Puja Committee Permissions & Compliance: A Practical Checklist (West Bengal)

Most committees learn about permissions the hard way — a week before the pandal goes up, when someone mentions the fire licence.

This is a practical orientation, not legal advice. Rules differ between Kolkata Municipal Corporation, other municipalities and panchayat areas, and they change year to year. Every year the state and police typically issue fresh advisories, and some years bring genuinely new conditions. Always confirm the current requirements with your local police station and municipal office before you commit anything — especially anything you have promised a sponsor.

What follows is the shape of the process, so you know what to ask about.

Why this matters for sponsorship

Beyond staying on the right side of the rules, compliance directly affects your ability to raise money:

• Corporate sponsors ask. Larger brands and their finance teams often want to know you are a registered body before transferring funds.
• Bank accounts need registration. Without a committee account, you are handling sponsorship money through a personal account — messy, hard to account for, and a genuine trust problem.
• PAN affects tax deduction. Under Indian tax rules, payments to entities without PAN can attract a higher deduction rate. A sponsor's accounts team will raise this.
• Insurance and safety compliance protect the committee members personally if something goes wrong.

Committees that get this right unlock a category of sponsor that informal committees simply cannot access.

Typical permissions to ask about

The exact list varies by location. Ask your local authorities about:

Police permission — for the pandal, crowd management, road usage and any procession. Usually the central approval everything else attaches to.

Municipal or panchayat permission — for erecting a temporary structure on or near public land.

Fire safety clearance — from the fire services department. Pandals are temporary structures with heavy electrical loads; this is taken seriously and typically involves inspection.

Electricity connection and load approval — a temporary metered connection from the distribution company. Illegal hooking is both dangerous and an offence.

Traffic police clearance — if you affect a road, need barricading, or run a procession.

Sound permission — loudspeaker use is regulated, including night-time restrictions, and courts have intervened on this repeatedly. Assume there are limits and confirm them.

Immersion / visarjan slot — timings and designated ghats are usually allotted, and there are environmental rules around idol materials and immersion.

Fee waivers and grants — West Bengal has in recent years offered grants to registered Durga Puja committees along with certain fee concessions. Amounts and conditions change annually — check the current year's announcement rather than relying on what a neighbouring committee tells you.

Many districts now route several of these through a single-window online system, which is worth asking about first — it can save weeks.

Registration options

Committees typically register in one of these forms. Which suits you depends on your size and plans, and is worth a short conversation with a local CA:

• Society (West Bengal Societies Registration Act) — the most common route for puja committees
• Trust — used by some larger or temple-linked bodies
• Section 8 company — heavier compliance, rarely necessary for a neighbourhood puja

Alongside registration you will generally want:

• PAN in the committee's name
• A committee bank account with clear signatory rules (ideally two signatories)
• TAN, only if you will be deducting tax at source on payments you make
• GST registration, only if your receipts cross the applicable threshold — this is worth confirming with a CA, because sponsorship income and its treatment is exactly the area where committees get it wrong
• 12A / 80G, if you want donations to be tax-deductible for donors. This is a meaningful sponsorship advantage where it applies.

A rough timeline

4–5 months before: decide on registration if you do not have it; it takes time. Open the bank account.

3 months before: begin permission applications. Approach sponsors in parallel — this is the same window.

2 months before: apply for electricity connection; submit pandal design for fire clearance if required.

1 month before: confirm sound permission, traffic clearance and immersion slot. Arrange insurance if you are taking it.

2 weeks before: collect all approvals in one folder, physical and digital. Share with committee members so it is not in one person's phone.

During the festival: keep copies on site. Inspections happen.

After: file whatever returns apply, and store the year's records for the next committee.

Insurance worth considering

Not always mandatory, but sensible:

• Public liability — if a visitor is injured
• Fire and structural — pandals are flammable and expensive
• Volunteer cover — for people working at height during construction

Handling sponsorship money properly

This is where committees most often create problems for themselves:

• Take sponsorship into the committee account, not a personal one
• Issue a receipt for every payment
• Keep a simple ledger of income and expenditure — a spreadsheet is enough
• Have two signatories on the account
• Hand over records when the committee changes, along with sponsor contacts
• If a corporate sponsor asks for an invoice with GST, speak to a CA before promising it — do not guess

Frequently asked questions

Do we need to register to accept sponsorship?

For small local amounts, many committees operate informally. But registration plus PAN and a bank account makes larger corporate sponsorship far easier, and cleaner for everyone.

How long does registration take?

It varies. Start months ahead rather than weeks — this is the single most common timing mistake.

Is sponsorship income taxable?

It depends on your structure, your total receipts and how the money is used. This genuinely needs a CA who can see your specific situation — general internet answers, including this one, are not sufficient.

What if we have always done it informally?

Many committees do. The practical trigger to formalise is when a sponsor asks for an invoice, a large payment needs a bank account, or you want to apply for a state grant.

Where do I confirm this year's rules?

Your local police station, your municipal or panchayat office, and the state's official announcements for the current year. Do not rely on last year's process or on what another committee did.

Focus on the part that raises money

Compliance protects you. Photographs, honest footfall and published prices are what actually raise sponsorship.

**List your puja free on PujaSathi**

Related: [How to Get Sponsorship for Your Durga Puja](/blog/how-to-get-sponsorship-for-durga-puja) · [Sponsorship Proposal Template](/blog/durga-puja-sponsorship-proposal-template) · [Small Committee Sponsorship Guide](/blog/saraswati-puja-small-committee-sponsorship)

This article is general orientation, not legal, tax or regulatory advice. Requirements vary by locality and change every year. Confirm current rules with your local authorities, and consult a qualified professional for registration, tax and GST questions.