Registering a Public
Trust in Mumbai
Before you reach this stage, you should have already decided
that a Public Trust is the type of organisation that you would like to set
up.
To know what are the type of organisations that can be
set-up and how to choose the best one for your purpose, please read
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-profit_laws_of_India
and http://www.cafindia.org/pages/Registering%20as%20a%20Charitable%20Organisation%20in%20India.pdf
and also consult with your accountant and/or lawyer before
you decide.
1. Registration under
whom? Where?
A Public Trust is registered with the Charity Commissioners
office in Mumbai which is situated at Worli.
2. Registration under
which law or act?
The Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950 and the Bombay Public
Trust Rules of 1951 are the applicable laws.
You can also purchase hard copies of the documents
from the Government printing Press at Charni
Road at nominal costs.
Several amendments have been made to this Act.
Tax Print (on Bazaar Gate Street, Fort) also sells the
latest Maharashtra Public Trusts Act (as amended up to 2014) for approx. Rs.
500/-
3. What documents are
to be submitted to the Charity Commissioner for Registration?
The following documents are to be submitted:
I.
Schedule 2 which is the Application for Registration
[with Rs. 100 Court Fee Stamp stuck on]
II.
Trust Deed [On Rs. 100 Stamp Paper, or franked for
Rs.100/-]
III.
Consent Letter signed by all Trustees [THIS IS A SIMPLE
TYPED LETTER NO STAMP PAPER, NO COURT FEE STAMP, NO FRANKING, etc.]
IV. Affidavit
signed by the Settler (this is to be handed over on the day of the Hearing,
after completion of the Hearing) [with Rs. 10/- Court Fee Stamp]
Other documents that need to be attached / submitted:
i)
Copies of Proof of Address and Proof of Identity of all
Trustees (Passport, Aadhar Card, etc.) These are all to be self-attested. Carry
the original documents with you if possible, as sometimes these may be checked.
ii) NOC
from the owner of the property that is proposed as the Registered Address for
the Trust, for the use of this address as the registered address of the Trust,
along with a recent Electricity Bill, land-line telephone bill or Society
maintenance bill of the same address with the owners name. Copies to be
self-attested. [THIS IS A SIMPLE TYPED LETTER NO STAMP PAPER, NO COURT FEE STAMP,
NO FRANKING, etc.]
iii) If
anyone other than the Settler is getting the Registration done, then a Letter
of Authorisation from all Trustees is needed, authorizing this person to
submit, collect, make changes and sign as needed on all documents, connected to
the Registration. [THIS IS A SIMPLE TYPED LETTER NO STAMP PAPER, NO COURT FEE STAMP,
NO FRANKING, etc.]
4. Anything else that
is needed?
1. Court Fee Stamps
2. Stamp Paper or access to
franking
3. Notary who will notarise the
documents before submitting
5. How much time does
the Registration process take?
Everyone we spoke to said that it takes 3-6 months to
register a Trust.
We completed the process in 119 days, i.e. just a day short
of 4 months.
So 3-6 months is the average time frame to keep in mind.
Registration of a Trust by the Charity Commissioner has been
categorized as a legal procedure and hence the department has stated that it
cannot specify a minimum or maximum time frame for a legal procedure.
This also means that there is no recourse that one has when
faced with what looks like unreasonable delay.
The standard tactic for delay that is deployed every time
you visit the office is that you will be informed of one more document or procedure
that needs to be completed, for which you will need to come again.
Another reason for delay is that the concerned person is on
leave / is unavailable / is not in the office / is not at his / her table.
If you face such delay more than once, question the officer
concerned. Ask for your file be seen by another officer who is not absent, and emphasize
that you have already visited their office x or y times.
For a detailed break-up of the time taken, refer to Table 1 at the end of this document.
6. How much does it
cost to Register a Trust?
