Agile Form (Form-INC-35) : A Government Step Toward Ease Of Doing Business

The government introduced the Agile Form INC-35 that has to be filed with E-form SPICE. The form is a mandatory requirement although the directors of the company have an option of opting out of filing GST and other services that are offered with the application of the form.

The introduction of the form in the Indian company law practice has been brought after the amendment of company rules in 2019 and with that inclusion of Rule 38 A in the company (incorporation), rules 2014.

Purpose of Filing eForm

Any company after 29 March 2019 will be incorporated using e-services provided by MCA or through E- form  SPICe. This introduction of the new form has made various business registration easier for the companies.

Now any new company that is incorporated has the option of obtaining the following registration:

• Goods and Service Tax Identification Number (GSTIN)
• Employee Provident Organisation (EPFO)
• Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)

Applicability of Form INC-35

E-form AGILE is applicable for companies that are incorporated using online services or through SPICe form only. No companies that are incorporated through physical application will require the filing of the AGILE form.

Moreover, only the companies that are registered after 29th March 2019 are required to file form AGILE, which excludes companies that have filed SPICe form before the mentioned date, this means that the companies have to go for separate registration for the following business certificates.

The business registration mentioned in rule 38 A of the companies act 2014 will be effective from different days this means that are registered prior to the days mentioned they will have to receive registration for other services separately. The effective dates are as follows:

1. GST Registration services will be applicable from the date of 31st March 2019
2. EPFO registration services will be effective from the date of 8th April 2019
3. ESIC services will be applicable from the date of 15th April 2019

Document Requirement for INC-35

If you hoping to register a company with MCA and you require GST or any other business registration following mandatory documents will be required to file along e-form AGILE

• Description of goods and services which will be provided by the company
• The details of the proposed directors in the AGILE form should match the SPICE e-form, and the number of directors for the companies should be

1. One director in case of One Person Company
2. Two directors in case of Private Company
3. In the case of Public limited company three directors
4. five in case of Producer Company

• HSN code
• Registered office proof; the following documents will act as proof for a registered office

1. Property Tax Receipt
2. Electricity Bill
3. The ownership document(Sale Deed)
4. Rental agreement and NOC from the owner of the property
5. Latest photograph of the directors
6. Authorization letter if the application is filed by a director
7. Board resolution passed by the company directors

Procedure

The agile form is just an attachment to a pre-existing form SPICe that the applicant will have to file while registering his company with MCA. The form has no extra cost attached to it, and hence the person registering the company will receive GSTIN and other services free of cost.

This is a mandatory attachment although the applicant has an option of not selecting any service and register his company without GSTIN, EPFO and ESIC.

Exemption to E-form AGILE

E-form Agile has been made mandatory for companies that are seeking registration through online medium. The form provides services of registering for services such as GSTIN and EPFO and ESIC, but there is a certain exception that is applicable for each of the services where the companies can opt out of registering themselves if they do not fall into following criteria:

Applicability of ESIC

ESIC provides for medical attention of the employees that are registered under the ESI Act,1948. The registration is applicable for all factories and other establishments such as restaurants and other establishments that have 10 or more persons employed and with a monthly wage that does not exceed Rs. 21,000.

Section 2(12) of the act provides for the same and section 1(5) of the act extends the same to restaurants, cinemas and some other establishments as well where the number of employees is 10 and 20 in certain states and UT’s.

If the number of employees exceeds 20 or 10 (as provided in the state) the employee’s salary wouldn’t matter.

Note: The threshold for factories and establishment in Maharashtra and Chandigarh is 20 employees.

And, hence if the companies or establishment do not complete the following requirement, they do not have to obtain registration under the AGILE form as well. While filing the form, the companies have the option to deselect the service they don’t require or the service they do not wish to take at that time.

Applicability of GSTIN

Applicability of GSTIN will be valid only if the company registering is involved in any kind of E-commerce business and if the company wants to conduct business in more than one state. The companies that do not have a turnover of Rs 60 lakh have an option of leaving themselves out of such registration, but if their turnover exceeds anytime the mark of 60 lakh, they will have to obtain GSTIN number to operate in India.

Applicability of EPFO

EPF registration is mandatory for all establishments that have

• Any factory that is engaged in an industry that has 20 or more persons
• To any other establishment that is notified by the central government, even if the employed people are less than 20.