NGO registration in Maharashtra, explained
- Structures availableTrust, society, Section 8
- Authorities in MaharashtraSub-Registrar, Registrar of Societies, RoC
- Timeline7 to 20 working days
- Tax exemptionSeparate, under Section 332
"NGO" is a description, not a legal form. Nothing on the Indian statute book creates an entity called a non-governmental organisation. What exists are three ways to give a charitable initiative in Maharashtra a legal body, each written for a different kind of organisation and each administered by a different authority. Everything that follows, tax exemption, the donor deduction, government grants, corporate CSR money and foreign contributions, sits on top of that first choice as a separate registration with its own conditions.
For founders in Maharashtra, the choice usually comes down to a trade between speed and standing. A trust can be registered in a week and a half and asks very little of you afterwards. A Section 8 company takes longer, costs more and carries real annual filings, and it is what a corporate CSR committee or an institutional grantmaker wants to see. A society sits between the two and exists for organisations that genuinely belong to their members. The right answer follows the funding plan, and it is worth settling before a single document is drafted, because there is no statutory route from a trust or a society into a Section 8 company. Changing your mind later means incorporating afresh and applying for every registration again.
The second thing to get right early is that registration and tax exemption are different things. A registered trust in Maharashtra with no registration under Section 332 is taxed on its donations. For the national overview see NGO registration in India, or read the full walkthrough in our guide to registering an NGO.
Legal framework
Trust: state Public Trusts Act or general trust law, registered under the Registration Act, 1908 before the Sub-Registrar in Maharashtra | Society: Societies Registration Act, 1860 as adapted in Maharashtra | Section 8 company: Section 8, Companies Act, 2013, filed through SPICe+ to the Registrar of Companies for Maharashtra | Stamp duty: Maharashtra Stamp Act | Tax exemption: Sections 332 to 355, Income-tax Act, 2025 | Foreign funds: Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010
What is actually different in Maharashtra
Most of what you read about "NGO registration in your city" is identical everywhere. These are the parts that genuinely depend on where you register.
| Element | Central or local | What it means for Maharashtra |
|---|---|---|
| Trust registration | Local | Deed executed on Maharashtra stamp paper and registered before a Sub-Registrar in Maharashtra |
| Society registration | Local | Filed with the Registrar of Societies, Maharashtra, under the state adaptation of the 1860 Act |
| Section 8 statute and forms | Central | Section 8, Companies Act, 2013 and SPICe+ on MCA21 V3, identical in Maharashtra |
| Section 8 Registrar jurisdiction | Local | The RoC having jurisdiction over Maharashtra processes the filing |
| Stamp duty | Local | Levied under the Maharashtra Stamp Act on the trust deed or the incorporation documents |
| MCA filing fee | Central | Nil for authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh, everywhere |
| Registered office proof | Local | A Maharashtra address with a utility bill and an owner NOC |
| Section 332 registration and 80G approval | Central | Income Tax Department, online, with no Maharashtra component |
| NGO DARPAN, CSR-1 and FCRA | Central | NITI Aayog, MCA and the Ministry of Home Affairs respectively |
| Government grant schemes | Both | Central schemes plus Maharashtra state schemes, most needing an NGO DARPAN ID |
Registering in Maharashtra
Your registered office address in Maharashtra does more work than founders expect. For a Section 8 company it fixes the Registrar of Companies jurisdiction for every future filing and the stamp duty payable under the Maharashtra Stamp Act. For a society it determines which state Registrar you file with, and therefore which state's rules on subscribers and annual filings apply to you. It does not need to be commercial premises: a residential address works, provided you can produce the ownership deed or rent agreement, a utility bill not older than two months, and an NOC from the owner.
One decision, three consequences Pick the structure by who will fund you
Cost and speed are the wrong first questions. The structure determines who can give you money, how quickly they can diligence you, and how far outside Maharashtra you can operate without registering again.
- Corporate CSR and institutional grants favour a Section 8 company
- Individual donors and a small founding board suit a trust
- A membership base in Maharashtra with an elected council suits a society
Which structure should you register in Maharashtra?
Three organisations, three answers. Read the row that matches your funding plan rather than the one that matches your budget.
Trust
Fastest and simplest. A settlor and two trustees, a deed on Maharashtra stamp paper, registered before a Sub-Registrar in Maharashtra. Closed, founder-controlled board and the lightest ongoing compliance.
Society
Membership-based. Seven or more subscribers, a memorandum and rules, a general body that elects a governing council, filed with the Registrar of Societies, Maharashtra.
