How to set-up a Multi-State Co-operative Society Registration

Co-operative society a society registered or deemed to be registered under any law relating to cooperative societies for the time being in force in any State. Multi-State co-operative society a society registered or deemed to be registered under this Act and includes a national cooperative society.

• No multi-state co-operative society shall be registered under this Act, unless,
  • Its main objects are to serve the interests of members in more than one state; and
  • Its bye-laws provide for the social and economic betterment of its members through self-help and mutual aid in accordance with the cooperative principles.
• An application shall be made to the Central Registrar in Form I & Form II and with such particulars as may be prescribed.
• The application shall be signed-
• If members are individual, by 50 persons from each of the state concerned;
• If members are co-operative societies, by at least 5 societies (authorized representatives) as are not registered in the same state;
• If members are another multi-state co-operative society & other co-operative societies are members, by not less than 2 of the co-operative societies (authorized representatives) as are not registered in the same state
• If members are another multi state-cooperative society & other cooperative societies & individuals,
• by at least 50 persons, being individuals from each of the two states or more;
• one co-operative society each from two States or more or one multi-state co-operative society
• The application shall be accompanied by four copies of the proposed bye-laws.
• The application for registration shall be disposed of by the Central Registrar within a period of 4 months from the date of receipt & if the Central Registrar refuses to register then it shall communicate within a period of 4 months along with the reason for
• When the multi-state co-operative society is registered under this Act, the Central Registrar shall issue a certificate of registration.

Application of Registration shall be accompanied by:

• Four copies of the proposed bye-laws of the multi-state co-operative society, duly signed by each of the persons who sign the application for registration;
• A list of persons who have contributed to the share capital, together with the amount contributed by each of them, and the admission fee paid by them;
• A certificate from the bank which states that the credit balance in favour of the proposed multi-state cooperative society;
• A scheme showing the details explaining how the working of the multi-state cooperative society will be economically sound and the registration of such multi-state cooperative society will be beneficial for social & economic betterment of its members through self-help and mutual aid in accordance with the cooperative principles;
• Certified copy of the resolution of the promoters which shall specify the name and address of one of the applicants to whom the Central Registrar may address correspondence under the rules before registration & dispatch or hand over registration documents.
• Where any member of a multi-state co-operative society to be registered is a multi-state cooperative society or a cooperative society, the Chairperson or Chief Executive or a member duly authorised by the board of directors or the governing body of such multi-state cooperative society or cooperative society, as the case may be, shall be authorised by that board by a resolution, to sign the application for registration and bye-laws on its behalf, and a copy of such resolution shall be suspended to the application.
• Where the members of a multi-state cooperative society to be registered are cooperative Societies or multi-state cooperative societies and individuals, such application shall be signed by individuals and authorized a representative of such cooperative society or multi-state cooperative society.

Conditions to be complied with for membership

No persons shall be admitted as a member of a multi-state cooperative society unless-

• He has to apply in writing in the form of membership & the same shall be approved by the Board of the multi-state cooperative society;
• He has purchased the minimum number of shares and paid the value thereof in full or in part in such calls as may be laid down in the bye-laws of the multi-state cooperative society;
• If the multi-state cooperative society is owned or controlled by the government then the application for membership shall be accompanied by a resolution authorizing it to apply for such membership;
• No person shall be eligible for admission as a member of a multi-state cooperative society if,
• he has not attained the age of 18 years;
• has been adjudged by a competent court to be an insolvent or an undischarged insolvent;
• Has been condemned for any offence, other than the offence of a political character or an offence which does not involve moral turpitude and dishonesty and a period of five years has not elapsed from the date of expiry of the sentence.

Registration

• On receipt of an application, the Central Registrar shall enter the particulars of the application in the register of applications to be maintained in Form II, give a serial number to the application and issue a receipt in acknowledgement.
• If the Central Registrar thinks that the proposed multi-state cooperative society has complied with the requirements of the Act and the rules, he may register the society and its bye-laws.
• Where the Central Registrar registers a multi-state cooperative society, he shall issue to the said society a certificate of registration signed by him and bearing his official seal containing registration number and date of registration of the said society. The Central Registrar shall also issue, along with the certificate of registration, a certified copy of bye-laws, as approved and registered by him, which shall be the registered bye-laws of the said society for the time being in force.

Bye-laws

Every multi-state cooperative society applying for registration under this Act may make bye-laws consistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules made the under and model bye-laws, if any, framed by the Central Registrar. The bye-laws may also include –

• Procedure and manner of redemption of shares.
• The provisions of office bearers of the society, the terms and conditions, their functions and responsibilities other than those specified in the Act.
• Constitution of the committees of the board.
• The rate of dividend subject to a maximum of the rates specified in the bye-laws.
• The procedure for the association and representation of employees of the society.
• Constitution of the committees of the board.
• The procedure of election or selection for the constitution of the smaller body of delegates.
• The method of recruitment, the condition of service and the authority competent to fix, revise or regulate the scales of pay and allowance to be paid to the officers and other employees of the society and the procedure to be followed in the disposal of disciplinary cases.
• The constitution and powers of the representative general body and the restrictions subject to which this body may exercise its powers.

The checklist is related to the documents to be submitted with the proposal for the registration of a Multi-state Co-operative Society.

[A]

1. Form 1: To be submitted in the format annexed to the MSCS Act 2002^[1] along with the documents required under Form I.
2. A certificate from the bank stating credit balance there in favour of the proposed multi-state co-operative society.
3. A scheme explaining how the proposed multi-state co-operative society has reasonable prospects of becoming a viable unit.
4. Four copies of bye-laws in original.
5. The proposed area of operation for registration shall initially be permitted for two contagious states only.
6. List of at least 50 members from each state. The list has to be submitted in the format annexed to the MSCS Act 2002 along with the copies of ID proofs of the members duly attested by Chief Promoter.
7. Certified copies of the resolutions passed by the proposed society along with the certified copy of the resolution of the promoters which shall specify the name and address of the applicant to whom the Central Registrar may revert by communicating through notice underneath the rules before registration and dispatch or hand over registration documents.
8. Contact number and e-mail address of the Chief Promoter or Society on the cover

[B]

For the multi-state cooperative society which have the objects which are related to thrift and credit and for multi-purpose societies below are the additional documents which are obligatory to be submitted along with documents mentioned above:

1. No objection Certificate from the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of the States/U.T. where the area of operation of the society is proposed to be confined.
2. A certificate of the result that the authorizations of the Promoters have been verified by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies of the state where the head office is proposed to be located.

All documents to be submitted in original with the signatures of the Chief Promoter/Promoters on each page.