Ask Veda
A shop or franchise outlet needs the municipal and labour registrations for the premises, GST once sales grow, and category licences for what it sells.
What each registration is, who issues it and when it applies to a retail store. Rules vary by state and by size — treat this as the map, and ask us about your exact case.
Mandatory · State labour dept
Registers a shop, office, restaurant or other commercial establishment under the state's Shops and Establishments Act. Who must register, and the exemptions, differ from state to state.
Mandatory · Municipal corporation
A municipal licence to carry on a particular trade at a particular premises. Eating houses, shops and many workshops need one from the local body — in some cities it is called a health trade licence.
Above threshold · 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.
If you sell food · FSSAI
Every food business that makes, stores, sells or serves food needs a basic registration, a state licence or a central licence. Which one depends on turnover and activity; from 1 April 2026 the slabs are ₹1.5 crore (basic) and ₹50 crore (state).
If you pack or import packaged goods
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.
Recommended · essential for franchisors
Protects your brand name and logo across India, and is what marketplace brand-registry programmes ask for. Filing early fixes your date of priority.
Recommended · benefits & credit
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.
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 →City guides with the local authorities, fees and timelines.
What people starting a retail store ask us most.
₹40 lakh for goods in most states (₹20 lakh in some special-category states). Voluntary registration lets business customers claim input tax credit.
Yes — selling packaged or loose food makes you a food business; small stores usually need only the basic registration.
Yes. Franchising is licensing a brand, and an unregistered brand is hard to license and harder to enforce.
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.