एकल स्वामित्व क्या है?

एकल स्वामित्व एक व्यक्ति का व्यवसाय है जिसमें मालिक और व्यवसाय अलग नहीं होते — इसलिए मालिक व्यक्तिगत रूप से पूरी तरह उत्तरदायी होता है।

There is no incorporation and no registrar — the business is recognised through its registrations: GST, MSME, a trade licence, a current account in the trade name. The proprietor files one return covering both personal and business income.

Because there is no separate legal entity, the business cannot survive its owner and cannot take on shareholders.

क्यों मायने रखता है

It is the cheapest and fastest way to start, and the most expensive way to fail — a business debt is your debt, recoverable from your house.

कानूनी स्थिति

प्रत्येक आँकड़े के साथ उसका स्रोत।
मद	मान	स्रोत
Registration	No separate registration exists — the business is the proprietor	No governing statute; recognised through tax and licence registrations
Income tax	Taxed at the proprietor's individual slab rates on the proprietor's PAN	Income-tax Act 1961
Liability	Unlimited — personal assets stand behind business debts	Consequence of there being no separate legal person
Usual proofs of existence	GST registration, Udyam registration, trade licence, a current account	Bank and departmental practice

इसे इनसे न मिलाएँ

ये शब्द अक्सर एक-दूसरे के लिए इस्तेमाल कर लिए जाते हैं। ये अलग हैं।

OPC

An OPC is a registered company with limited liability and annual MCA filings. A proprietorship is neither registered nor limited, and has no MCA existence at all.

Partnership firm

A partnership has two or more people. A proprietorship has exactly one, and adding a second person to the business converts it into something else.

आम सवाल

How do I 'register' a proprietorship?

You do not — there is no registry. What people mean by registering one is obtaining the registrations that prove it exists: GST where the threshold applies, Udyam, a trade licence, and a current account in the business name.

Is it really the cheapest option?

To start and to run, yes. What it does not carry is limited liability, and that is the trade being made. For a business with trade credit, borrowings or any real claim exposure, the annual cost of an LLP buys something the proprietorship cannot.

जो अक्सर ग़लत होता है

Treating drawings as a business expense — they are not deductible
Mixing personal and business banking, which makes the books impossible to defend
Assuming a GST registration or a trade licence creates a separate legal entity
Carrying significant trade credit personally when an LLP would have limited the exposure