Get legal & compliant

Register, get GST-ready, protect your name, and clear the licenses you need to sell.

What founders use for get legal & compliant, ranked by how many answers lean on it.

  1. A free search tool where you type your product name and get the HSN code and its GST rate instantly, the quickest way to... ClearTax Tool Free HSN Code List & GST Rate Finder ClearTax
  2. The official portal where e-way bills are generated and verified, the place to go when you ship high-value consignments... E-Way Bill Portal (ewaybillgst.gov.in) Tool E-Way Bill System, Official Portal National Informatics Centre (NIC) / GSTN
  3. The official FAQ on the portal where you'll actually file, worth reading before you start the application so you're not... FoSCoS (foscos.fssai.gov.in) Tool FAQs on Licensing/Registration, FoSCoS FSSAI
  4. The regulator's home site, the place to check current notifications, license categories and fee schedules rather than relying... fssai.gov.in Tool FSSAI, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India FSSAI
  5. The regulator's own cosmetics page, the authoritative source to confirm current rules before you commit to a formulation or... cdsco.gov.in Tool Cosmetics, CDSCO Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)
  6. The official CRS portal itself, the place to check if your specific electronic product SKU is on the mandatory list before you... crsbis.in Tool Compulsory Registration Scheme (CRS) Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
  7. BIS's own explanation of the Scheme II registration route, useful to cross-check against a consultant's summary since the exact... bis.gov.in Tool BIS CRS (Scheme II) Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
  8. The government's own page on the Act itself, the source to cite or check against when a labeling rule is disputed or a... consumeraffairs.gov.in Tool The Legal Metrology Act Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India
  9. A friendlier front-end over the same government data, useful if the official portal's interface trips you up, good for a quick... IndiaFilings Tool Online Trademark Search India | Check Brand Name Availability IndiaFilings
  10. A free way to sanity check any GSTIN, your own once issued, or a supplier's before you extend credit, without waiting on a CA. ClearTax Tool GST Number Search Tool - GSTIN Verification Online ClearTax
  11. A free, self-paced government training module that simulates the actual registration screens, useful if you would rather watch... GST Portal (tutorial.gst.gov.in) Course Applying for GST Registration (Computer Based Training) GSTN
  12. When your application stalls (a stuck ARN, an unresolved OTP, a portal error), this is where you raise a ticket yourself... selfservice.gstsystem.in Tool GST Self Service Grievance Redressal Portal GSTN
  13. Useful as a sanity check, not a requirement: if you decide you want paid help for one specific step, this is the government's... GST Portal (services.gst.gov.in) Tool Locate GST Practitioner (GSTP) GSTN
  14. The official portal's own reference tool, broken out by taxpayer category (normal taxpayer, non-resident, GST practitioner and... GST Portal (gst.gov.in) Tool GST Document Advisor: Documents Required for New Registration Application Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)
  15. Most D2C founders start out of a home or a relative's property rather than a formally rented office, and this is the single... ClearTax Template Consent Letter for GST Registration: Format and Requirements ClearTax
  16. The fastest way to solve the GST portal's tight 100 KB to 1 MB upload limits when a phone-scanned document comes out too large,... iLovePDF Tool Compress PDF online, same PDF quality less file size iLovePDF
  17. A quick sanity-check calculator for GST amounts, useful for pricing out what a 1 percent composition levy actually saves versus... Zoho Books Tool Free GST Calculator Zoho Books
  18. An interactive version of the checklist that generates the exact document list for your specific business constitution instead... TaxBizMantra Tool Free GST Registration Document Checklist Tool TaxBizMantra
  19. A single glance-able calendar to put your GSTR-1/GSTR-3B dates straight into your own calendar instead of hunting through... ClearTax Tool GST Calendar 2026-27: GST Due Dates, Filing Deadlines and Compliance ClearTax
  20. The rare resource that sequences the tasks in order instead of listing rules alphabetically, so you know what to do this week... CA in Bangalore Template GST Compliance Guide for First-Time GST Registrants: Month-by-Month Checklist CA in Bangalore
  21. If you want compliant invoices and eventual e-filing from one tool rather than stitching together a billing app and a separate... Zoho Tool Zoho Books: GST Billing Software built for Indian SMEs Zoho
  22. If your D2C brand plans to sell outside India too, this is the cleanest mental model for treating tax registration as a... Stripe Template Getting Started: Sales Tax Compliance Checklist Stripe
  23. A ready-made checklist format, not just an article to read, that you can literally tick through while setting up your invoicing... A2X Template The ESSENTIAL Ecommerce Bookkeeping Checklist A2X

The questions

Registering your business 6

The right entity to sell and to raise.

