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Kaagazaat

Service / Consultancy Agreement

At a glance

Price
Free
Stamp duty
Chargeable, if at all, as an agreement not otherwise provided for, under the residuary entry of Schedule I-A to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as applicable in Punjab, and under the corresponding entry as applicable to the Union Territory of Chandigarh — commonly a modest fixed value for an agreement of this kind, but this drafter could not confirm a current, citable figure for either place with confidence.
Registration
Not registrable in either place.
Witnesses
Not statutorily required, but two witnesses attesting execution are good practice for an agreement of this value and duration, and this template asks for them.

Free

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Guided questions, full draft on screen, download in Word.

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Also called

  • Consultancy Agreement
  • Professional Services Agreement
  • Independent Contractor Agreement
  • Retainer Agreement
  • Sewa Karar
  • ਸੇਵਾ ਇਕਰਾਰਨਾਮਾ
  • सेवा अनुबंध
  • परामर्श अनुबंध

When you need it

A business in Punjab or Chandigarh engaging an individual, firm or company to provide defined professional or business services on an independent-contractor basis — not as an employee — uses this to fix the scope of the services and deliverables, the fee and how it is invoiced and paid, the term and how either side can end the engagement, who owns the work product, confidentiality, and how tax is handled between the parties. The whole point of this document is that it is NOT an employment relationship: the Consultant is not on the Company's payroll, is not entitled to provident fund, ESI, gratuity or the other protections an employee gets, controls how the work is done rather than being directed hour to hour, and is responsible for their own taxes and, where applicable, their own GST registration and compliance.

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Recite that clearly and mean it — a relationship that looks like this on paper but functions like employment in practice can be reclassified by a court or a tax or labour authority regardless of the label the parties chose. Not for hiring an employee — use the Employment Agreement or the Appointment Letter for that. Not for a one-off purchase of goods, or a construction or works contract, which this template does not attempt to cover.

Whether you can fill this in here

You can fill this in here

You can fill this one in on this site, and read the whole draft on screen before you decide anything about it. It is a carefully drafted template; it is not advice about your own facts.

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See stamp duty, registration and witnesses

What follows is written for Punjab and Chandigarh. It states the position there rather than describing how it varies, so the amounts below are the ones that apply — worth confirming at the sub-registrar’s office, because rates change. If the property is anywhere else in India, none of this is yours.

Stamp duty

Chargeable, if at all, as an agreement not otherwise provided for, under the residuary entry of Schedule I-A to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as applicable in Punjab, and under the corresponding entry as applicable to the Union Territory of Chandigarh — commonly a modest fixed value for an agreement of this kind, but this drafter could not confirm a current, citable figure for either place with confidence. Confirm with the Sub-Registrar, or against the department's own published table, before treating any particular figure as settled; many consultancy agreements are in practice executed on plain paper and never formally adjudicated unless a dispute makes stamping and adjudication under sections 33 and 35 of the Act necessary.

Registration

Not registrable in either place. Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 does not reach a services agreement of this kind unless it happens to transfer or extinguish a right in immovable property, which this template does not contemplate.

Notarisation

Not required in either place. A notary adds nothing to the enforceability of this Agreement.

Witnesses

Not statutorily required, but two witnesses attesting execution are good practice for an agreement of this value and duration, and this template asks for them.

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Sample preview — placeholder answers, not your data

SERVICE / CONSULTANCY AGREEMENT

This Service / Consultancy Agreement (this "Agreement") is made at Chandigarh on 2 April 2026.

BETWEEN

Northline Analytics Private Limited, of Plot No. 8, Phase 8-B, Industrial Area, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) 160055, acting through Anita Verma, Director (the "Company");

AND

Priya Menon, an individual, of House No. 340, Sector 9, Panchkula 134109, PAN AKJPI4432R, GSTIN 03AKJPI4432R1Z9, acting through X (the "Consultant").

The Company and the Consultant are each a "Party" and together the "Parties".

