Ask Veda
A manufacturing unit deals with tax, labour, environment and product-quality regulators. The approvals below cover most units; your product and state decide the rest.
What each registration is, who issues it and when it applies to a manufacturing unit. Rules vary by state and by size — treat this as the map, and ask us about your exact case.
Mandatory · CBIC
Required once aggregate turnover crosses the threshold — ₹40 lakh for goods and ₹20 lakh for services in most states — and in some cases from the first sale, such as most inter-state supplies of goods.
20+ workers with power (40+ without) · OSH Code
A factory needs a licence (and approval of its plans) from the state factories department before it starts work. Under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, in force from 21 November 2025, a factory is a unit with 20 or more workers using power, or 40 or more without.
By industry category · State PCB
Industrial units need the state pollution control board's Consent to Establish before construction and Consent to Operate before production. The Red, Orange, Green or White category of your industry decides the process and validity; White-category units are generally exempt.
If the product is under a Quality Control Order
Products covered by a Quality Control Order cannot be made, imported or sold without a BIS licence.
10 / 20+ employees · EPFO, ESIC
Provident fund applies from 20 employees and ESI from 10 (in notified areas). Registration is due once you cross the count, and monthly contributions follow.
If you pack goods for retail sale
Manufacturers, packers and importers of pre-packaged goods must register under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules 2011 and print the mandatory declarations — MRP, net quantity, manufacturer or importer details and consumer-care contact — on every pack.
If you export or import · DGFT
The Importer-Exporter Code — needed to clear exports and imports through customs and to receive foreign payments against exports of goods.
Recommended · subsidies & tenders
A free, Aadhaar-based registration that classifies you as a micro, small or medium enterprise — used for priority-sector credit, protection against delayed payments and preferences in government tenders.
Recommended · your product brand
Protects your brand name and logo across India, and is what marketplace brand-registry programmes ask for. Filing early fixes your date of priority.
Some registrations need another one first — this is the sequence that avoids rework.
After the registrations come the returns and filings that keep you compliant.
GST returns, bookkeeping, TDS and annual filings — everything a business like yours has to keep doing, in one place.
See the compliance pack →What people starting a manufacturing unit ask us most.
Most units need Consent to Establish before construction and Consent to Operate before production, under the Water Act 1974 and Air Act 1981. The Red, Orange, Green or White category of your industry decides the process; White-category units are generally exempt.
Only units that meet the definition of a factory. Under the OSH Code 2020, in force from 21 November 2025, that is 20 or more workers using power, or 40 or more without. States are still moving from their Factories Act rules, so check the current position in your state.
If it is covered by a Quality Control Order notified by the relevant ministry, a BIS licence is compulsory before you make, import or sell it. The list changes often, so check before production.
Every sector, with its own checklist.
A CA or CS confirms which of these apply to you, in your state, and handles the ones we cover.