I'm just starting out, should I register as a proprietorship, LLP, or private limited company? 4 → Once I've decided on Private Limited, what's the actual step-by-step to incorporate it? 4 → Is it worth applying for Startup India / DPIIT recognition, and what does it actually get me? 4 → I'm a solo founder with no co-founder, does an OPC (One Person Company) make more sense than an LLP? 4 → Beyond incorporation, what other registrations do I actually need before I can legally take my first order? 4 → All 6 questions in Registering your business →
GST registration & basics 6

Get GST-ready before your first online sale.

Do I need a GST number before I make my very first sale, or can that wait? 20 → What's the actual step-by-step to register for GST myself, without paying a CA? 18 → What documents do I need lined up before I start the GST application? 16 → I'm a small maker just starting out, does the GST composition scheme make sense for me? 20 → How long does GST registration actually take and what does it cost? 18 → All 6 questions in GST registration & basics →
GST across states & e-commerce 7

Place of supply, TCS, and selling pan-India cleanly.

Do I actually need a GST registration to sell online, or can I start without one? 4 → A customer in another state ordered, do I charge IGST or CGST + SGST? 4 → Why is Amazon/Flipkart holding back a cut of my payout, what is this TCS? 4 → I store stock in a 3PL or Amazon FBA warehouse in another state, do I need a separate GST registration there? 4 → What HSN code and GST rate apply to my product, and where do I look it up? 3 → All 7 questions in GST across states & e-commerce →
Trademark & brand IP 6

Own your name before someone else does.

Should I trademark my brand name before I even launch, or can it wait till I have traction? 4 → How do I check if my brand name is already taken before I fall in love with it? 4 → What trademark class do I actually file under for my D2C brand, just one, or more? 3 → How much does trademark registration actually cost and how long does it take in India? 3 → What's the difference between the ™ I'm already using and getting an actual registered ®? 3 → All 6 questions in Trademark & brand IP →
Product licenses & certifications 6

FSSAI, cosmetics, BIS, drug, legal-metrology, get legal to sell.

I'm selling packaged food/snacks online, what FSSAI license do I need, and does my turnover matter? 4 → I make skincare/cosmetics at home or with a small manufacturer, do I need a CDSCO license before I can sell? 2 → I import or sell gadgets/electronics, what's this BIS CRS mark I keep hearing about? 3 → What exactly has to be on my product label/pack to be legally compliant under Legal Metrology? 3 → How do I even figure out which licenses apply to MY specific product, is there a single checklist? 3 → All 6 questions in Product licenses & certifications →
EPR & sustainability compliance 6

Plastic EPR, packaging rules, and green claims that hold up.

Do I actually need EPR registration for my D2C brand's plastic packaging, and what happens if I skip it? 3 → What's the actual step-by-step to register for EPR on the CPCB portal? 4 → What are the recycled-content and QR code traceability rules I need to hit in 2025-2026? 3 → Can I call my packaging 'eco-friendly' or 'sustainable' on my product page without getting into trouble? 3 → Where do I actually source compostable or plastic-free packaging in India without blowing my per-order cost? 3 → All 6 questions in EPR & sustainability compliance →
Data privacy & the DPDP Act 6

Handle customer data legally under India's DPDP Act.

Do I actually need to worry about DPDP as a small D2C brand, or is this a big-company problem? 3 → What exactly counts as valid consent under DPDP for my checkout and signup forms? 3 → What do I need to put in my privacy policy, and how do I actually draft one? 4 → What tools should I use to get DPDP-compliant without hiring a lawyer for every step? 3 → What actually happens to my brand if I don't comply, what are the real penalties? 3 → All 6 questions in Data privacy & the DPDP Act →
Business insurance & risk 6

Cover product liability, inventory, and shipping risk.

Do I actually need product liability insurance as a small D2C brand, or am I overthinking it? 3 → What does product liability insurance in India actually cost and cover? 3 → My marketplace is asking for liability insurance before I can keep selling, what do I actually need to show them? 3 → How do I insure my inventory against fire, theft, or damage sitting in a warehouse? 3 → What about goods lost or damaged in transit or shipping, is that covered separately from warehouse insurance? 3 → All 6 questions in Business insurance & risk →
Counterfeits & IP enforcement 6

Stop fakes and hijackers on marketplaces and your store.

How do I get my brand onto Amazon Brand Registry and Project Zero to fight counterfeits? 4 → What's Flipkart's equivalent, and how do I actually report a fake or unauthorised listing there? 3 → Someone's hijacked my own product listing and is undercutting my price, what do I do? 3 → Do I need a trademark before I can even start protecting my brand, and how do I register one in India? 3 → My brand is being sold as fake on Instagram and WhatsApp, not just on marketplaces, what do I do? 3 → All 6 questions in Counterfeits & IP enforcement →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →