Partnership Firm Bank Account Opening

A Partnership Firm is an association of persons for the purpose of undertaking business for profit. Partnership firms can be registered or unregistered. Unregistered partnership firms can be established even though an oral contract or by entering into a written agreement. On the other hand, a registered partnership must be established through a Partnership Deed that is registered with the Registrar of Firms. In this article, we look at the process of opening the Partnership Firm Bank Account in India.

Partnership Firm KYC Norms

The Reserve Bank of India sets Know Your Customer (KYC) norms based on which documentation is collected by Banks for opening account. The RBI KYC norms layout the following standards for opening Partnership Firm bank account:

Registration certificate, if registered
Partnership deed
Power of Attorney granted to a partner or an employee of the firm to transact business on its behalf;
Any officially valid document identifying the partners and the persons holding the Power of Attorney and their addresses;
Telephone bill in the name of firm/partners

Documents Required for Opening Partnership Firm Bank Account

Based on the RBI's KYC norms, banks have introduced procedures and documents required to open a bank account for the partnership firm. The documents required are as under:

Basic Documents

Partnership Deed
PAN Card in the Name of the Partnership Firm
Address Proof of the Partnership Firm
Identity Proof of all Partners
Partnership Registration Certificate (if Registered Partnership)

First Entity Proof (Any one of the following documents)

Any certificate issued for registration/operations/Trade License/business by Local/ State/ Central Government/ Government Agency/ SEBI/ IRDA/ ICAI/ ICSI/ ICWAI/ Office of Registrar of Newspapers for India in the name of entity/firm. Eg: Sales Tax, TIN/ TAN etc.
APMC/ Mandi License/ Certificate
Labour License/Certificate
Professional Tax Registration Certificate
Trade Mark Registration Certificate
Liquor License/ Registration Certificate
Drug License
Registration Certificate issued by Excise & Customs Department.
License/ Certificate to Sell/ Stock/ Exhibit for Sale or Distribute Insecticide/Pesticide
Registration Certificate issued under Weight & Measurement Act
Police Department Permission/License/Certificate
Regional Transport Office Permit/Registration Certificate
Consent to Operate document issued by State/Central Pollution Control Board
Sales Tax Registration Certificate/ TIN Certificate/ GST certificate/ TAN certificate.
Valid Shops & Establishment Certificate/ Trade License. Validity can be extended up to the grace period for renewal as mentioned in such certificate.
Certificate Issued by SEZ, STP, EHTP, DTA and EPZ in the name of the entity mentioning the address allotted.
Importer–Exporter Code Certificate along with PAN Card (if PAN is quoted on the IEC Certificate).
Gram Panchayat Certificate (should be on letterhead and not more than 3 months old).
Trade License in the name of the entity.
District Industries Center (DIC)/ Small Scale Industries (SSI) Certificate – Acknowledgment Part -II issued by DIC/ SSI containing Entrepreneur’s Memorandum Number. Duly stamped and signed by issuing authority.
Factory Registration Certificate in the name of the entity.
SEBI Registration Certificate in the name of the entity.
Certificate of enlistment/license/shop allotment letter issued by Municipal Corporation (Kolkatta, Ludhiana and others).
Shops & Establishment Certificate issued by E-Seva Kendra’s (Andhra Pradesh). Receipt issued only by Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) to be accepted along with Shops & Establishment Certificate.
The Shops and Establishment Certificate issued by the Municipal Corporations in West Bengal are valid till March 31 every year.

Second Entity Proof (Any one of the following documents)

Registration of firm with Employee Provident Fund Organization.
Registration of firm with Employee State Insurance Corporation.
Letter or Certificate (should be on letterhead and not more than 3-month-old) confirming existence of business issued by Chairman/ President/ CEO/ Head of the Nagar Panchayat/ Parishad, and not by local councillors/ corporators
Complete Sales tax return in the name of the firm duly acknowledged. Note: The portion of the sales tax return showing the name of the firm should be duly acknowledged by the accepting authority
Last available Income/ Wealth Tax Assessment order in the name of the firm.
The latest copy of Electricity Bill, not more than 3 months old.
The latest copy of Telephone Bill from Telecom operator, not more than 3 months old.
Certificate issued by Municipal Corporation/ Local Self Government Bodies confirming the address of the firm.
A true copy of gas connection book in the name of the entity along with the latest gas receipt, not more than 3 months old or Gas bill in case of pipe connection.
Water Tax bill paid to Municipal Body/ Corporations, not more than 6 months old along with the Tax receipt should stand in the name of the firm.
Property Tax bill should not be more than calendar one year old from the bill issuance date along with Tax receipts for property tax paid to Municipal Body / Corporations. The Tax receipt should stand in the name of the firm.
Certificate of Verification issued under Weight & Measurement Act–This document will not be considered if Registration Certificate issued under the same act has been taken as 1st entity proof document.

Company Registration

OPC Registration