Thousands of businesses in Mohali begin in a spare room: a boutique run from a front room in Phase Seven, a home bakery in Sector 70, a jewellery maker in Kharar packing orders on the dining table. Most of them are run by women. The question every one of them eventually faces is the same: what can GMADA do about it, and what does it cost to move into proper commercial space?
This piece sets out what is on the record, what a small seller needs to register, and the route many founders now take, which is to sell to customers who never come to the house at all.
What GMADA can and cannot do over a home shop
We covered the legal position in detail in MA Bulletin #338. In short:
- GMADA can cancel the allotment of a house that is misused, but only through the process in Section forty-five of the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act.
- The owner has to be told in writing and heard before any order, and can appeal.
- The amount GMADA can keep is capped at a tenth of the total and can be reduced for hardship.
- The Act itself contains no sealing power, and the Phase Eleven notices that threatened sealing did not say what that warning rested on.
The practical reading for anyone running a business from home: the risk grows with how much the house behaves like a shop. Walk in customers, signboards, stock on display and a counter at the gate are what neighbours complain about and what notices describe. A founder who makes products at home and ships them out is in a very different position from one who has turned the ground floor into a showroom.
What moving into commercial space actually costs
The alternative is a booth, a showroom or a space in an SCO. MA tracks these on the SCO and booth pages, and GMADA auction results show how far commercial prices have moved: in our report on the latest round, Mohali SCOs doubled their reserve price.
For a first time founder with a small product range, rent, a security deposit, fit out and a year's lease can cost more than the business earns in its first year. That is why so many start at home and stay there until the numbers justify a move.
The registrations a small seller needs, whatever the address
Running from home does not remove the paperwork. The basics for most small businesses in Punjab:
- Udyam (MSME) registration. Free, online, based on Aadhaar and PAN, and it unlocks priority sector lending and protection against late payment by buyers.
- GST. Compulsory once turnover in goods crosses ₹40 lakh a year in Punjab (₹20 lakh for services), but needed earlier if you ship goods to customers in other states, including from your own website. Handicraft makers have a separate exception.
- A sector licence where it applies, such as FSSAI registration for a home food business.
- A shop and establishment registration under state law may also apply depending on how the business is set up.
Sakhi Sangini, a women's enterprise platform that is also part of Fidus, has a plain language guide to registering a small business in India: Udyam, GST and licences, and a separate one for FSSAI registration for a home food business. Both are dated and cite official sources.
Selling without a shop front
The quieter route, and the one that keeps a home business on the right side of a residential plot, is to sell to customers who never visit. That means:
1. WhatsApp and Instagram for first sales to people you already reach.
2. A marketplace such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho or an ONDC seller app once you can pack and ship reliably.
3. A store of your own once you have buyers who come back.
The trade offs between these are laid out in Sakhi Sangini's guide on where to sell online in India. For women who make their own products, Sakhi Sangini also runs a Founders Market: a founder can open a store on Sakhi Sangini, with online payments handled through Razorpay and the customer updated on WhatsApp at every step from order to delivery. The founder makes and ships the product; nobody comes to the gate.
What this means for Tricity's home based founders
- The legal exposure of a home business in Mohali depends far more on footfall and display than on the fact of selling.
- Commercial space in Mohali has become more expensive, not less, which keeps the first year of many businesses at home.
- Registration is the same wherever the business sits, and GST arrives earlier for anyone shipping across state lines.
- Online selling lets a founder grow sales without turning a house into a shop.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For a notice from GMADA, read the full position in Bulletin #338 and take advice on your specific case. Sakhi Sangini is part of the Fidus group, which also publishes Mohali Aerotropolis.
Thousands of businesses in Mohali begin in a spare room: a boutique run from a front room in Phase Seven, a home bakery in Sector 70, a jewellery maker in Kharar packing orders on the dining table. Most of them are run by women. The question every one of them eventually faces is the same: what can GMADA do about it, and what does it cost to move into proper commercial space?
This piece sets out what is on the record, what a small seller needs to register, and the route many founders now take, which is to sell to customers who never come to the house at all.
What GMADA can and cannot do over a home shop
We covered the legal position in detail in MA Bulletin #338. In short:
- GMADA can cancel the allotment of a house that is misused, but only through the process in Section forty-five of the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act.
- The owner has to be told in writing and heard before any order, and can appeal.
- The amount GMADA can keep is capped at a tenth of the total and can be reduced for hardship.
- The Act itself contains no sealing power, and the Phase Eleven notices that threatened sealing did not say what that warning rested on.
The practical reading for anyone running a business from home: the risk grows with how much the house behaves like a shop. Walk in customers, signboards, stock on display and a counter at the gate are what neighbours complain about and what notices describe. A founder who makes products at home and ships them out is in a very different position from one who has turned the ground floor into a showroom.
What moving into commercial space actually costs
The alternative is a booth, a showroom or a space in an SCO. MA tracks these on the SCO and booth pages, and GMADA auction results show how far commercial prices have moved: in our report on the latest round, Mohali SCOs doubled their reserve price.
For a first time founder with a small product range, rent, a security deposit, fit out and a year's lease can cost more than the business earns in its first year. That is why so many start at home and stay there until the numbers justify a move.
The registrations a small seller needs, whatever the address
Running from home does not remove the paperwork. The basics for most small businesses in Punjab:
- Udyam (MSME) registration. Free, online, based on Aadhaar and PAN, and it unlocks priority sector lending and protection against late payment by buyers.
