Starting a Company This Diwali? The First-Year Checklist — and What the KyaTax Diwali 2026 Launch Packs Cover
- A new private limited company has five registrations and three hard deadlines in its first six months: board meeting and auditor (30 days), stamped share certificates (60 days), INC-20A (180 days).
- The Diwali 2026 Startup Launch Pack bundles incorporation, GST, DPIIT, Udyam, IEC, three months of GST filing and two CA advisory sessions at one professional fee; the Founder's Year Pack adds the first-year audit, 12 months of GST, Virtual CFO and KT Pro.
- All pack prices are professional fees only — government fees, stamp duty and DSC are extra at actuals — and the offers close on 15 November 2026.
Diwali is when a lot of Indian businesses are born on paper: the name is decided over the holidays, the partner is convinced, and in the first week of November someone searches "company registration cost". The registration itself is the easy part. What trips up first-time founders is the sequence of filings and registrations that follows the certificate — each with its own portal, document set and penalty. This guide lays out the whole first year in order, with the dates and the costs of getting them wrong, and then explains exactly what the two Diwali 2026 launch packs on the Diwali 2026 Offers page include and exclude, so you can compare them with doing it piecemeal.
The first 90 days: five registrations
| Registration | Authority | Government fee | Why it matters in year one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incorporation (Pvt Ltd / LLP / OPC) | MCA — SPICe+ / FiLLiP | Nil form fee up to ₹15 lakh capital; stamp duty by state; DSC ₹800–1,500 each | Legal entity, PAN, TAN, bank account |
| GST registration | GSTN | Nil | Needed from day one for B2B invoicing, marketplaces, inter-state sales and input credit |
| Startup India (DPIIT) recognition | DPIIT | Nil | Gateway to the 80-IAC tax holiday, Seed Fund Scheme, self-certification, patent-fee rebate |
| Udyam (MSME) certificate | Ministry of MSME | Nil | Collateral-free CGTMSE loans, 45-day payment protection, tender preferences |
| Import Export Code (IEC) | DGFT | ₹500 | Required the first time money comes from or goes abroad — including a foreign client paying for software |
Four of the five carry no government fee. They get missed anyway, because each lives on a different portal with a different login, and nobody owns the list.
The three deadlines founders never hear about
- 30 days — first board meeting and first auditor. Section 173 requires the first board meeting within 30 days; section 139(6) requires the board to appoint the first auditor in the same window. The meeting also authorises the bank account and records directors' disclosures (MBP-1, DIR-8).
- 60 days — share certificates. Section 56(4): certificates to the subscribers within two months of incorporation, signed by two directors and stamped under the state Stamp Act (Delhi: 0.1% of value). An unstamped certificate is the first red flag in any investor's due diligence.
- 180 days — INC-20A. The declaration of commencement of business under section 10A, with the bank statement showing each subscriber paid their share money from their own account. Until it is filed the company cannot legally start business or borrow. The penalty is ₹50,000 on the company plus ₹1,000 a day on each director (up to ₹1 lakh each), and the Registrar may begin strike-off. The form fee is ₹200.
Worked example: the cost of a missed year one
A company is incorporated on 10 November 2026 with two directors and ₹1 lakh capital. The founders register GST themselves, skip the rest "until there is revenue", and come back in October 2027 for their first audit.
| Miss | Consequence |
|---|---|
| INC-20A not filed by 9 May 2027 | ₹50,000 + ₹1,000/day per director; company cannot borrow for the bank limit it wanted in August |
| Share certificates issued in October 2027, unstamped | Section 56(6) penalty exposure; rectification before the seed round |
| GSTR-1/3B not filed for the nil months | Late fee per return per day, plus GSTIN suspension risk after two missed periods |
| DIR-3 KYC missed on 30 Sep 2027 | Both DINs deactivated; ₹5,000 each to revive; annual filings stuck |
| No DPIIT application | No eligibility for the Seed Fund Scheme round they wanted to apply to in March |
None of these is hard. Each is a date that nobody was watching.