The actual fee for Registration is only Rs. 15/-. But the
following costs are incurred to complete the Registration process:
1. Photo-copying and Printing charges about Rs.500
2. Franking cost about Rs.100/-
3. Court Fee Stamps about Rs. 120/-
4. Notary costs about Rs.200
5. Cost of publishing Notice in newspaper about Rs. 1650/-
These total to Rs. 2570/-
So, the total cost incurred would be between Rs. 2500 – Rs. 3000/-
[Plus conveyance]
7. Where are Draft
Copies of the above documents available?
Draft Copies of the above are
available at:
i)
Schedule 2 at http://mahacharity.gov.in/static_pages/Schedule2new.pdf
Print the above Draft on Legal
Paper (light green and longer in size than A4 paper) and attach Rs. 100/- Court
Fee Stamp on Schedule 2.
Court Fee stamps are available for
sale outside some Courts in Mumbai.
ii) Some Draft Trust Deeds are
available for your reference at
/www.legalissuesforngos.org/main/trust/specimen-deed.pdf
and
http://www.karmayog.com/formation.htm
and
http://www.shivcacs.com/ourattachment/5.4_sample_trust_deed.doc
and
http://www.advocatekhoj.com/library/agreements/trust/5.php
and
http://www.caaa.in/Image/hb-charitable_org.pdf
The important Clauses in the Trust
Deed are the Objectives of the Trust.
Once you have filled in the Trust
Deed, it is advisable to get this checked by your accountant or lawyer who can
advise you if the clauses best suited for your purpose are correctly included
in the document.
The Trust Deed has to be printed
on Legal Paper and then franked, or printed on Rs. 100 Stamp Paper.
All trustees have to sign on all
pages of the Trust Deed as well as on the last page next to their photographs.
Two witnesses must also sign the
Trust Deed.
The Trust Deed thus printed on
stamp paper (or franked) and then signed by all Trustees is to be Notarised by
a Notary.
iv) Draft
Consent Letter is available at http://www.karmayog.com/formation.htm
v) A
scanned copy of the Affidavit is available at https://www.karmayog.org/redirect/strred.asp?docId=34226
This also
requires a Court Fee Stamp of Rs. 10/- to be pasted on it.
8. Do you need an Agent or a Lawyer to get the Registration done or can
you do it yourself?
A:
– You do not need an Agent or a Lawyer as the procedure is fairly clear.
– It is best if one of the Trustees himself or herself does the Registration,
as otherwise you will need to authorise the person who is undertaking the
Registration for you
– The Settler (Founding Trustee) has to be present for the Hearing, so if the
Settler is himself or herself doing the Registration, this is the easiest.
– On completion of the
registration, the Certificate of Registration will be handed over to the
Settler of the Trust, unless he or she has authorized someone to collect the
same on his / her behalf.
9. Detailed and step-wise procedure:
- Fill
in all the documents listed above (1-4)
- Get
the documents franked / stamped / notarized as required and with the
requisite Court Fee stamp stuck on.
- Make one
copy of the whole set for your record.
- Submit
your application to the Charity Commissioners Office (2nd
Floor Tapal / Post section) containing:
– Schedule 2 original
– Trust Deed copy (You keep the
original)
– Consent Letter – original
– Copies Proof of Identity and Proof of Address of all Trustees
– NOC from owner of property that is the Registered Address for your Trust
along with the latest Electricity Bill / Land Line Phone Bill / Society
Maintenance Bill
- You
will get a stamped receipt on your copy of the set of papers with the date
of submission. The person at the Inward Desk will tell you to come back in
a week to check the progress of your file.
- When
you return in a week, the Inward Desk will direct you to the concerned
person who has assigned a number and zone to your application for
Registration.
- Depending
on the area of the city (Western suburbs, etc.) that your Proposed Trust
is to be registered in, you will be assigned a specific number and to a
specific officer.
- This
officer will be handling your file from now on until completion, and the
assigned number is the one that you must quote when referring to your
application.
- Once
you know the number and officer, you meet with the concerned officer.
- The
concerned officer will then go through your file and check if the
application is complete in all respects.