Section 8 company
The corporate non-profit. Two directors and two members, memorandum in INC-13, licence granted with incorporation. Heaviest compliance, highest credibility, works in every state.
| If this describes you | Register as | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You expect corporate CSR funding | Section 8 company | CSR committees diligence an MCA-registered entity fastest: a CIN, a board and public annual filings |
| You will apply for institutional or government grants | Section 8 company | Grant conditions frequently prescribe audited accounts and a public governance record |
| You will work outside Maharashtra | Section 8 company | Central registration operates everywhere; a society is registered under Maharashtra law |
| A family or small founding group in Maharashtra funds a focused cause | Trust | Fastest to form, cheapest to run, and control stays with the trustees named in the deed |
| You need to start operating within a fortnight | Trust | 7 to 15 working days against 15 to 20 for the other two |
| Your members should elect the people who run it | Society | A general body electing a governing council is written into the form itself |
| You are an alumni body, club, federation or cultural association | Society | Built for membership organisations with periodic elections and subscriptions |
| You are a school, college or educational body | Society or Section 8 | Both are accepted by most affiliating bodies; the choice usually follows Maharashtra practice |
| A company is setting up its own CSR foundation | Section 8 company | A company-established entity is outside the Rule 4(1)(d) three-year track record condition |
| You are a single founder with no partner yet | Trust | An OPC cannot be a Section 8 company and a society needs seven subscribers |
Practitioner insight (IncorpX non-profit team)
The most common regret we see is a trust registered in year one by an organisation whose entire funding plan turned out to be corporate. The trust itself was fine. What was not fine was discovering, two funding cycles later, that the CSR committee wanted a Section 8 entity, that there is no conversion route, and that a fresh incorporation restarts the three-year track record clock under Rule 4(1)(d). If there is any realistic prospect of corporate money reaching you in Maharashtra, incorporate as a Section 8 company at the start.
Trust vs society vs Section 8 company
The three forms set side by side on the parameters that actually change your decision.
| Parameter | Trust | Society | Section 8 Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governing law | State Public Trusts Act or general trust law | Societies Registration Act, 1860 and state Acts | Companies Act, 2013 |
| Registering authority | Sub-Registrar, Maharashtra | Registrar of Societies, Maharashtra | Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra |
| Constitution document | Trust deed | Memorandum and rules | Memorandum in INC-13 and articles |
| Minimum people | Settlor plus 2 trustees | 7 subscribers | 2 members and 2 directors |
| Registration timeline | 7 to 15 working days | 15 to 20 working days | 15 to 20 working days |
| Typical all-in cost in Maharashtra | ₹7,000 to ₹15,000 | ₹4,000 to ₹12,000 | ₹8,000 to ₹25,000 |
| Separate legal entity | No | Yes | Yes |
| Limited liability | No | No | Yes |
| Governance model | Trustees named in the deed | General body elects a council | Board of directors |
| Operates outside Maharashtra without re-registration | No | No | Yes |
| Annual filing with the registering authority | Only in Public Trusts Act states | Annual list of the governing body | AOC-4, MGT-7, DIR-3 KYC |
| Statutory audit | Where the state Act or income requires | Where the state Act or income requires | Yes |
| Preferred for corporate CSR | No | No | Yes |
| Eligible for Section 332 registration and 80G | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Eligible for CSR-1 and FCRA | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ongoing compliance burden | Lightest | Moderate | Heaviest |
The honest summary for a founder in Maharashtra: a trust is fastest and cheapest and is right for a founder-led initiative funded by individuals. A society is right when the organisation genuinely belongs to its members. A Section 8 company costs more and carries the heaviest annual compliance, and it is the right answer whenever the money will come from companies, foundations or government, or whenever you will work beyond Maharashtra. Read the full breakdown in Section 8 vs trust vs society.
Documents required in Maharashtra
The common set is identical across all three. What changes is the constitution document and, for a Section 8 company, the declarations that go with it.
| Category | Document | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Every founder | PAN card | Mandatory for Indian nationals; passport for foreign nationals |
| Identity proof | Aadhaar, passport, voter ID or driving licence | |
| Address proof | Bank statement, electricity, telephone or mobile bill not older than 2 months | |
| Photograph | Recent passport-size photograph | |
| Registered office in Maharashtra | Ownership deed or rent agreement | In the owner's name, matching the address on the application |
| Utility bill | Not older than 2 months | |
| NOC from the owner | Consent to use the premises as the registered office |
| Structure | Constitution | Additional documents |
|---|---|---|
| Trust | Trust deed on non-judicial stamp paper of the value prescribed in Maharashtra | Settlor, all trustees and two witnesses present before the Sub-Registrar in Maharashtra; consent letters from trustees; in Public Trusts Act states, the Charity Commissioner application |
| Society | Memorandum of association and rules and regulations | Signed by all 7 subscribers with witnesses; affidavit and consent from each as Maharashtra requires; a declaration by the president or secretary |
| Section 8 company | Memorandum in Form INC-13 and the articles | Statement of proposed work; three-year income and expenditure estimate; declaration in Form INC-14 by a practising professional; declaration in Form INC-15 by each subscriber; Class 3 signature certificate for every signatory |
Pro tip: write the object clause once, for three readers
Your object clause is read by the registering authority in Maharashtra now, by the Income Tax Department when you apply under Section 332 and Section 354, and by every CSR committee and grant officer who diligences you afterwards. Draft it to be specific enough that an assessing officer can see what you actually do, and wide enough that you are not amending the deed the first time a funder asks for a slightly different programme. Copying a clause from another organisation fails both tests at once.
