32 resources from calcguru.in we point founders to, and the questions each answers.
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A current (July 2026) guide to starting a home tiffin or dabba service: the Rs 100-a-year FSSAI Registration is the one universal requirement, no GST is needed below Rs 20 lakh of turnover even on Swiggy or Zomato, and the real gatekeepers are your housing society and municipal by-laws.
A clear July 2026 checklist for a consulting practice in India: no licence for generic consulting, Shops and Establishment in most states, professional tax where levied, GST at Rs 20 lakh of services turnover, an LUT for zero-rated foreign billing, and why you do not need an IEC to export services.
An independent 2026 walk-through of Amul's two main formats, the Preferred Outlet at about Rs 2 lakh and the Scooping Parlour at about Rs 6 lakh, with margins from 2.5% on pouch milk to about 50% on recipe items, and a warning about the fake Amul franchise websites that collect deposits.
A detailed August 2026 guide to printing businesses, from a counter shop to an offset press: GST at the Rs 20 lakh services threshold for content printing, the Shops and Establishment or factory registration, pollution consent and hazardous waste rules for solvents, and KVIC's PMEGP model for a small offset unit (Rs 9.89 lakh project, net margin 3.1% in year one).
An August 2026 guide to the asset-light logistics business (a 3PL that owns no fleet): GST registration in each state of operation, common carrier registration, transporter ID for e-way bills, and the fact that the 12% GST option for transport agencies ended on 22 September 2025.
A July 2026 guide for anyone starting a goods transport business: there is no transport company licence, only a permit per vehicle (the National Permit is about Rs 16,500 a year), and the GST choice is now 5% without credit or 18% with it.
A worked 2026 model of owning heavy trucks: a truck costs roughly Rs 38 to 46 lakh on the road, diesel is half of total cost, and a single empty return leg costs about Rs 66,000, a whole month of surplus. Shows why owner-drivers survive where hired-driver fleets struggle.
A July 2026 guide to the compliance side of an agency: no licence, GST at Rs 20 lakh, a TAN once you pay freelancers, an LUT for foreign clients, 18% GST on Google and Meta ads with the 6% equalisation levy abolished from 1 April 2025, and the choice between billing ad spend as principal or as pure agent.
A July 2026 licence stack for a packaged water plant: FSSAI as a high-risk category, the CGWA groundwater NOC at any capacity, Green-category pollution consent, Legal Metrology packer registration (Rs 500), and BIS now voluntary since 17 October 2024.
A July 2026 guide to becoming an NBFC: Rs 10 crore of net owned funds for a new lender, no RBI fee, PRAVAAH filing, a realistic four to twelve months with genuine rejection risk, and the post-registration duties (all four credit bureaus, FIU-IND, fair practices code, digital lending rules).
A July 2026 guide to starting a travel agency: no licence is required, Ministry of Tourism recognition is voluntary and IATA accreditation optional, TCS on overseas packages is a flat 2% from 1 April 2026, and GST is either 5% on the package as a tour operator or 18% on commission as an agent.
An August 2026 guide to the restaurant licence stack: FSSAI on the new turnover slabs, a trade or health licence, fire clearance, pollution consent, Shops and Establishment, liquor, music and signage licences, and why a standalone restaurant pays 5% GST with no input credit. Notes that Delhi abolished the police eating-house licence in June 2025.
An August 2026 guide to running a counter food outlet: a standalone outlet pays 5% GST with no input credit, so the 18% paid on rent, fit-out and app commission is a cost, plus the FSSAI, trade licence and delivery app setup.
A July 2026 guide showing a laundry is licence-light (trade licence, Shops and Establishment, a stamped scale for per-kg billing), that laundry services stayed at 18% GST under GST 2.0, and that steam boilers above 25 litres must register under the Boilers Act 2025.
An August 2026 guide to quarrying and crushing: a quarry lease under the MMDR Act and state minor mineral rules, environmental clearance for the quarry from the SEIAA, and SPCB consent for the crusher, with capex of Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 4.3 crore for a 30 to 60 TPH plant and royalty as the biggest recurring cost.
