EGROOPS stands for Electronic Governance for Partnership Firms and Societies Registration. It is an official website for registering Kerala Societies and Partnership Firms using an online method. The EGROOPS were created with the goal of implementing an effective registration system for Partnership Firms and Societies in Kerala.

The Centre for Development of Imaging Technology created EGROOPS (C-DIT). The EGROOPS platform offers the following services to its consumers:

  • New Partnership Firm Registration
  • New Society Registration
  • Society Registration Status
  • Firm Registration Status
  • Change of Firm Address
  • Change of Society Address
  • Change of Partners

Steps to be taken before Registration on EGROOPS

The applicant wanting to register a partnership firm using EGROOPS must validate the suggested name as a preliminary step. It will not be allowed if the proposed name is similar or identical to an existing firm, Limited Liability Partnership, corporate name, or trademark. (The proposed name should not be confusingly similar to or identical to an existing firm, LLP, company, or trademark.)

Using a similar or identical name to register a partnership firm could lead to legal issues in the future. As a result, it’s a good idea to check the availability of a name and do a trademark search before applying for registration. In general, there are two critical steps:

  • Check the availability of the company name
  • Carry out a trademark search.

As a matter of priority, we’d want to expand on the importance of choosing an appropriate name for your Partnership Firm. When choosing a name for their company, they should keep the following rules in mind:

  • The firm’s name should not be too similar, identical, or comparative. If it’s too similar, it’ll be tough to tell it apart from an existing company providing similar work (with the same or similar name). This check is necessary to avoid any misunderstandings. The reasoning behind this is that the firm’s goodwill may be tarnished or destroyed if another firm obtains a similar name.
  • The name of a partnership firm should not contain words like Empress, Empire, Crown, Emperor, or words inferring or communicating the endorsement, endorsement, or support of the government, except when the State Government gives its assent for the use of such words as a component of the firm name, as per section 58(3) of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932.

Partnership Firm Registration Procedure

The steps to register a partnership firm utilising the EGROOPS platform are as follows.

Step 1: Navigate to EGROOPS’ main page.

Step 2: On the right side of the EGROOPS homepage, click the “New firm registration” button and fill out the relevant information.

Step 3: When the data feed is finished, click the submit button at the bottom of the form. You will see a number and password created by the system on your screen after you click the submit button. The identical phone number and password will be emailed to the mobile and email addresses you supplied when entering the information.

Step 4: Go to the EGROOPS portal and sign in (by using the username and password provided in the 3rd step). Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be able to access the application that’s required for partnership business registration. After the application has been launched, go to the link in the middle of the screen to register a new partnership firm.

Step 5: Enter the preferred name for the partnership firm as well as the address.

Step 6: Now you must provide the partners’ information and upload any necessary supporting documents. The EGROOPS platform accepts four different types of partners:–

  • Normal partner
  • Power of attorney holder
  • Minor partner and

Different details would have to be provided depending on the type of partner chosen. Name, Gender, Age, Address, Guardian details, Mobile number, and other details are required in the form for normal/minor partners.

Note: In the event of a corporation, one individual will be chosen to represent the corporation in all legal actions. In the section provided on the form, the data of the person representing the company must be filled. After you’ve filled out the partner information and uploaded the relevant documents, you’ll need to click the add partner button to add other partners to the firm.

Step 7: After all Partners have been entered, click the “Add Business Place” button to fill in the data of the firm’s other branches (if any).

Step 8: Once the partner and place of business information, as well as the required papers, have been successfully updated, you can pay the online registration fees for the partnership firm registration. The payment can be made both online and offline:

  • Money order
  • Cash payment
  • e-Payment

Choose the most convenient payment method for you and begin the payment procedure.

Step 9: Once the payment has been received, you will receive a message confirming the payment as well as a reference number for future use. Your registered mobile number and email address will receive the same message. After that, the applicant must get the application attested by a Gazetted officer, a practising Advocate, an Income-Tax officer, an Honorary Magistrate, or a practising Chartered Accountant.

Note that if your application is refused, it will still be displayed in your EGROOPS account. By login into their EGROOPS account, the registered person can see the denied application. After correcting the error, the registered person must resubmit the application.

Step 10: If the registration was successful, click “Print Acknowledgement” to print the acknowledgement. The PDF form for the firm registration certificate can be viewed and downloaded from the same location.

Read, also: Dissolution of Partnership Firm