RECITALS

A. The Company wishes to engage the Consultant to provide the services described below, and the Consultant has agreed to provide them, as an independent contractor and not as an employee of the Company.

NOW THIS AGREEMENT WITNESSES AS FOLLOWS.

  1. 1. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR STATUS

1.1 The Consultant provides the services as an independent contractor. Nothing in this Agreement creates a relationship of employer and employee, principal and agent (beyond the limited authority this Agreement expressly grants), or partnership between the Parties.

1.2 The Consultant is solely responsible for the Consultant's own income tax, GST (where applicable) and other statutory compliance, and is not entitled to provident fund, ESI, gratuity, leave, or any other benefit the Company provides to its employees.

1.3 The Consultant controls the manner and means of performing the services, subject to the specifications and deadlines this Agreement and the Schedule state.

  1. 2. SCOPE OF SERVICES

2.1 The Consultant shall provide: Providing data-analytics consulting services, including designing dashboards, advising on data pipeline architecture, and training the Company's internal team, as further detailed in the Schedule.

2.2 Specific deliverables and due dates: A data-architecture report by 30 November 2026; a training session for up to 10 staff by 15 December 2026.

  1. 3. TERM

3.1 This Agreement commences on 1 April 2026. A fixed term ending on the date stated below, unless terminated earlier under clause 6

3.2 The fixed term referred to above ends on 2 April 2026.

  1. 4. FEES

4.1 The Company shall pay the Consultant a fixed lump-sum fee for the whole engagement, stated below of ₹75,000 (Rupees Seventy Five Thousand only).

4.2 Payment schedule: Invoiced monthly in arrears, payable within 15 days of a valid invoice.

4.3 The fee is inclusive of all expenses, and no separate reimbursement is payable

4.4 The Consultant is GST-registered, and the fee stated above is exclusive of GST, which the Consultant will separately invoice at the applicable rate

4.5 The Company shall deduct tax at source on the fee where the Income-tax Act, 1961 (or its successor from time to time) requires it, and pay the Consultant the net amount, issuing a TDS certificate for the amount deducted

What this document is for

A business in Punjab or Chandigarh engaging an individual, firm or company to provide defined professional or business services on an independent-contractor basis — not as an employee — uses this to fix the scope of services, the fee and how it is paid, the term and how either side can end it, who owns the work product, confidentiality, and how tax is handled between the parties.

The whole point of this document is that it is NOT an employment relationship: the Consultant is not on the Company's payroll, is not entitled to provident fund, ESI or gratuity, controls how the work gets done rather than being directed hour to hour, and is responsible for their own taxes and GST compliance. State that clearly and mean it — a relationship that looks like this on paper but functions like employment in practice can still be reclassified regardless of the label the parties chose.

Before you use this — the competing-business restraint is genuinely doubtful, and the label alone does not decide the relationship

Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 voids an agreement restraining a lawful profession, trade or business, subject only to narrow named exceptions that do not obviously cover an ordinary independent-contractor consultancy. Indian courts have repeatedly struck down post-termination non-compete clauses against contractors on this basis, and this Agreement's own clause 9.3 says as much: choosing the restraint option in clause 9 is not a representation that it will actually be enforced. Confidentiality and non-solicitation of the Company's own employees rest on separate, generally sounder footing and should carry the real weight of protecting the Company's interests.

Clause 1's recital of independent-contractor status states an intention, but intention alone is not conclusive if the facts point the other way. A long, exclusive, closely-supervised, single-client engagement with fixed hours and no real independence in how the work is done risks being reclassified as employment by a labour authority, the Provident Fund or ESI authorities, or a court — whatever the parties called it on paper.

Stamp paper and registration

Stamp paper needed

Yes

Typical stamp duty — Punjab

Ask us

Typical stamp duty — Chandigarh

Ask us

Registration at the Sub-Registrar

No — Not registrable in either place. Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 does not reach a services agreement of this kind unless it happens to transfer or extinguish a right in immovable property, which this template does not contemplate.

