Society is an association of persons who acts together and jointly on mutual deliberation and consent for the fulfillment of common objectives. Societies are registered for promoting charitable activities such as education, art, culture, religion, music, sports, and similar allied charitable cause.
What comes in your mind when you hear the word Not-for-profit organization? An organization that operates to promote the charitable cause with the no-profit objective is NPO. Society is one of the other kinds of NGOs registered in India.
The Society Registration Act 1860 governs society, its activity and its registration in India. The act was introduced for legalizing and improving the conditions of society in India. Society registration act 1860 is adopted by several states with or without any modification.
Purpose of Society Registration
Society is one of the kinds of NGOs registered in India. Depending upon the scope and purpose, different kinds of NGOs are registered.
In this blog, we will discuss in detail about Society and its purpose. Society is registered to achieve the following purposes:
Creating military orphan funds
Promotion of science, research, and development
Promoting Fine Arts and literature
Diffusion of Political Education
Foundation of Libraries and reading rooms
Maintenance of public museums or gallery
Providing charitable assistance
The procedure of Society Registration
We have enumerated the steps of society registration henceforth:
Step 1: Selection of Name
Start the process by choosing an appropriate name for the society. While selecting the name, the applicant shall be careful that it doesn't select making use of a similar or already registered name.
Step 2: Preparation of Memorandum and Article
The charter of the society that regulates the operation of the society shall be prepared, and the same shall be signed by its founding members and witnessed by Oath Commissioner. The article contains the by-laws and regulations for the operation of society.
Clauses in Memorandum: Following clauses shall be included in memorandum such as:
Name of society
The registered address of the society
Objectives of society for which it is registered
List of its member and governing body
Clauses in Article: Article of the Association consist of following clauses of by-laws that govern the society such as:
Membership clause
The clause of share subscription
Meeting and related clause
Meeting of the committee or governing body
The clause relating to the auditor and legal procedures
The clause containing the terms and conditions for dissolution
Step 3: Documentation
A complete list of documents shall be arranged beforehand for applying to the registrar of societies. Following documents are required for applying for society registration:
PAN card of all the members who propose to register the society
Residence proof of members such as Aadhar card, bank statement, voter-id or electricity bill
Identity proof of members such as passport or Driving license
Memorandum of association that consists of the details of work and objective of society, complete details of members and registered address of society for communication
Article of association prepared that must contain the information that pertains to auditors, necessary rules and regulation for the operation of society, arbitration in case of disputes amongst the members and methods of society dissolution
Covering letter that shall mention the sole purpose of society and shall be annexed to the beginning of the application.
Proof of address of society where it shall be registered. Address proof depends upon the ownership status, that is if the premise is owned: Electricity bill and registry is required, and in case it is rented: rent agreement and NOC from the landlord will be sufficient
Declaration by the president is also required in which he states that he is willing and competent to hold the post of president.
Step 4: Submission of application registrar
Complete the process by submission of the final application to the registrar of the concerned state. Complete set of documents, Memorandum, Article, application, and the prescribed fee shall be delivered to state authority for registering the society. If the registrar is satisfied with the application, it shall grant the Registration Certificate for your society.
Features of Society
Society act lays down several features of society as follows:
The society shall be registered with a minimum of 7 members or more
Anybody can subscribe to the memorandum of society whether be it an individual, company, other registered society, whether Indian or foreign citizen.
It depends upon the discretion of members to get it registered or not. However, only registered societies are legally protected or can avail benefits from the government.
Summary
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