- GST. Compulsory once turnover in goods crosses ₹40 lakh a year in Punjab (₹20 lakh for services), but needed earlier if you ship goods to customers in other states, including from your own website. Handicraft makers have a separate exception.
- A sector licence where it applies, such as FSSAI registration for a home food business.
- A shop and establishment registration under state law may also apply depending on how the business is set up.
Sakhi Sangini, a women's enterprise platform that is also part of Fidus, has a plain language guide to registering a small business in India: Udyam, GST and licences, and a separate one for FSSAI registration for a home food business. Both are dated and cite official sources.
Selling without a shop front
The quieter route, and the one that keeps a home business on the right side of a residential plot, is to sell to customers who never visit. That means:
1. WhatsApp and Instagram for first sales to people you already reach.
2. A marketplace such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho or an ONDC seller app once you can pack and ship reliably.
3. A store of your own once you have buyers who come back.
The trade offs between these are laid out in Sakhi Sangini's guide on where to sell online in India. For women who make their own products, Sakhi Sangini also runs a Founders Market: a founder can open a store on Sakhi Sangini, with online payments handled through Razorpay and the customer updated on WhatsApp at every step from order to delivery. The founder makes and ships the product; nobody comes to the gate.
What this means for Tricity's home based founders
- The legal exposure of a home business in Mohali depends far more on footfall and display than on the fact of selling.
- Commercial space in Mohali has become more expensive, not less, which keeps the first year of many businesses at home.
- Registration is the same wherever the business sits, and GST arrives earlier for anyone shipping across state lines.
- Online selling lets a founder grow sales without turning a house into a shop.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For a notice from GMADA, read the full position in Bulletin #338 and take advice on your specific case. Sakhi Sangini is part of the Fidus group, which also publishes Mohali Aerotropolis.
Thousands of businesses in Mohali begin in a spare room: a boutique run from a front room in Phase Seven, a home bakery in Sector 70, a jewellery maker in Kharar packing orders on the dining table. Most of them are run by women. The question every one of them eventually faces is the same: what can GMADA do about it, and what does it cost to move into proper commercial space?
This piece sets out what is on the record, what a small seller needs to register, and the route many founders now take, which is to sell to customers who never come to the house at all.
What GMADA can and cannot do over a home shop
We covered the legal position in detail in MA Bulletin #338. In short:
- GMADA can cancel the allotment of a house that is misused, but only through the process in Section forty-five of the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act.
- The owner has to be told in writing and heard before any order, and can appeal.
- The amount GMADA can keep is capped at a tenth of the total and can be reduced for hardship.
- The Act itself contains no sealing power, and the Phase Eleven notices that threatened sealing did not say what that warning rested on.
The practical reading for anyone running a business from home: the risk grows with how much the house behaves like a shop. Walk in customers, signboards, stock on display and a counter at the gate are what neighbours complain about and what notices describe. A founder who makes products at home and ships them out is in a very different position from one who has turned the ground floor into a showroom.
What moving into commercial space actually costs
The alternative is a booth, a showroom or a space in an SCO. MA tracks these on the SCO and booth pages, and GMADA auction results show how far commercial prices have moved: in our report on the latest round, Mohali SCOs doubled their reserve price.
For a first time founder with a small product range, rent, a security deposit, fit out and a year's lease can cost more than the business earns in its first year. That is why so many start at home and stay there until the numbers justify a move.
The registrations a small seller needs, whatever the address
Running from home does not remove the paperwork. The basics for most small businesses in Punjab:
- Udyam (MSME) registration. Free, online, based on Aadhaar and PAN, and it unlocks priority sector lending and protection against late payment by buyers.
- GST. Compulsory once turnover in goods crosses ₹40 lakh a year in Punjab (₹20 lakh for services), but needed earlier if you ship goods to customers in other states, including from your own website. Handicraft makers have a separate exception.
- A sector licence where it applies, such as FSSAI registration for a home food business.
- A shop and establishment registration under state law may also apply depending on how the business is set up.
Sakhi Sangini, a women's enterprise platform that is also part of Fidus, has a plain language guide to registering a small business in India: Udyam, GST and licences, and a separate one for FSSAI registration for a home food business. Both are dated and cite official sources.
Selling without a shop front
The quieter route, and the one that keeps a home business on the right side of a residential plot, is to sell to customers who never visit. That means:
1. WhatsApp and Instagram for first sales to people you already reach.
2. A marketplace such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho or an ONDC seller app once you can pack and ship reliably.
3. A store of your own once you have buyers who come back.
The trade offs between these are laid out in Sakhi Sangini's guide on where to sell online in India. For women who make their own products, Sakhi Sangini also runs a Founders Market: a founder can open a store on Sakhi Sangini, with online payments handled through Razorpay and the customer updated on WhatsApp at every step from order to delivery. The founder makes and ships the product; nobody comes to the gate.
What this means for Tricity's home based founders
- The legal exposure of a home business in Mohali depends far more on footfall and display than on the fact of selling.
- Commercial space in Mohali has become more expensive, not less, which keeps the first year of many businesses at home.
- Registration is the same wherever the business sits, and GST arrives earlier for anyone shipping across state lines.
- Online selling lets a founder grow sales without turning a house into a shop.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For a notice from GMADA, read the full position in Bulletin #338 and take advice on your specific case. Sakhi Sangini is part of the Fidus group, which also publishes Mohali Aerotropolis.