Sole Proprietorship: Can I register one name and publicly use another for my restaurant?

Community Forums Legal Advice India Sole Proprietorship: Can I register one name and publicly use another for my restaurant?

Viewing 1 reply thread
  • Author
    Posts
    • #11509 Reply
      Quickayaan6949
      Participant
        Q
        Quickayaan6949
        PARTICIPANT
        April 20, 2025 at 8:58 am
        Hi folks,

        I’m starting a new restaurant in Mangalore, and I’m currently in the middle of registrations and paperwork. I had a plan for how I wanted to structure the business, but my CA disagrees — and I want to clarify if anyone here has done something similar.

        It’s going to be a sole proprietorship, and my ideal setup would be like this:

        Legal Entity Name: ABC Enterprises
        Public-Facing Brand Name: XYZ Restaurant

        So the name on signage, menus, and social media would be XYZ Restaurant, but all legal paperwork (FSSAI, GST, bank, etc.) would be in the name ABC Enterprises.

        My CA says this setup is not possible, and that the restaurant name must be the same as the business name — which honestly doesn’t make sense to me, because I’ve seen many brands do this.

        My questions:
        • Is it legally okay to register everything under “ABC Enterprises” and market/trade as “XYZ Restaurant”?
        • What name do I mention in FSSAI, GST, and shop license?
        • Should I add a “trade name” field or declaration anywhere?
        • Do I need to trademark XYZ Restaurant separately for protection?

        If anyone here is running a restaurant or small business under a similar setup, I’d love to know how you’ve handled:
        • Registrations
        • Invoicing and billing
        • Banking under the brand name

        Appreciate any guidance — especially from folks who’ve dealt with this in Karnataka or coastal cities like Mangalore. Thanks in advance!

      • #11510 Reply
        Gaganrider410
        Participant
          G
          Gaganrider410
          PARTICIPANT
          April 20, 2025 at 10:31 am
          Just curious, why you want to do that?

      Viewing 1 reply thread
      Reply To: Sole Proprietorship: Can I register one name and publicly use another for my restaurant?
      Your information: