CS Executive · June 2025 · Paper 3
CS Executive Setting Up of Business, Industrial and Labour Laws June 2025: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICSI; read them on ICSI's website.
Chapter-wise marks
Where the marks were in this paper (out of 100; internal-choice alternatives not double counted).
What each question tested
In our words, by question number. Open the official paper for the full question.
| Q | Marks | Tests | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(a) | 3 | Exemptions available to a section 8 (not-for-profit) company under company law | Corporate Entities - Companies |
| 1(b) | 3 | Permissible funding sources for a section 8 company including foreign contributions | Corporate Entities - Companies |
| 1(c) | 3 | Procedure for a foreign national to be appointed director of an Indian company | Corporate Entities - Companies |
| 1(d) | 3 | Approvals and compliances for an Indian non-profit company opening an overseas branch | Setting up of Business outside India and Issues Relating thereto |
| 1(e) | 3 | Procedure for converting a section 8 company into a private limited company | Conversion of Business Entities |
| 2(a) | 3 | Admission of a minor to the benefits of partnership and time for election on attaining majority | Non-Corporate Entities |
| 2(b) | 3 | Food safety registration versus licence based on turnover for a small food business | Various Initial Registrations and Licenses |
| 2(c) | 3 | Whether a foreign company project office in a sensitive region and sector needs prior RBI approval | Setting up of Branch Office, Liaison Office and Wholly Owned Subsidiary by Foreign Company |
| 2(d) | 3 | Minimum net owned fund for housing finance company registration and scope for relaxation | Financial Services Organization |
| 2(e) | 3 | Consequences of not registering a society under the Societies Registration Act | Non-Corporate Entities |
| 3(a) | 3 | Key contents of an LLP agreement | Limited Liability Partnership |
| 3(b) | 3 | Key issues to address while drafting a joint venture shareholders agreement | Business Collaborations |
| 3(c) | 3 | Voluntary conversion of a one person company into a private company and the steps | Conversion of Business Entities |
| 3(d) | 3 | Procedure for closure of a foreign company branch office in India | Setting up of Branch Office, Liaison Office and Wholly Owned Subsidiary by Foreign Company |
| 3(e) | 3 | RBI power to cancel an NBFC certificate of registration when it ceases business | Financial Services Organization |
| 4(a) | 3 | Eligibility conditions for a recognised startup to claim angel tax exemption | Startups and its Registration |
| 4(b) | 3 | Recent restrictions on use of the word Nidhi in company names | Financial Services Organization |
| 4(c) | 3 | Advantages of using a special purpose vehicle | Business Collaborations |
| 4(d) | 3 | Objectives of the national scheme supporting SC-ST entrepreneurs | Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises |
| 4(e) | 3 | Importance of linking PAN with Aadhaar | Various Initial Registrations and Licenses |
| 4A(i) | 3 | Comparison of the startup seed fund scheme and the credit guarantee scheme for startups | Startups and its Registration |
| 4A(ii) | 3 | Applicability of significant beneficial owner rules to LLPs and identification criteria | Limited Liability Partnership |
| 4A(iii) | 3 | Effect of recent regulatory changes on registration of foreign companies setting up in India | Setting up of Branch Office, Liaison Office and Wholly Owned Subsidiary by Foreign Company |
| 4A(iv) | 3 | Advantages of a multi-State co-operative society | Non-Corporate Entities |
| 4A(v) | 3 | Procedure to obtain consent or NOC from the Pollution Control Board | Various Initial Registrations and Licenses |
| 5(a) | 5 | Regularisation of contract labour engaged in perennial work and conditions for claiming it | The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 |
| 5(b) | 5 | Computation of gratuity for long service based on last drawn wages | The Code on Social Security, 2020 |
| 5(c) | 5 | Fundamental rights of workers and employer duties for labour law compliance | Constitution and Labour Laws |
| 5(d) | 5 | Conditions for awarding back wages to wrongly excluded workers | The Code on Wages, 2019 |
| 6(a)(i) | 2 | Whether an employer with no women employees must constitute an internal complaints committee | Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 |
| 6(a)(ii) | 3 | Composition of the internal complaints committee | Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 |
| 6(b)(i) | 2 | Eligibility of small establishments for simplified registers and returns | The Labour Laws (Simplification of Procedure for Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act |
| 6(b)(ii) | 3 | Labour laws listed in the schedule covered by the simplification | The Labour Laws (Simplification of Procedure for Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Act |
| 6(c)(i) | 2 | Whether provident fund balance can be withdrawn to repay a personal loan | The Code on Social Security, 2020 |
| 6(c)(ii) | 3 | Permitted grounds for partial withdrawal of provident fund before retirement | The Code on Social Security, 2020 |
| 6(d) | 5 | Continued ESI coverage of an establishment after headcount falls below the threshold | The Code on Social Security, 2020 |
| 6A(i) | 5 | Set on and set off of allocable surplus for bonus | The Code on Wages, 2019 |
| 6A(ii) | 5 | Nature and significance of the contract of apprenticeship | The Apprentices Act, 1961 |
| 6A(iii) | 5 | Nursing breaks and creche facility under maternity benefit law | The Code on Social Security, 2020 |
| 6A(iv) | 5 | Meaning and scope of begar and forced labour under Article 23 | Constitution and Labour Laws |
What stood out
- Part I (setting up of business, 60 marks) consists entirely of 3-mark parts, testing breadth across many chapters rather than depth.
- The Part I case (Q1) and the Part II case (Q5) together carry 35 marks; Q1 centres on section 8 company compliance and Q5 on contract labour regularisation, gratuity and back wages.
- The Code on Social Security, 2020 is the most tested labour chapter, with 5 listed parts (gratuity, provident fund withdrawal, ESI coverage, maternity benefit).
- Recent developments are tested in Q4 and Q4A: angel tax exemption, Nidhi name restrictions, startup seed and credit guarantee schemes, SBO rules for LLPs and foreign company registration changes.
- Labour questions are still framed largely around the pre-code Acts (contract labour, gratuity, payment of wages, bonus, maternity benefit), mapped here to the corresponding labour codes.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
The Code on Social Security, 2020, Constitution and Labour Laws, The Code on Wages, 2019: study guides and practice questions in the CS Executive format.