It may be a new normal to hold more than one electronic device with you when you are staying at home, working in the office, studying in the classroom or travelling on holidays. But it is more surprising when we notice how many devices are located around us at all times in our houses, office and even public places. Electronics have become an indispensable product of our life. Electricity is running everywhere powering countless electronic devices all around that benefit us and make our lives easy in multiple ways. We have an electronic device for every different task of our day.

--------------Blog Contact Form-------------

The usage of these electronic devices at such a huge scale gives rise to a new business - the electronic device repair business. Many entrepreneurs have identified and cashed this opportunity and as a result, this market has become saturated nowadays. But if you have a zeal to rule and overcome the challenges then you can succeed in this industry and earn a handsome profit from Electronic Repair Business.

Scope of Electronic Repair Business In India

The Electronic Device Repairing Sector is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors. Manufacturer’s Association of Information Technology (MAIT) has conducted a study that indicated that the electronics repair industry can reach a milestone to generate five million jobs and twenty billion dollars of revenue soon. The future in this industry is bright as we are only shifting to automated electronic devices even for the tasks which we were used to doing manually just a few years back. If you act today, there are quite high chances to succeed in this business.

Requirements for Electronic Repair Business

You will require the following assets to start an electronic repair business in India-

• Electrician: You need qualified electricians that have very sound knowledge of modern electronic devices. Some companies run repair certification programmes. It will be great to hire these trained professionals to provide quality service to your customers.
• Location: Although you can run a business online and provide at-home services after coordinating with the clients on call, an establishment at a prime location will help to generate maximum profit and a business reputation.
• Knowledge: You need to have a sound knowledge of business to keep it running for a long time. In the modern competitive world, only knowledgeable, smart, and tech-savvy businesses rule the market.
• Tools: You will require tools for each of your electricians along with the safety gear. Modern tools that are safe, durable and efficient are the ones, you should go for.
• Machines: You should also purchase machines that help in the daily repairing process and boost productivity. Machine-powered quick and automated services shall boost your efficiency and profits.
• Investment: Nothing of the abovementioned necessities can be sought without financing. Investment is the core of any business. You can avail credit facility but if any kind of uncertainties are involved then self-financing is the better option to avoid any future credit risk.
• Regulatory Compliance: You cannot avoid the legal compliances that are prescribed for the business you are doing. You must go through the legal formalities involved in this business and in case of any doubt, it's better to consult with a reputed consulting company.

Process and Documentation For Electronic Repair Business

You should have all basic documents to prove your identity, address and connection with the business. Apart from these, you will require the following documents to fulfil the legal formalities of setting up an electronic repair business-

• Land Possession
• Business Registration
• Tax Registration
• Business Account
• Necessary Insurances
• Utility Bills
• Employer Registration

Land Possession

You must possess the land or property where you are setting up your business. It can be either by way of ownership, rent or lease. Whatever the case is, documents must be properly drafted and signed. Another thing to take care of is that the location is in a commercial area as the commercial activities are restricted by local authorities in certain locations.

Business Registration

You can register your business as a separate legal entity to avoid your liability towards the business. There are various ways to do so based on your requirements and eligibility. If you are the only owner you can register it as a one-person company or sole proprietorship. Otherwise, if there is a partner then you can sign a partnership deed with your partner and run the business in partnership. If you are interested in establishing a full-fledged company then you can register it at the Registrar of Companies and obtain your CIN which works as the company’s Identity Card. You can also get the SME Registration online from the web portal.

Tax Registration

You need to obtain the GSTIN which stands for Goods and Service Tax Identification Number. This is mandatory for all tax-paying commercial entities. It also works as evidence that the entity is complying with the tax provisions. If your annual returns are low in the initial days then you don’t need GST registration but as soon as your business reaches the threshold of twenty lakh rupees, you should obtain the same.

Business Account

You should preferably open a business bank account and make business transactions through this account. These accounts also receive financial benefits when purchasing equipment and resources for their business needs. Also, a separate bank identity makes it convenient to receive payment from the clients for the services provided.

