I've just incorporated my company — is there a filing before I can start business or borrow?

Yes — there is one formality between incorporation and going live. A company incorporated with share capital files a declaration with the Registrar, in Form INC-20A, confirming that every subscriber to the memorandum has paid the value of the shares they agreed to take. Until it is filed — and the company's registered office has been verified — the company may not commence business or exercise its borrowing powers.

In practice it is a well-defined step. The subscribers deposit their subscription money in the company's bank account, a director makes the declaration with proof of those payments, a Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary or Cost Accountant in practice certifies the form, and it is filed within 180 days of incorporation. Where the company's objects need registration with a sectoral regulator — the RBI or SEBI, for instance — that approval is attached as well. Missing the window can attract penalties on the company and its officers, and the Registrar may move to strike off a company that is not carrying on business.

Because it comes right at the start, it is also the easiest step to keep in order: fund the company, file within the window, and the first invoice, loan or contract follows on a clean record. LLPs and companies without share capital follow a different path, so a quick check confirms what applies to you. We can handle incorporation and this filing as one sequence.