What company registration actually costs in India

Almost every disagreement about incorporation cost comes from mixing these together:

Government filing fee. Payable to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. For companies with authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh, the incorporation filing fee itself is nil under the zero-fee scheme. You still pay for PAN, TAN and the digital signatures.

Stamp duty. A state levy on the memorandum, articles and incorporation form. This is the component that varies most — it differs by state and by authorised capital, and can range from a few hundred rupees to several thousand.

Professional fees. What the CA, CS or platform charges for doing the work. This is the only part anyone competes on, which is why quotes look so different.

For a straightforward two-director private limited company with ₹1 lakh authorised capital, an all-in figure in the region of ₹3,000 to ₹8,000 is realistic in most states, with the spread driven almost entirely by stamp duty and professional fees.

Incorporation is the cheap part. A private limited company then owes, every year: a statutory audit by a chartered accountant, AOC-4 and MGT-7A filings with the Registrar, an income-tax return, DIR-3 KYC for each director, and board and general meeting documentation.

Realistically that is ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 a year for a small company, depending on transaction volume. Founders who budget only for incorporation are frequently caught out in the second year, and the penalties for skipping it — ₹100 per day per form, with director disqualification after three years — are considerably worse than the fees.

There is also Form INC-20A, the declaration of commencement of business, due within 180 days. A company cannot legally borrow or commence business until it is filed, and it is missed surprisingly often.

A ₹999 incorporation quote is usually excluding stamp duty and government charges, quoting for one digital signature rather than two, or treating year-one compliance as a separate upsell. None of that is dishonest, but it is not comparable to an all-in figure.

When comparing, ask three questions: does this include stamp duty for my state, how many digital signatures are included, and what does the first year of compliance cost. The answers make most quotes comparable within a few hundred rupees.

An LLP costs less to run — no statutory audit below ₹40 lakh turnover, two annual forms instead of a full ROC cycle. A proprietorship costs almost nothing. Neither can raise equity investment.

If you are bootstrapping a services business, the compliance saving of an LLP is real money every year. If you intend to raise from investors or issue ESOPs, a private limited company is the only sensible answer and the extra cost is irrelevant against what it enables.