Beyond incorporation, what other registrations do I actually need before I can legally take my first order?
Incorporation alone doesn't let you sell, you'll also need GST registration (near-mandatory for any marketplace or serious D2C store), a current bank account in the company's name, and depending on your product, category-specific licenses like FSSAI (food), CDSCO (cosmetics/drugs), or BIS (electronics). SPICe+ now bundles PAN, TAN and GSTIN into the incorporation filing itself, which saves a separate trip to the GST portal for most new companies. Treat 'incorporated' and 'ready to sell' as two different milestones, plan a few extra weeks if you're in a regulated product category.
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The rare guide written specifically for D2C founders rather than generic startups, it walks through incorporation, GST, trademark and product licenses as one connected checklist instead of siloed topics.
Zooms out beyond just incorporation to the full 'ready to sell' checklist, GST, current account, licenses, which is exactly the sequencing question new founders actually have.