A July 2026 guide to agarbatti manufacturing: no product licence, White or Green pollution category, 5% GST on agarbatti against 18% on fragrance inputs, the 25% duty on raw bamboo sticks since 2019, and PMEGP support.
An August 2026 guide to opening a hardware store: Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh to open on lender estimates, margins of 2 to 5% on cement and steel against 15 to 50% on fasteners and electricals, and the BIS Act rule that the shop commits the offence if a QCO-covered item without the ISI mark is on its shelf.
A July 2026 guide to corrugated boxes: boxes fell to 5% GST under GST 2.0 while kraft paper rose to 18%, making refunds of unused credit part of the business model; box-making from bought paper without a boiler is White category; BIS is voluntary and PMEGP fits smaller plants.
A September 2026 guide to plastic pouches and laminates: multilayer packaging is not banned, a converter is a Producer with EPR obligations, rotogravure printing pushes the unit to Orange category, solvent storage needs a PESO licence, and plastic packaging carries 18% GST.
An August 2026 guide to the Legal Metrology rules every packed product meets: the Rs 500 one-time registration for manufacturers, packers and importers within 90 days of starting, the mandatory label declarations (MRP inclusive of taxes, net quantity, unit sale price, consumer care), and the stamping of trade scales.
A July 2026 guide to attaching cabs to Uber, Ola or Rapido versus running your own app: each cab needs a contract carriage permit, a driver with a PSV badge and police verification, and an AIS-140 tracker with panic button; aggregators pay drivers at least 80% of the fare on driver-owned vehicles.
A July 2026 guide to the events trade: the planner needs no licence but each event needs police, loudspeaker (10 pm line), fire, temporary-structure and liquor permissions, music licences for corporate and ticketed shows, and pure-agent discipline so GST does not fall on your gross billing at 18%.
A July 2026 guide for photographers: no licence beyond Shops and Establishment and a trade licence, GST at Rs 20 lakh, why the client owns commissioned photos by default under section 17(b), and the drone registration and remote pilot certificate commercial aerial shoots need.
An August 2026 guide to the Import Export Code: Rs 500 one-time, issued online on the DGFT portal against your PAN, valid for life with a mandatory annual update between April and June.
An August 2026 guide to forming an OPC through SPICe+: one member and a nominee (Form INC-3), the 120-day residency test, one OPC per person, no minimum capital, nil MCA fee up to Rs 15 lakh of capital plus Rs 1,000 for the name and state stamp duty, and voluntary conversion to a private limited at any time since 1 April 2021.
A July 2026 guide for solo service sellers working for clients in India or abroad: nothing is mandatory beyond PAN and paying tax, GST is not forced below Rs 20 lakh even for foreign clients, and from 1 October 2026 a monthly export declaration through your bank replaces SOFTEX.
An October 2026 explainer of when a service counts as an export under GST, how the Letter of Undertaking lets you invoice foreign clients without GST, and how to reclaim input credit that piles up when your output carries no tax.
A July 2026 guide to edible oil: an expeller or cold-press unit is Green category while solvent extraction or refining is Red with a PESO hexane licence, FSSAI Basic registration is Rs 100 up to Rs 1.5 crore, Agmark became voluntary from 17 October 2024, mustard oil blending is banned, and most states bar loose sale.
An August 2026 guide to FSSAI on the new slabs: Basic registration at Rs 100 a year up to Rs 1.5 crore turnover, State and Central licences above, and the 14-digit number Swiggy and Zomato require before listing.
A July 2026 guide to the asset-light way into logistics, a courier franchise: no courier licence exists, courier services carry 18% GST (not the 5% transport rate), and commission income is barred from the presumptive tax scheme.
An October 2026 explainer of the donor's side of a non-profit's tax status: which gifts earn a 100% or 50% deduction, the 10% ceiling, the cash rule, and the donee's statement (Form 10BE) the deduction now depends on. The relief carries into the Income-tax Act 2025 with the same categories and limits.
An August 2026 guide to music licences: playing music at a business or event is a communication to the public needing PPL for the recordings, IPRS for the lyrics and composition and Novex for major film catalogues, with published tariffs and a wedding exemption narrower than commonly believed.
