A UK-based startup founder has sparked recent debate about India’s enterprise surroundings after revealing it has taken him greater than two years — and counting — to close down a dormant Indian firm, regardless of having no income, operations, or staff.
In a LinkedIn publish, Arjun V Paul, CEO of UK-based Zoko, described the expertise as a “nightmare,” evaluating it to a “neverending divorce battle” and even Dante’s ninth circle of hell.
Paul outlined a prolonged record of bureaucratic hurdles: submitting GST returns regardless of zero income, holding board conferences for a dormant agency, repeated KYC updates, and shelling out over ₹2 lakh in authorized and CA charges — all to wind up an organization that hasn’t operated in years.
“Like Judas is chewed eternally in Lucifer’s jaws — an Indian entrepreneur in liquidation is chewed eternally by kinds, affidavits, audits, and hearings,” he wrote, referencing Dante’s Inferno.
One of many extra absurd moments got here 18 months into the shutdown course of, when officers requested for a photograph of the corporate’s bodily workplace — full with title signage — regardless of the enterprise being non-operational. “They anticipated you to pay hire and preserve signage for a DEFUNCT COMPANY,” Paul famous.
He dismissed the federal government’s repeated claims of enhancing the “ease of doing enterprise” as “absolute bullsh*t,” stating that shutting down an organization stays unnecessarily advanced and dear.
Up to now, Paul says he has filed greater than 24 paperwork, spent over two years, and paid lakhs in charges — but his firm stays legally lively.
His message to aspiring founders: “Earlier than you get enthusiastic about ‘startup-friendly’ insurance policies, ask one query — how simple is it to voluntarily shut down an organization?”
