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What is the Society Registration Act? All You Need to Know
Updated : July 12, 2024
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We generally understand the meaning of ‘society’ in the broader sense. It usually denotes the grouping of several individuals who come together for a common cause or interest, from religious, cultural, political, to charitable, scientific, and more. As social creatures, we tend to band together with minds that think alike, share a common belief or some common goals that we would like to achieve. This can be to spread more awareness about eco-friendly practices for the environment, organize regular charitable blood drives for patients who need it, or even a group of bibliophiles who love poetry and want to simply start a free library for the people in the locality. You must have come across such a foundation for public museums, libraries, or charitable trusts. But how does society registration work in India? What is the purpose of society registration? What is the Society Registration Act 1860 which governs the registration process? Let us find out in this blog.
As Per Law: Defining the Society Registration Act
As per the law, a society is defined as an association of a varied number of individuals coming together for a mutual accord to “deliberate, govern, and act” in a cooperative way, for a communal purpose. You may have come across several societies that are registered for advancing charitable activities such as music, culture, art, religion, sports, education and more. The Society Registration Act 1860 (a.k.a. the Societies Registration Act, 1860) is the applicable Indian legislation that came into force in May 1860 by the British Indian Empire and continues to be incorporated under the Act 21 of 1860, wherein under the Right to Information Act, any citizen has the legal right to ask for any information with respect to any society. A replacement of the 1860 act came into effect in 1960 for Karnataka, referred to as the Society Registration Act 1960, with the purpose of improving the legal conditions established in the prior act. Similarly, a variation of the act called the Societies Registration Act 1961 came into effect in West Bengal as well as other Indian states. According to section 20 of the act, a society can be registered for the following purposes:
- Promoting fine arts, science, and literature
- Diffusing of practical or useful knowledge
- Diffusing political education
- Contributing with charitable assistance
- Creating military orphan funds
- Maintaining or creating a foundation of libraries, galleries, or public museums
- Collecting philosophical and mechanical designs, inventions, or instruments
Registering a Society in India
A society registration certificate can be earned by meeting a minimal criterion of 7 or more individuals in India, companies or even foreigners coming together for any of the purposes mentioned above. In the case of housing society registration, for instance, you need 10 individuals looking to initiate the cooperative society registration process.
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While one can do society registration online as well for convenience, it is important to note that society registration rules and regulations are maintained by state governments. This means the society registration form or application must be aligned to the authority of the state in which it is located. Similar to Cooperative Society Registration where you need at least 10 people to combine for a common purpose, before society registration, the members establishing the society must come to an agreement on the society’s name. During the selection of the name for your society’s registration, it is important to remember that you cannot use an existing name that is already registered under the Society Act. Furthermore, you cannot propose a name that pays homage or patronage to neither the government of India nor the state government.
Thereafter, they must prepare for the rules and regulations of the Memorandum of Association of societies. The Rules & Regulations of society as well as the Memorandum of Association of the society is a document that must be signed by every founding member. This memorandum must not only have the name and objectives or mission of the society but also must have the details of founding members along with their current addresses, designations, occupations etc. The signing must be in the presence of a witness by a Notary Public, Gazetted Officer, Advocate, Chartered Accountant, Oath Commissioner, or Magistrate first-class, complete with their address and official stamp. Usually, you pay a society registration fee of INR 50 for the process to complete, again, similar to the housing society registration fees and the cooperative society registration fees in India.
While the process is a bit complex as it requires the cooperation of several members forming the society, there are certain advantages that come with registering a society with the government. For one, the society is considered to be a separate legal entity after the registration is complete. This gives society the rights to sell, lease, buy, rent, or sell any property in its own name. Society can also enter into a contract or borrow money from the bank in its own name. Another benefit is that no single member of the society will be personally responsible for the society’s debt or its obligation. Finally like any other Indian citizen, there are also several tax exemptions that the society can avail it its own name.
Documents Required for Society Registration
There are different documents that you need to prepare before you can satisfy the society Registrar with your application and he/she deems your society register-worthy. Before registering in the first place, you must be prepared with the following:
- A cover letter signed by all the founding/establishing member that requests society registration
- A duplicate copy of the signed Memorandum of Association
- A duplicate copy of the Rules & Regulations documents duly signed by all founding members
- Address proof of the society’s registered office as well as a NOC or No Objection Certificate issued by the office landlord
- An Affidavit that has been avowed by the president and secretary of the society declaring the relationship among its member or subscribers
- The minutes of the society registration meeting along with some essential documents
As for the member of the society, the following society registration documents will need to be submitted:
- The PAN card of all the members of the proposed society along with the application.