- This
may take a week and you may be asked to come again after a week to collect
a Notice.
- When
you come next after a week, the concerned officer will hand over to you a
draft Notice (in Marathi) that is signed by the Deputy Charity
Commissioner (Dy. C. C.) and which is to be published by you in a
newspaper. - The
Public Notice states that a Trust of so-and-so name is proposed to be
registered. Anyone having any objection to the same must reply in writing
to the undersigned (i.e. the Dy. C. C.) within 30 days of this Notice
being published.
- If you
have your own contacts who publish classified ads and Public Notices, then
you can definitely go ahead and get the Notice Published through your own
sources.
- Otherwise
the concerned officer will give you the name and number of a local agency
in Worli itself, who will undertake the same at reasonable costs.
- The
agency asks you to scan and email the Public Notice to them; the next day
the Notice will appear in a local Marathi newspaper.
- You
need to submit an original copy of the newspaper containing your Public
Notice to the concerned officer, who now attaches it with your other
papers.
- The
officer will now give you a date for the Hearing, 30 days after the Public
Notice has been published.
- Hearings
are held at the Charity Commissioners office on every Monday and Friday,
so the next available Mon. or Fri. will be assigned to you as the hearing
date.
- The
Settler or Founding Trustee must be present at the Hearing.
- The
Hearing takes place before the Deputy Charity Commissioner.
- To be
prepared for the Hearing, you should go through your Trust Deed and the
Objectives listed by you there.
- You
need to carry the original Trust Deed with you on the date of the hearing
as well as the Affidavit. The original Trust Deed is to be handed over to
the concerned officer.
- You
will be called in to the room of the Deputy Charity Commissioner who may
ask you some questions about the proposed Trust.
- On
completion of the Hearing, the Affidavit is to be signed in the presence
of the officer who then affirms the same.
- The
Deputy Charity Commissioner will then sign and complete your application
process.
- The
concerned officer will then ask you to pay Rs. 15 in cash to the cashier
at the counter. - On
making this payment, the registration procedure is complete. The concerned
officer will ask you to come back in 10 days time to collect the
Registration Certificate and your original stamped and signed Trust Deed.
- After
10 days, when you return, the officer will hand over to you a Certificate
of Registration of your Public Trust, and the original Trust Deed that is
signed and stamped.
10. Some tips that may be useful:
- Have
patience
- Record
everything that happens, in a little notebook, in front of the concerned
officials. For e.g. If the official says that the concerned officer (who
is supposed to take action on your file) is on leave or absent, then note
this down in your notebook with the date and time.
- We
have found that it is best to turn up at the office rather than call and
ask if there is a need for you to come.
- We
believe that in the normal matter of things, there should be no reason for
us to be calling government officers to find out if our work has been
done, especially when the next date for us to visit the office has been
given by the officer himself or herself, and not by us.
- If
there is more than one Trustee present at the Hearing, this can help to
complete the procedure faster as 2 people from one Trust appear to be more
sincere than one or even none, as so many Trusts are represented by Lawyers.
- No one
asked us for a bribe, though we were pushed around and things were delayed
more than is acceptable
- If you
have Trustees that are women, then it could help if the women undertook
the registering of your Trust, as in our experience, it is rare that women
are openly asked for bribes.
Table 1: Day wise
break-up of procedure to register a Public Trust in Mumbai
No |
Action |
Day 1 |
Submitted application. Told
|
Day 17 |
Told no progress; concerned
|
Day 22 |
Got an assigned number and
|
Day 28 |
Public Notice was not
|
Day 29 |
Collected Public Notice.
|
Day 30 |
Sent Public Notice for
|
Day 31 |
Public Notice appears in Submitted copy of published
|
Day 64 |
Visited the Charity
|
Day 69 |
Present for Hearing. Officer asks for additional
|
Day 73 |
Present for Hearing.
|
Day 108 |
Present for hearing.
|
Day 118 |
Visited the Charity
|
Day 119 |
Visited the Charity |