A UK-based startup founder has sparked fresh debate about India’s business environment after revealing it has taken him more than two years — and counting — to shut down a dormant Indian company, despite having no revenue, operations, or employees.
In a LinkedIn post, Arjun V Paul, CEO of UK-based Zoko, described the experience as a “nightmare,” comparing it to a “neverfinishing divorce battle” and even Dante’s 9th circle of hell.
Paul outlined a lengthy list of bureaucratic hurdles: filing GST returns despite zero revenue, holding board meetings for a dormant firm, repeated KYC updates, and shelling out over ₹2 lakh in legal and CA fees — all to wind up a company that hasn’t operated in years.
“Like Judas is chewed eternally in Lucifer’s jaws — an Indian entrepreneur in liquidation is chewed eternally by forms, affidavits, audits, and hearings,” he wrote, referencing Dante’s Inferno.
One of the more absurd moments came 18 months into the shutdown process, when officials questioned for a photo of the company’s physical office — complete with name signage — despite the business being non-operational. “They expected you to pay rent and maintain signage for a DEFUNCT COMPANY,” Paul noted.
He dismissed the government’s repeated claims of improving the “ease of doing business” as “absolute bullsh*t,” stating that shutting down a company remains unnecessarily complex and costly.
So far, Paul declares he has filed more than 24 documents, spent over two years, and paid lakhs in fees — yet his company remains legally active.
His message to aspiring founders: “Before you obtain excited about ‘startup-frifinishly’ policies, question one question — how simple is it to voluntarily shut down a company?”
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