Society Registration in India

Society Registration

Society Registration, according to Societies Registration Act,1860 is nothing but an act of registration of scientific, charitable and literary societies. It can clearly be seen, therefore, that it is a kind of organization which is not looking for any kind of profits. One of the most common yet important examples of such societies is NGOs. A minimum of seven members is required in order to register it, though registration is not a necessity but registration certainly brings a lot of benefits along, exemption from taxes and easy purchase of property to name a few. These for-no-profit societies generally work on a particular agenda, namely an objective or vision. Societies can be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 or corresponding State legislation if any. Maharashtra is the only state where a society has to be registered with the Charity Commissioner. The Registrar of Societies(RoS) is the authority under this Act and a RoS has been set up in various states. Before registering your society there are certain things you need to keep in mind. Described below are those steps and further steps as to how you can register your society in India.
Before registering your society, the first and foremost thing you need to do is form a Memorandum of Association (MoA).

But what is it?

A memorandum of association is nothing but a legal document which basically contains the name and objective, the rules and regulations practised by the society which needs to be certified by at least three members of the Governing body along with the names, occupations and addresses of the governors, directors and the governing body (primarily the seven members at the time of the inception of the society) which is responsible for handling all the affairs.
After that, you are all set to register your society. You need to file the memorandum to the Registrar after which the registrar verifies all the documents in it. It should be noted that all the documents have to be certified. After the verification, a certificate is issued hence completing the registration.

Documents Required for Registration of a Society:

a) A Covering letter with a request for registration mentioning the necessary documents attached to it. It has to be signed by all the subscribers to the memorandum or by a person authorized by all the subscribers to sign on their behalf.
b) Memorandum of Association in triplicate along with a neatly typed and serially numbered certified copy.
c) Duly signed Rules and Regulations/Bye-laws in triplicate.
d) Where there is a reference to any particular existing place of worship, establishing legal competence and control of applicant society, a sufficient documentary proof over the places of religious worship must be filed.
e) Affidavit on Non-Judicial stamp paper of appropriate value verified by the President or Secretary of the society stating the relationship between the subscribers. The affidavit should be attested by an Oath Commissioner or a Notary Public (with a three-rupee Notarial Stamp affixed) or a Magistrate 1st Class.
f) Residential proof such as Property Tax receipt, rent receipt in respect of premises shown as Registered Office of the society or no-objection certificate from the owner of the premises.
The registration process may sound easy, however organizing all the documents and formulating a Memorandum of Association can be quite too much. The fact that it is an organization for the betterment of other people; you should not consider it to be a source of income or any kind of benefit. We, at LegaalRaasta, can help you with society registration, all you need to do is fill a simple form online.

This article has been contributed by Simmi Setia, Content Writer at LegalRaasta, an online portal for GST Software, GST Return Filing, GST Registration, Section 8 Company Registration, Nidhi Company Registration, IEC Registration, Fssai License, File ITR Online.