There is no registration for a sole proprietorship as such: the business is you, under your own PAN, and Startup India's guide says it is recognised through the other registrations you take. So: register on the Udyam portal, which is free and needs only your Aadhaar and PAN; take GST registration once your turnover crosses the threshold (Rs 20 lakh a year for services, Rs 10 lakh in special category states) or when a buyer or marketplace needs your GSTIN; register under your state's Shops and Establishments Act if you have premises; then open a current account in the business name using those certificates. You can be running in about 10 days. Business income goes on your own return, in ITR-3, or ITR-4 if you use a presumptive scheme. The cost of the simplicity is unlimited liability and no shares to sell, so convert to a private limited company before you raise money or take a co-founder.
The government's own comparison, and it leads with the exact filter you need: if you are raising funding, the decision is made for you (Private Limited), and everything else is secondary. It covers all five Indian structures including OPC. Two parts are dated: its OPC section still says an OPC must convert past Rs 2 crore of revenue or Rs 50 lakh of capital, a rule removed in 2021, and its tax lines mention dividend distribution tax, which no longer exists.
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Startup Indiaby Startup India (DPIIT)12 min read
Only a Private Limited company can take external equity, so investors decide your structure before anything else does
A sole proprietorship gives you zero liability protection; an OPC or LLP gives it without a co-founder, and an OPC no longer has to convert when it grows
LLP fits a bootstrapped, non-scalable business; Private Limited fits one that will raise and hire
This is the government's own checklist, so it settles the entity question straight: Pvt Ltd if you plan to raise (investors cannot hold shares in an LLP), LLP or OPC if you are bootstrapping services. It walks the same first-weeks moves the answer names (MCA incorporation, DPIIT recognition to unlock tax and IP benefits, GST once you cross the threshold, sector licenses) from the source that defines them, not a reseller's blog.
The department's page on which return a proprietor or professional files: ITR-3 for regular business income, ITR-4 (Sugam) for presumptive income under 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE with total income up to ₹50 lakh, and who cannot use ITR-4.
The government's only portal for registering a micro, small or medium enterprise. It states registration is free and lists the revised limits: a micro enterprise has investment up to ₹2.5 crore and turnover up to ₹10 crore, a small one up to ₹25 crore and ₹100 crore.
