The three certificates everyone struggles with

Nine of the twelve documents in the checklist are things you already own. Three are things you must ask other people for, and each is asked for in a particular way. Get these three right and the registration is a formality.

1. The work done certificate

A letter from the Executive Engineer of the division that paid for the work, on the division's letterhead, stating the name of the work, the agreement number, the contract value, the value of work done, the dates of start and completion, and that the work was completed satisfactorily. It must be an original with a seal. Class III asks for a total of ₹10 lakh over five years with one work of at least ₹2 lakh; Class II for one work of ₹10 lakh; Class I for one work of ₹25 lakh.

• Ask for it on completion, not five years later. The engineer who paid your final bill will sign in a week. His successor will ask for the file.
• It must name you as the contractor of record. A work you executed in someone else's name earns them the certificate. The exception is the Class IV sub-contractor certificate, issued by a Class I contractor on their letterhead for sub-let work of ₹50,000 or more; the Code (para 252, note 1) accepts sub-contract work if it was under an agreement, paid by cheque and declared in your IT returns.
• For Class I and II, only government works count (para 253.3): state or central government, their undertakings, boards, universities and corporations. Class III and IV may use private-sector certificates after verification.
• Civil engineering graduates skip this for Class III, and diploma holders for Class IV (para 253.2).

2. The turnover certificate

A chartered accountant's certificate of your turnover for each of the last five financial years, with the total, prepared from your audited accounts or IT returns and carrying the CA's membership number and UDIN. The office checks it against the five years of IT returns you attach, so the two must agree. The thresholds on the office checklist: ₹10 lakh for Class IV and III, ₹30 lakh for Class II, ₹75 lakh for Class I, all over five years.

Turnover means the business's gross receipts, not profit. A contractor who did ₹12 lakh of village works over five years and filed returns for them has a ₹12 lakh turnover certificate waiting at any CA. A contractor who took payments in cash and filed nothing has no turnover, whatever he built.

3. The solvency certificate

A certificate that you are solvent to a stated amount: ₹50,000 for Class IV, ₹10 lakh for Class III and II, ₹25 lakh for Class I on the office checklist. The Code (para 254.5) accepts it from the Deputy Commissioner of the district or a scheduled bank. In practice:

• From your bank: the branch issues a solvency certificate on your account history, deposits and any property you hold, for a fee, usually within a week. Banks are conservative; the amount they certify tracks what you hold with them.
• From the revenue department: apply through the Tahsildar's office with property documents (RTC, khata, valuation); the certificate issues under the Deputy Commissioner's authority. Slower, but it can certify a larger amount against land.
• Addressed to the registering officer by designation, not "to whomsoever it may concern": the Chief Engineer of the zone, the Superintending Engineer of the circle, or the Executive Engineer of the division. Ask the office for the exact wording before you apply.
• Produced at first registration and once every five years at renewal (para 256.4).

The order to do them in

Day one: write to the EE for the work done certificate and to the bank for the solvency certificate; both queue. Day two: sit with the CA, who needs your returns and bank statements. The CA finishes first, the bank in a week or two, the EE when the file surfaces. Chase the EE personally; it is the only one that cannot be bought with a fee.