Guides and resources
Deeper reading on each structure, the registrations that follow, and what changed when the Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act.
How to register an NGO in Maharashtra
Ten steps. The first four are identical whichever structure you pick; steps five and six are where the routes diverge; the last four are the same again.
Fix the objects and choose the structure
Write down what the organisation will do in Maharashtra and where its money will come from. That answer, not cost or speed, selects the structure, and it is the one decision with no cheap reversal.
Assemble the founding group
A settlor and at least two trustees for a trust; seven or more subscribers for a society, which some states expect to be unrelated or drawn from different districts in Maharashtra; two directors and two members for a private Section 8 company, with at least one director resident in India for 182 days or more in the previous financial year.
Collect and reconcile the documents
PAN, identity proof, an address proof not older than two months and a photograph for every founder, plus the registered office proof in Maharashtra with a utility bill and an owner NOC. Names and addresses must match character for character across every document.
Draft the constitution
The trust deed, the society memorandum and rules, or the Section 8 memorandum in Form INC-13 with the articles. Objects, application of income, the governing body mechanism, amendment and dissolution are the clauses that get read again later.
Reserve the name where the form requires it
A Section 8 company reserves through SPICe+ Part A or RUN for a ₹1,000 government fee and cannot carry Limited or Private Limited, usually ending in Foundation, Association, Council or Federation. A society name is cleared by the Registrar of Societies for Maharashtra. A trust name needs no reservation, but check it against existing organisations and trademarks anyway.
Execute and file with the correct authority
A trust deed is executed on Maharashtra stamp paper and presented before the Sub-Registrar in Maharashtra with the settlor, trustees and two witnesses. A society memorandum goes to the Registrar of Societies, Maharashtra. A Section 8 company files SPICe+ on the MCA21 V3 portal, where the licence is granted with the Certificate of Incorporation.
Receive the certificate, then PAN and TAN
The registered deed, the society certificate, or the Certificate of Incorporation with the CIN. PAN and TAN are applied for separately for a trust or a society, and are allotted through the same filing for a Section 8 company.
Open the organisation's bank account
Banks in Maharashtra want the registration certificate, the constitution, the PAN, a resolution authorising the account and KYC for the signatories. Open it before the first donation arrives, not after.
Apply for registration under Section 332 and 80G approval
File Form 104 for provisional registration and approval where activities have not yet commenced, or Form 105 where they have. There is no government fee, and the orders come back as Form 106 or Form 107. See 12A and 80G registration in Maharashtra.
Complete the funding registrations
Enrol on NGO DARPAN for the NITI Aayog Unique ID, file Form CSR-1 for a CSR Registration Number, and apply for FCRA once three years of work and ₹15 lakh of spend are behind you.
Common mistake: treating tax exemption as a later problem
Organisations routinely register in Maharashtra, start fundraising, and file the exemption application months afterwards. Registration under Section 332 operates from the tax year for which it is granted, so income of earlier years stays taxable, and any 80G receipt issued before approval is worthless to the donor who relied on it. File Form 104 as soon as the registration certificate and PAN are in hand, and diarise the Form 105 conversion for six months from the commencement of activities, not for the expiry of the provisional registration.
Not sure which structure fits your organisation in Maharashtra?
A 15-minute conversation about your funding plan settles it. We then draft, file with the right Maharashtra authority, and sequence everything that follows. From a ₹1,999 professional fee.
12A and 80G under the Income-tax Act, 2025
Registration exempts the organisation. Approval rewards the donor. Both moved to new sections and new form numbers on 1 April 2026, and most of what is published online has not caught up.