Insurance

Insurance for the business is a very helpful instrument. It helps the business in unfortunate times and saves liabilities. There are various kinds of insurance available like building insurance, vehicle insurance, warehouse insurance, employee insurance, worker compensation insurance, general liability insurance etc.

Utility Bills

There are multiple types of bills based on the purpose of usage. Household electricity bills are different from commercial electricity bills. If you are operating an electronics repair business then you should ensure that you are operating in a commercial location and paying commercial rates of utility bills.

Employer Registration

If you are expanding the business you also need employees to assist you and in that case, you should register to get the employer registration. Also, you may need to set up and manage EPF accounts of the employees if their salary is less than fifteen thousand and the count of hired employees surpasses the mark of twenty.

Costs And Fees Involved In Electronic Repair Business

In an electronic repair business, you need to spend the budget on property acquisition first. Then you need to arrange the tools, equipment and machines for the repair work. The workers will also need preliminary training, so you should allocate a budget for training expenditures and off course they will be drawing salaries from your business account. If the business is using a vehicle for any purpose then its insurance as well as the maintenance cost adds up to the business expenses. Lastly, you need to pay the requisite fee for the issue and renewal of various documents related to registration, tax, trademark and insurance to comply with the legal requirements.

Innovative and Modern Service Features

You can provide some quality-of-life improvements to your customers using the latest innovative technologies. It will not only provide quality assurance to them but also improve the business revenue through word-of-mouth appreciation of your services. These facilities include the online appointment system, tracking facility and calculation of ETA. Customers like the repairing of the equipment at the convenience of their homes so they will like your at-home services. You can club this service with an online appointment system, tracking mechanism and ETA calculation. In this manner, the customer will be able to book the visit from the comfort of their home and track whether you have assigned an engineer for the visit or not and the ETA of completion of their service request.

Marketing of Your Electronic Repair Business

To market your business, you will first need a catchy logo and an easy-to-remember brand name for your business. It should represent your mission and vision and serve the purpose of your digital identity. You should use this name and logo on your digital ad campaigns to generate leads. Once the customers start noticing your brand, you will start getting organic leads that will make your business profitable. You should also establish a website that gives you a digital address and it can also be helpful for the customers to order a request, track it and see the ETA of the service.

Responsibilities as an Electronic Repair Business

As you are dealing with the repairing of electronic devices, there is a strong possibility that you collect the waste components of these devices after repairing them. Sometimes it requires changing a particular component of the device to fix it and it generates e-waste. It is recommended that you ensure the collection of this e-waste by the producer, recycler, refurbisher or disposal facilities. It prevents environmental pollution and helps the producers to fulfil their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).

As long as you are not selling the electronic equipment under your brand name, you do not qualify for the imposition of EPR liability and do not need to fulfil the EPR obligations. But by repairing the electrical and electronic equipment, you are extending the life of an EEE product which makes you a refurbisher according to the definition given in the E-Waste Management Rules of 2022. Refurbishers need to fulfil the following responsibilities-

• Refurbishers need to register on the web portal managed by the Central Pollution Control Board.
• They need to collect the waste generated during the repair process and transport it to the recyclers who also need to be registered with the same centralised web portal.
• Being a refurbisher, you also need to upload the waste generation, collection and transportation quantities on the CPCB portal.
• You also need to ensure that the repaired products adhere to the prescribed BIS standards for that product.
• Refurbishers also need to file annual and quarterly returns on the CPCB portal.

Conclusion

It concludes the requirements and processes one should understand before starting an electronics repair business in India. It is a saturated sector with existing players in the market, you need to be innovative and find creative solutions to the problems of clients. The convenience of customers and the quality of the service should be the priority of your business. You are already minimising the e-waste by repairing partially broken electronic equipment which is resulting in the welfare of the environment but being a responsible entrepreneur, you also need to take steps against the waste generated by your business and collected through the process of repairing. The processing of such waste is extremely important for the cleanliness and good health of our environment.