant-makers and foreign funders often prefer it. If your ambitions are local and modest, a society or trust may serve — our society and trust registration service covers that choice. If you plan to scale, raise CSR money or build an institution, Section 8 is usually worth the extra compliance.

Licence and incorporation — how it works

Incorporation runs through the MCA's SPICe+ system, with the Section 8 licence woven into the process:

• Name reservation through SPICe+ Part A — the name omits 'Limited' or 'Private Limited' and typically ends in Foundation, Association, Federation or similar.
• DSC and DIN for the proposed directors — a minimum of two directors and two members for the private-company form.
• Memorandum of Association in Form INC-13 stating the charitable objects, together with the Articles of Association.
• Licence application and incorporation filed through SPICe+ Part B, with the required declarations from professionals and directors.
• No minimum capital — you start with whatever the mission needs.
• On approval: the licence, Certificate of Incorporation, PAN and TAN.

Compliance after incorporation

A Section 8 company is a full company in the eyes of the law. It must appoint an auditor and have its accounts audited every year regardless of size, hold board meetings, file AOC-4 (financial statements) and MGT-7 (annual return) with the ROC, and keep directors' KYC current. Breaching licence conditions — distributing profit or straying from the stated objects — can lead to revocation of the licence and penalties, so the objects clause deserves careful drafting at the start.

12A, 80G and funding come separately

Incorporation alone gives no tax benefit. Income-tax exemption needs 12A registration and donor deductions need 80G — both applied for separately after incorporation, and both effectively prerequisites for CSR and institutional funding. We handle these under our 12A & 80G registration service and sequence them so your organisation is funder-ready as early as possible.

Why incorporate with TCC

We manage the whole run — objects drafting, DSC, DIN, name reservation, INC-13, licence and incorporation — at a fixed professional fee with government fees at actuals, then hand you a clear post-incorporation compliance calendar so the new entity starts clean and stays clean.