- The residence proof of all the members such as Bank Statement, Utility Bill, Driving License, Aadhar Card, or Passport.
- The Memorandum of Association that not only contains the work and objectives of the society, but also the detailed address of the members and the address of the registered society address.
- The Rules & Regulation document containing the norms that the society will be governed by in relation to the day-to-day activities, rules for the admission of new members to the society, details of the society meetings and the frequency they will be held in, details about the Auditors, any Forms of Arbitration in case of disputes within society members and the ways for the dissolution of the society (if/when it comes to it). This document will be then signed by the Chairman, President, Vice President, and the Secretary of the society.
- The cover letter containing the purpose and objectives of the society as mentioned above.
- A declaration by the President of the society mentioning that he/she is both competent and willing to hold the requisite post.
All of the documents mentioned here then need to be presented to the Registrar of Societies along with the required fees. It is best to keep a couple of duplicate copies handy in case it is needed. Keeping an online society registration certificate copy and the necessary audit documents is helpful as stern actions can be taken by the Registrar of Society in case your society gets defaulted for some reason by the auditor. During the registration process itself, the first copy is in fact signed by the registrar at the time of receiving the application as an acknowledgement and returned, while the second copy is taken ahead for approval. After the background verifications and proper vetting of the registration documents, the registrar issues an Incorporation Certificate along with a registration number allotted to the society. Beyond the physical copy, you can also search for the society registration certificate online and even have the society registration certificate downloaded.
Checking Society Registration Online
If you are wondering how to check society registration online, don’t worry, the process is simple. In fact, similar to a multi-state cooperative society registration or a cooperative housing society registration, you can easily find the registration number of the society, its RERA registration status, and even if the project is as per the approved plan. Just like the laws of cooperative society registration online is different for every state, the official websites for checking the registration number can vary from state to state. In the case of society in Chennai for instance, you can follow the process below:
- Visit the official government website of property records in Tamil Nadu to get the allotted number for the certificate of registration of societies, i.e. https://eservices.tn.gov.in/eservicesnew/land/poramboke.html?lan=en
- On the home page, reach the page’s footer by scrolling down and click on the ‘Society’ tab under the ‘Search’ section
- You will be directed to a new window where you can select the zone and district in which the society is located
- By selecting the right society name, you can view the registration number of the society
Ease Up Your Search with the Right Legal Counsel
If you are buying a property in a certain zone within any state, it is advisable to conduct thorough background research about the property and the society it is within. After all, it is not only your dream home that you are looking for, it is also the neighbourhood you will choose to live in for a long time. If you are managing a society, it is similarly advisable to ensure that the prerequisites of the society are met at all times and the proper legal process is offered to residents in case a dispute arises within society members. When it comes to legal issues and paperwork, you need to be extremely careful, even the slightest mistake could mean a huge loss. The best way to avoid such mistakes is to get a team of professionals to assist you. At NoBroker, our experts will guide you and ensure your paperwork is perfect.
Click the link below to know more about NoBroker Legal services. You can even drop us a comment below with any questions and we’ll be happy to help.
FAQ's
Ans. A society is defined as the association of individuals coming together for a mutual purpose from anything from increasing access to or advancing charitable activities including education, knowledge, art, culture, religion, music etc.
Ans. The list of documents includes the list of all members, a PAN card, proof of residence of members, a Memorandum of Association, the Rules & Regulations of the society, a Proof of Address of the society, a cover letter with objectives, a self-declaration, and a NOC from the landlord/owner of the office of the registered society.
Ans. Apart from the associated costs of notarized documents and legal counsel, the actual fees for society registration in India are ~INR 50.
Ans. Due to being registered, the society becomes a legal entity itself with rights including the ability to buy, lease, sell a property, borrow money from the bank with its own account, as well as earn some income tax exemptions under the Income Tax Act.
Ans. Yes, NRAs and foreign nationals are allowed to become a part of society or even hold an important position.
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