ClearTax Wants To Kickstart Your Startup In 3 Weeks, For A Fee

Registering a company is no easy job, especially for first-time entrepreneurs who may be left flummoxed by jargon like incorporation, taxation and articles of association. ClearTax, an e-filing platform for income tax returns is looking to tap into this clientele by offering a start-to-end solution from incorporation to managing regulatory filings.

Christened the ClearTax Startup programme, the platform will offer early-stage startup advisory services like company registration, legal compliance, company incorporation, legal agreements, and end-to-end tax registration.

“The first hurdle an entrepreneur hits is how to start a company, what kind of legal entity you need, how do you setup a bank account (for the company), all of this is opaque for young entrepreneurs. So ClearTax takes care of all the pain points,” explained Archit Gupta, co-founder of ClearTax. He recounted his own harrowing experience when he started off, despite being the son of a chartered accountant.

ClearTax promises to complete the entire process, from filing to incorporation, within 20 days. The platform has partnered with 100 chartered accountancy firms across the country and the entire package will cost less than Rs 20,000, which Gupta said is almost 50 percent cheaper than the offline market.

The company has also tied up with financial institutions like HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Yes Bank Ltd. to open zero-balance corporate accounts.

The company is targeting 40,000 startups over the next 18 months, with a revenue target of Rs 80 crore, Gupta said.