- RegistrationSection 332
- 80G approvalSection 354
- Forms104 and 105
- Government feeNil
| What you are looking for | Under the 1961 Act | Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Exemption of the organisation's own income | Sections 12A, 12AA, 12AB and 10(23C) | Section 332, a single registration route |
| Approval so donors can claim a deduction | Section 80G | Section 354 |
| The donor's deduction itself | Section 80G | Section 133(1)(b)(ii) |
| Provisional application | Form 10A | Form 104 |
| Regular application, renewal, modified objects | Form 10AB | Form 105 |
| Provisional order carrying the URN | Form 10AC | Form 106 |
| Regular registration order | Form 10AD | Form 107 |
| Donation statement, due 31 May | Form 10BD | Form 113 |
| Donor certificate | Form 10BE | Form 114 |
| Tax on accreted income | Section 115TD | Section 352 |
| What the organisation is called | Trust or institution registered under 12AB | Registered non-profit organisation |
Correction: Form 10A and 12AB no longer apply to a fresh application
Pages that tell an NGO in Maharashtra to file Form 10A under Section 12AB are describing a statute that was repealed on 1 April 2026 by Section 536 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A fresh application today is filed in Form 104 or Form 105 under Section 332 and Section 354. A registration that was valid and uncancelled on 1 April 2026 carried over automatically and runs to its own original expiry date, so there was nothing to file on the changeover. One that had already lapsed, including an old 12AA never migrated by the final deadline of 30 June 2024, did not carry over.
Validity and the deadline that catches people. Provisional registration runs for three tax years, or until six months from the commencement of activities, whichever is earlier. Regular registration runs for five tax years, extended to ten tax years under Section 332(5) where total income computed without the exemption did not exceed ₹5 crore in each of the two preceding tax years. Because activities almost always begin well inside the three-year provisional window, the trigger for filing Form 105 is the start of activities, not the expiry date. The full walkthrough is on our 12A and 80G registration in Maharashtra page.
The registrations that make an NGO in Maharashtra fundable
Registration creates the organisation. These make it eligible for money it cannot otherwise touch, and each has a waiting period, so the order matters.
| Registration | Authority | When to apply | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 332 registration | Income Tax Department | As soon as the certificate and PAN are in hand | Exemption of the organisation's own income |
| Section 354 approval (80G) | Income Tax Department | On the same Form 104 or Form 105 | A deduction for your donors in Maharashtra |
| NGO DARPAN | NITI Aayog | Once PAN and the certificate are in hand | Central and Maharashtra state grant schemes; asked for in CSR diligence. Free |
| Form CSR-1 | Ministry of Corporate Affairs | After registration and 80G approval are granted | A CSR Registration Number, without which no corporate CSR money can reach you |
| FCRA | Ministry of Home Affairs | After 3 years of work and ₹15 lakh of spend | Foreign contributions, into a designated SBI New Delhi account |
Section 135, Companies Act, 2013 Where the institutional money actually is
Companies covered by Section 135 must spend 2% of average net profits on Schedule VII activities every year, and Section 135(5) directs the board to give preference to the local area. For an organisation in Maharashtra that is an advantage, provided you hold a CSR Registration Number.
- File Form CSR-1 before approaching any corporate funder
- Hold registration and 80G approval first, because Rule 4(1) reads through to them
- An entity set up by the funding company is outside the three-year condition
The CSR rules still cite the old sections
The Companies (CSR Policy) Rules, 2014 were written against the Income-tax Act, 1961 and still name Sections 12A and 80G in Rule 4(1). The reference reads through to the corresponding registration and approval under the Income-tax Act, 2025, so a registered non-profit organisation satisfies the condition. If a corporate funder's checklist asks for your "12A and 80G certificates", what they want is your Form 106 or Form 107 order.
FAQs about NGO registration in Maharashtra
Questions sourced from real search queries, the governing statutes, and our experience assisting 500+ non-profit registrations across all three structures.
- SPICe+ (INC-32) eForm stamp: ₹100 (Flat ₹100)
- MOA (INC-33) stamp duty: Nil (Flat Nil)
- AOA (INC-34) stamp duty: Nil (Flat Nil)
- Every founder: PAN, an identity proof, an address proof not older than two months, and a photograph.
- Registered office in Maharashtra: rent agreement or ownership deed, a recent utility bill, and an NOC from the owner.
- Trust: the deed on stamp paper of the value prescribed in Maharashtra, executed before the Sub-Registrar with two witnesses.
- Society: memorandum and rules signed by all seven subscribers, with affidavits and consent letters as Maharashtra requires.
- Section 8 company: memorandum in Form INC-13, articles, a three-year projection, the INC-14 and INC-15 declarations, and a Class 3 signature certificate for each signatory.
Start your NGO in Maharashtra
Talk to an IncorpX non-profit expert for a free consultation on structure, objects and the funding path. Registration from a ₹1,999 professional fee, with government charges at actuals.
Nebin Binoy 