What the Diwali 2026 Startup Launch Pack covers
The pack is one professional fee for the first-90-days list above, done in sequence by the same team:
- Incorporation of a Pvt Ltd, LLP or OPC — name approval, two DSCs, DIN, MOA/AOA, certificate, PAN and TAN.
- GST registration with the right scheme (regular, QRMP or composition).
- Startup India (DPIIT) recognition, Udyam certificate and IEC.
- Three months of GST return filing — nil returns in the launch months; a period with transactions is filed at the regular per-month fee quoted in advance.
- Two advisory sessions with a CA with 10+ years' experience: funding routes (seed fund, bank, angels), the first-year compliance calendar and tax structure.
- A guided post-incorporation checklist: bank resolution, INC-20A, first auditor, share certificates.
The professional fee is ₹21,000. It is exclusive of GST, government and statutory fees (MCA, stamp duty, DSC, DGFT) and out-of-pocket expenses at actuals. It covers one entity with up to two Indian-resident directors or partners.
What the Founder's Year Pack adds
- Everything in the Startup Launch Pack.
- First-year statutory audit and the company's income-tax return.
- Twelve months of GST compliance: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B (monthly or QRMP), 2B reconciliation, annual-return guidance.
- Twelve months of Virtual CFO access (Starter tier): monthly MIS, cash-flow view, quarterly review call.
- Twelve months of KT Pro bookkeeping software, free, on your own device.
- First-year ROC filings: AOC-4, MGT-7A, ADT-1, DIR-3 KYC.
- One dedicated CA contact for the year.
The professional fee is ₹75,000 for the twelve months from incorporation, with the same exclusions. Audit and GST scope cover turnover up to ₹2 crore and up to 100 invoices a month; higher volumes, multi-state registrations and notice replies are quoted separately. Payment in two instalments is available on request.
Which pack, for whom
| You are… | Pack | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A founder with an accountant friend who will handle books, but you want the registrations done right and fast | Startup Launch Pack | Gets the five registrations, INC-20A and the first GST returns off your plate |
| A founder building product full-time with no finance person | Founder's Year Pack | One CA owns the calendar; books, GST, audit and ROC are handled; MIS every month |
| A running business that needs a bank limit | CMA Data + Project Report (₹2,499) | Bank-format CMA and DPR, CA-reviewed, in three working days |
| A business raising a priced round in six months | Founder's Year Pack, then speak to us about the data room | Clean cap table, stamped certificates and monthly MIS are what diligence asks for |
Common mistakes with "cheap" registration offers
- Comparing the registration fee alone. The expensive part of year one is the ₹100-a-day additional fees and the ₹50,000 INC-20A penalty, not the incorporation.
- Buying a DIN or Udyam "add-on". Up to three DINs come free inside SPICe+; Udyam is free. If a quote charges for them, ask why.
- Nil GST returns left unfiled because "there were no sales". The late fee runs anyway.
- Treating the DPIIT certificate as the tax exemption. The 80-IAC holiday needs a separate Inter-Ministerial Board approval; recognition is step one.
- No written scope. Ask what turnover and invoice volume the "annual compliance" covers; the Diwali packs state both.
Do it yourself in minutes — free to try, no login needed.
Open Diwali 2026 Offers →Frequently asked questions
Till when are the Diwali 2026 offers valid?
Payments received by 15 November 2026 (IST) lock the Diwali price. Work can begin after that date; the price does not change once paid.
Are government fees included in the pack prices?
No. All prices are professional fees only — exclusive of GST, government and statutory fees (MCA, stamp duty, GST, DGFT), DSC charges and out-of-pocket expenses, billed at actuals.
What does "3 months of GST return filing" mean in the Startup Launch Pack?
GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for the three return periods after registration. Nil returns are included; a period with transactions is filed at the regular per-month fee communicated in advance.
Can I upgrade from the Startup Launch Pack to the Founder's Year Pack later?
Yes, within 60 days of your first payment by paying the difference, provided the Founder's Year Pack offer was valid on the date of the first payment.
General information for FY 2026-27, not professional advice for your specific case. Rules change — verify against the latest notification or ask a KyaTax expert.
Related: All free tools · More guides · Virtual CFO