Written by : Rajiv Singh

A Chartered Accountant in UK with 15+ years of experience in FinTech Consulting, Accounting & International Taxation. I enjoy being a Social, Foodie and Father of two young children, reachable at linktr.ee/RajivSingh.


How To Register An Advertising Agency In India?

Rajiv Singh
Rajiv Singh, CA, FAIA

Jul 9, 2021 04:34

With the growth of more and more small businesses and startups, the advertising market has also proliferated. People these days are innovative, creative and are not afraid of starting their own businesses. Amidst the startup culture, the young entrepreneurs are giving their sweat and blood into establishing their dreams. The advertising agencies act as supporting agents for them to succeed in their entrepreneurial mission. Advertising Agencies are here to stay, and so more and more people are getting attracted to it.

Key Aspects of the Advertising agency registration process in India

If you want to go for advertising agency registration, it is best to register your venture as a company. It will help you in creating a prospering venture in the long term. Registering as a company offers a sturdy legal base and increases your chances to find additional funding for expansion.

Now, we will deal with some of the basic steps that one needs to follow as per the advertising agency registration process in India.

Here we have explained the various documents, approvals and steps involved in the advertising agency registration process.

The advertising agency registration process is not a lengthy or tedious task if all steps are followed precisely in a time-bound manner. It will hardly take you two weeks to get the incorporation certificate of your advertising agency. But this does not guarantee a timely registration, as the wait primarily depends on the Registrar of Companies (RoC) at that time. Many times the delay happens due to repeated rejection of the suggested name of the company or agency. So one should also be prepared for long waits, especially when dealing with something as unpredictable as the registration of an Advertising Agency.

Here is the detailed procedure, along with timelines and penalties for in case of defaults. The first step involves Obtaining Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), which takes about 2 to 5 days to complete. Since most of the registration work has been shifted to online mode, the Digital Signature of the company's director is needed for the electronic documents. For the validity of the Digital Signature, the person needs to have a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). The MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) has appointed six certifying authorities, including nCode, Tata Consultancy Services and e-Mudhra, for the same purposes. You can obtain a Digital Signature Certificate via the vendor of any of these authorities.

The charges vary from authority to authority and vendor to vendor. It primarily includes the cost of the certificate and the physical USB token. The process takes 2-4 days as it involves transferring hard copies of the documents by courier. In the case of online service, self-attested soft copies of the papers do the work.

Documents required for the advertising agency registration process include:
  • Firstly, you have to submit a hard copy of the Digital Signature Certificate or Class-ll form.
  • Secondly, and most important, identity proof. You can use a self-attested copy of your Aadhar card or PAN card as identity proof. A copy of your passport is necessary if the applicant is a foreign citizen.
  • Apart from DSC and Identity proof, you'll also have to submit an address proof. You may use a self-attested copy of your Voter ID or Password or Driving License or Adhaar card, or Ration Card. You may also use utility bills like electricity bills and telephone bills. However, keep in mind that the bills should not be older than two months from the date of filing the form and must be in the applicant's name.

Mistakes to avoid during the advertising agency registration process

Some common mistakes lead to the rejection of DSC, further causing a delay in registering the advertising agency. These include:

  • The common and most frequent mistake is adding a prefix before the applicant's name. Do not add any prefix like Ms./ Mr./Shri in the form.
  • Maintain utmost precision while filling up the forms. Use full forms of the names, i.e. do not use abbreviations of the names regardless of what is mentioned in official documents. A silly mistake like a spelling error can cost you weeks in such procedures.
  • You must use the latest documents while submitting as corroborative evidence. The utility bills should not be older than two months and should be in the applicant's name.

Approval of the name of the advertising agency

An extremely crucial point one must consider is timely choosing an appropriate name for the agency. Waiting for the DIN to initiate this process would be a foolish decision. You can commence with the name registration and approval instantaneously as the DSC gets filed.
The INC-29 allows you to apply for only one name for approval, and MCA is quite picky with the names it permits. Hence deciding on a probable name from the initial stage of registration would help in prompt approval. The agency name does not necessarily be the brand name. Generally, online advertising agencies and companies strive to have the same name as their brand name. However, there is no compulsion to follow this trend. The name should also be accompanied by the object and provide the significance of each proposed name. A couple of lines on each shall be sufficient to furnish relevant information to the concerned authorities.

Furnishing MOA and AOA with the MCA

After the approval of a name, it is imperative to furnish more information about the agency to the MCA. For this purpose, you need to provide a Memorandum of Association and an Article of Association. You can hire a CS or a lawyer to draft these documents. Self-attest these documents before the final submission. The incorporation agreement is another document that you have to submit.

It is best to engage already existing shareholders and investors while incorporating the agency to safeguard your agency from any person's malicious intentions. Such a measure will enable you to establish a trustworthy and reliable atmosphere from the very inception.

Collaborate with Gotaxfile and take your Advertising Agency to the next level!

Gotaxfile file offers optimized services in the domains of tax, finance, and regulatory compliances. We shall simplify the entire registration process for you. Our team will handle all the technical nitty-gritty. We ensure to keep our patrons abreast with the new requirements that may have been introduced lately and do not let them miss important details and deadlines. The Gotaxfil team would guide you through the entire registration process to help prevent any avoidable error during any of the steps in the advertising agency registration process. Our experienced and skilled team has given great guidance to various advertising agencies and helped get themselves registered smoothly.

Thus, the advertising agency registration process can undergo smoothly with the support of our Gotaxfile team. Reach out to our experts right away to avail of our excellent services.

Rajiv Singh
Rajiv Singh, CA, FAIA

Jul 9, 2021 04:34

Need some Help?

We know trying a new service can be scary, that's why we want to make this 100% risk-free for you and your company

Order Now Ask Tax Mentor

GoTaxfile is trading name operated by TaxTrolley Fintech Pvt. Ltd. in India. Learn more about org. under terms & privacy policy.
India Co. Reg. 132121 / UK Co. 10827411
UK GDPR ICO Registration ZA787002, India GSTIN 09AAHCT9946J1ZI