Section 8 company, public charitable trust or society — structured for the funding you actually intend to raise.
Three structures are available for a non-profit in Tamil Nadu, and the right one depends almost entirely on where the money will come from. A trust is quick and cheap but hard to govern; a society suits membership-driven bodies; a Section 8 company is the structure institutional donors and CSR committees are most comfortable funding. We register all three in Chennai and, more usefully, tell you which one your funding plan actually needs before you commit.
Comparing the three structures
Public charitable trust
Society
Section 8 company
Governing law
Indian Trusts principles; registered with the Sub-Registrar in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975
Companies Act, 2013
Minimum people
Two trustees
Seven members
Two directors and two shareholders
Founding document
Trust deed
Memorandum and rules
MOA and AOA with a Section 8 licence
Setup time
About a week
Three to six weeks
Three to five weeks
Ongoing filing
Minimal
Annual return to the Registrar of Societies
AOC-4, MGT-7, statutory audit
Preferred by CSR and institutional donors
Sometimes
Sometimes
Usually
If you intend to receive CSR funds, start with the structure that will survive due diligence. A corporate CSR committee will ask for the registration certificate, 12A and 80G orders, Form CSR-1, three years of audited accounts and the FCRA position. Registering a trust now and converting later is far more expensive than getting it right at the outset.
Section 8 company registration — the process
DSC and name reservation. Class 3 signatures for the proposed directors, then name approval through SPICe+ Part A. Names must reflect the charitable object and typically end with Foundation, Association, Society, Council or similar.
Licence under Section 8. Applied through SPICe+ along with the draft MOA in INC-13, a declaration in INC-14 from a practising professional, and INC-15 from each subscriber, plus a statement of estimated income and expenditure for three years.
Incorporation forms. SPICe+ Part B with AOA, subscriber details, PAN, TAN and the registered office particulars.
Certificate and licence issued. The Registrar issues the licence and the Certificate of Incorporation together, with the CIN.
Post-incorporation. Bank account, INC-20A commencement declaration, NGO Darpan registration with NITI Aayog, and the income tax registrations below.
Trust registration in Chennai
A public charitable trust is created by a deed executed by the settlor in favour of trustees, on stamp paper of the value prescribed in Tamil Nadu, and registered with the jurisdictional Sub-Registrar. The deed must state the objects with precision, name the trustees and the mode of succession, describe the initial corpus, and set out the powers to invest, borrow and apply income. Vague objects are the most common reason a later 12A application is questioned — write them so that every activity you intend to carry out is plainly covered.
12A and 80G registration
Registration under the Income Tax Act is what makes the entity useful. Section 12A exempts the entity's own income when applied to its objects; Section 80G lets donors claim a deduction, which is the difference between a donor saying yes and saying maybe.
Form 10A is filed for a new or provisional registration. Provisional registration is granted for three years.
Form 10AB converts provisional to regular registration, filed at least six months before expiry of the provisional period, or within six months of commencement of activities, whichever is earlier.
Regular registration now runs for a longer cycle for smaller trusts — the Finance Act, 2025 extended the validity period to ten years for entities whose total income before exemption does not exceed ₹5 crore in each of the two preceding years. Larger entities continue on the five-year renewal cycle.
Form 10BD — the statement of donations received — must be filed by 31 May each year, and donation certificates in Form 10BE issued to donors. Miss this and your donors lose their deduction.
Form CSR-1 with the MCA is mandatory before the entity can receive CSR funds from any company.
Documents you will need
PAN, Aadhaar and photographs of all trustees, members or directors
Address proof of each — bank statement or utility bill not older than two months
Registered office proof: electricity bill or property tax receipt, rent agreement and owner's No Objection Certificate
Draft objects, activity plan and a three-year projection of income and application
For 12A and 80G: registration certificate, deed or MOA, PAN of the entity, bank statements, and audited accounts where the entity has been operating
Once registered, the entity needs proper books, an annual audit in Form 10B or 10BB, and the annual return. We handle that as an ongoing engagement — see bookkeeping and ROC annual filing for Section 8 companies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. A Section 8 company can pay reasonable remuneration for services actually rendered, including to directors who work in the organisation. What it cannot do is distribute profit or dividend to members. Excessive payments to founders or their relatives are the fastest way to attract scrutiny under Section 13 of the Income Tax Act and put the 12A registration at risk.
Only if you intend to receive foreign contributions. FCRA registration requires the entity to have been in existence for three years with a defined minimum of spending on its objects, and it now requires an SBI New Delhi Main Branch designated FCRA account. Prior permission for a specific project is the usual route for a newer organisation.
Provisional registration under Form 10A is usually processed within a few weeks and is largely document-driven. Regular registration through Form 10AB involves scrutiny of actual activities and typically takes longer, often with a query on the genuineness of activities that has to be answered with evidence of work done.
A trust. A deed can be drafted, stamped and registered with the Sub-Registrar in about a week. That speed is why many organisations start as trusts, but if institutional or CSR funding is the plan, a Section 8 company is usually worth the extra three to four weeks.