Where is a society registered?
A society is registered with the Registrar of Societies of the state where its office sits. The governing Act is the Societies Registration Act, 1860, unless that state has its own Act. The filing is not made with the Registrar of Companies.
Which registrar?
The 1860 Act lets seven or more persons associated for a literary, scientific, or charitable purpose form a society by filing a memorandum and certified rules with the registrar of the place. A state that has replaced or adapted that Act uses its own registrar and its own count of members. The fee is that state’s fee. This page does not quote one.
What is filed?
The memorandum names the society, its objects, and the names and addresses of the members of the governing body. The rules set how the society meets and how it is managed. That memorandum is not the memorandum of a company under the Companies Act. A company’s memorandum is on the memorandum page.
Once registered, the society can sue and be sued in the name the Act provides, and its property is dealt with as that Act provides. An unregistered group does not have that registered status. Registration does not, by itself, limit the members’ liability in the way a company does, and it does not grant an income-tax exemption.
What is a society not?
It is not a section 8 company, and it is not registered under the old section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. A company formed for charitable objects takes a licence under section 8 and is incorporated with the Registrar of Companies. That route is on the section 8 page. A society has members and a governing body. It does not have share capital.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover the Registrar of Companies, income tax, the fee, and the number of members.
Is the society filed with the Registrar of Companies?
No. The Registrar of Societies of the state registers it. The Registrar of Companies registers a company, including a section 8 company.
Does registration exempt income tax?
No. An exemption under the Income-tax Act is a separate application. The registration certificate does not grant it.
Is the fee the same in every state?
No. The fee is the state’s fee. This page does not quote one.
Can two people register a society?
Not under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, which requires seven or more persons. A state Act is read for its own number.
Sources
Registration of a society is the Societies Registration Act, 1860, or the Act of the state where the society sits. A section 8 company is a different statute.