Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954
To register a proprietorship firm in Delhi, you take free Udyam registration and a registration under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954 in the firm name, and then open a current account. Delhi levies no professional tax, so that route is closed, and GST is compulsory only above Rs 40 lakh of turnover for goods or Rs 20 lakh for services, or from your first inter-state sale of goods.
Delhi proprietors have one fewer option than proprietors almost anywhere else, and it matters. Delhi does not levy professional tax, so there is no enrolment certificate available as a second document. That removes the lightest route to satisfying a bank and pushes Delhi proprietors towards either a Shop and Establishment registration or GST, which is precisely the choice we would rather they made deliberately.
For the national picture, including the full list of registrations and what each costs, see our sole proprietorship registration guide. Once you are trading, the yearly filings are covered under sole proprietorship compliance.
| Registration | Position in Delhi, October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Shops and Establishments | Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954. The occupier sends the statement for registration within 90 days of the establishment starting work (Section 5); changes are reported within 30 days |
| Professional tax | Not levied in Delhi, so there is no enrolment certificate to use as a document |
| GST threshold | Rs 40 lakh for goods-only suppliers, Rs 20 lakh for services. Compulsory from the first inter-state sale of goods, whatever the turnover |
| Sector licences | FSSAI, IEC or drug licence where the activity needs one; each is also a firm-name document |
| Udyam | Free and online on udyamregistration.gov.in, the usual first document |
Sources: Labour Department, Delhi - Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954. State thresholds and portals change, so we re-check the current position for your case before filing.
Registration under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, handled online, is the main alternative to GST. Where you have commercial premises it is straightforward. Where you work from home it can be harder to justify, which is where the pressure to take GST unnecessarily comes from.
Governing legislation for premises and employment: Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954. Thresholds, portals and whether registration or intimation applies differ by state and change from time to time, so we confirm the current position for your specific case before you pay for anything.
Delhi's wholesale trade is the largest single source of new proprietorships in the country, and most of them will need GST anyway because they supply inter-state. Inter-state supply of goods triggers compulsory registration regardless of turnover, so a Sadar Bazar or Chandni Chowk trader shipping to another state is registrable from the first consignment. For that group the second-document question resolves itself. It is the Delhi service professional below the threshold who has the genuine dilemma, and for them a Shop and Establishment registration is almost always the better answer than a GST registration they will file returns against forever.
Wholesale and trading businesses across Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Karol Bagh and Gandhi Nagar, independent professionals across south and central Delhi, and service businesses throughout.
One thing to be clear about before anything else, because almost every page on this subject is not. There is no such thing as a sole proprietorship registration certificate in India. No Act creates the entity, no registrar records it, and nothing is issued. The business exists the moment you start trading. What people mean by registration is the set of registrations under other laws that produce a document in the firm name, and what a bank actually asks for, implementing the RBI KYC framework, is two of those documents plus your own KYC and a proprietary declaration. Udyam is free and instant and makes a good first one. The second is the decision worth paying for, and taking voluntary GST purely to fill that slot is the expensive mistake this page exists to prevent.
| Item | Position as at October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Constituting statute | None. No Act creates a proprietorship and no certificate is issued |
| What a bank wants | Two government-issued documents in the firm name, proprietor KYC, and a proprietary declaration |
| Udyam | Free, instant and lifetime on udyamregistration.gov.in. No government fee |
| MSME limits, from 1 April 2025 | Micro up to Rs 2.5 crore investment and Rs 10 crore turnover, small Rs 25 crore and Rs 100 crore |
| Classification basis | Composite. Both conditions must hold, and exports are excluded from turnover |
| Traders on Udyam | Covered for priority sector lending, but outside the 45-day buyer-payment protection |
| GST threshold | Rs 40 lakh for goods-only suppliers and Rs 20 lakh for services in most states. Lower in some, including Telangana, where goods stay at Rs 20 lakh |
| Compulsory GST | Inter-state supply of goods, whatever the turnover |
| PAN | No separate firm PAN. Your personal PAN is the firm PAN |
| Presumptive taxation | Section 58, Income-tax Act 2025, from Tax Year 2026-27. Was 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE |
| Presumptive rates | 8 per cent of turnover, 6 per cent on digital receipts, 50 per cent for specified professionals. Unchanged |
| Advance tax, presumptive | A single instalment by 15 March |
| Package | Fee | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | Rs 1,299 | Udyam, trade name check and the document plan |
| Business | Rs 2,499 | Plus GST, Shop Act or professional tax, and the current account pack |
| Complete | Rs 6,999 | Plus books, two quarters of GST returns and your first ITR |
| Trademark application | From Rs 2,199 plus government fee | The only way to actually own the trade name |
| Conversion to Pvt Ltd or LLP | Quoted separately | When the structure is outgrown |
Udyam registration and GST registration carry no government fee at all. A Shop and Establishment registration, professional tax enrolment and any sector licence carry state charges paid at actuals, and a trademark application carries a government fee per class. We tell you which parts are free before you pay us for anything.
Every price above is a professional fee, excluding GST and government charges. 50% upfront, 50% on delivery.
All fees and charges listed are indicative only and do not constitute a binding offer. Final amounts may vary depending on the volume of work and the complexity involved.
File Udyam first, which is free. Because Delhi has no professional tax, the usual second document is registration under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, which should be applied for within 90 days of starting work. A sector licence such as FSSAI or IEC also works. With those, your PAN and Aadhaar and the bank's proprietorship declaration, you can open a current account without taking GST you do not need.
Our fee starts at Rs 1,299 for the Starter package (Udyam, trade name check and the document plan), Rs 2,499 with the second document and current account pack, and Rs 6,999 adding books, two quarters of GST returns and your first ITR. Udyam and GST carry no government fee. Any Delhi Shop Act, professional tax or licence charge is paid at actuals. Fees exclude GST.
Registration under the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954 is the usual answer, and it is done online. Where your activity brings a sector licence such as FSSAI or IEC, that serves equally well. GST is the fallback rather than the first choice, because it brings a permanent return filing obligation that the other options do not. Losing the professional tax route genuinely narrows the field in Delhi, so the remaining choice deserves more thought here than elsewhere.
Yes, from the first inter-state consignment of goods. Inter-state supply of goods is one of the categories requiring compulsory registration regardless of turnover, so the threshold does not help you. For most of Delhi's wholesale trade this settles the question, and the second document for the bank is simply your GST certificate alongside Udyam.
Usually yes, and it is worth attempting before defaulting to GST. The Delhi Act is directed at commercial establishments, and a purely residential set-up with no employees sits awkwardly against it, but the online process is straightforward and the registration is widely issued. Where it genuinely does not fit, a sector licence is the next option and GST the last. We would rather test the lighter routes than register you for a monthly return you did not need.
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Reviewed by the CA and CS Team, CorporateWalla · Last updated 16 October 2026 · · Sources: Udyam Registration portal, GST portal, Income Tax Department, Labour Department, Delhi - Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954
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