Notary or witnesses

Not required in either place — a notary adds nothing to this Agreement's enforceability. Two witnesses attesting execution are good practice for an agreement of this value and duration, and this template asks for them.

What you will need before you start

  • Both parties' identity details — the Company's signatory, and the Consultant's PAN and GSTIN if registered
  • The scope of services in enough detail to tell later whether they were actually done, and any specific deliverables and due dates
  • The term — fixed or open-ended — and the notice period for ending it without cause
  • The fee structure (lump sum, monthly retainer, or hourly/daily rate), the amount, and the payment schedule
  • Who owns the work product created under this engagement, and how confidentiality and non-solicitation are handled once it ends
  • Whether a restraint on the Consultant competing with the Company after the engagement ends is wanted at all, given its doubtful enforceability

Common mistakes

  • Relying on the competing-business restraint in clause 9 as a reliable deterrent — Indian courts have repeatedly struck down this kind of clause against an independent contractor, as the Agreement's own clause 9.3 acknowledges.
  • Letting the engagement run so exclusively and closely supervised, with fixed hours and no real independence, that it looks like employment in substance regardless of what clause 1 states.
  • Assuming a specific stamp duty figure, or that plain-paper execution is always safe, instead of confirming the position with the Sub-Registrar for the actual value and place involved.

Questions people ask before using this document

Is the Consultant entitled to provident fund, ESI or gratuity like an employee?

No. This Agreement is built on the Consultant being an independent contractor, not an employee — not on the Company's payroll, not entitled to provident fund, ESI, gratuity, leave, or the other benefits an employee gets, and responsible for their own income tax and GST compliance. That label only holds if the facts of the engagement actually match it; a long, exclusive, closely-supervised arrangement can still be reclassified regardless of what the Agreement says.

Can this Agreement stop the Consultant from working with a competitor after it ends?

Clause 9 offers that option, but the Agreement's own clause 9.3 records that a restraint of this kind against an independent contractor has real, unresolved doubt under section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, and choosing it is not a representation that it will be enforced. Confidentiality and a restraint on soliciting the Company's own employees rest on sounder, separately enforceable footing and should carry the real weight of protecting the Company's interests.

Who owns the work the Consultant creates under this Agreement?

Whichever the parties choose in clause 5: either the Company owns everything created specifically for it once the fee for it is paid in full, or the Consultant keeps ownership and grants the Company a perpetual licence to use it. Either way, the Consultant keeps any tool, template or methodology they already owned or built independently of this engagement, even if it was used in delivering the services.

Does the Company have to deduct TDS on the Consultant's fee?

Ordinarily yes — fees for professional or technical services are typically subject to tax deduction at source under section 194J of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and this Agreement's clause 4.5 records that the Company will deduct it where the Act requires and issue a certificate for the amount deducted. Confirm the current rate and threshold with a tax professional before relying on that clause as more than a statement of the general obligation.

How much stamp duty does a consultancy agreement attract in Punjab or Chandigarh?

This template does not print a figure for either place. It is chargeable, if at all, as an agreement not otherwise provided for under the residuary entry of the stamp schedule, but no current, citable figure could be confirmed for either Punjab or Chandigarh, and many consultancy agreements are in practice executed on plain paper and never formally adjudicated unless a dispute makes it necessary. Confirm with the Sub-Registrar before assuming any specific figure.

Related documents, and when you would need them

  • Employment Agreement

    For hiring someone as an actual employee, rather than engaging them as an independent contractor.

  • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)

    A standalone confidentiality agreement, if one is needed before this Agreement itself is signed or with a party outside it.

  • Proprietorship Declaration

    If the Consultant is operating as a sole proprietorship, this records that structure formally alongside this Agreement.

  • General Indemnity Bond

    A general-purpose indemnity, if the Company or the Consultant separately needs one beyond what this Agreement covers.

Questions about this document

Does the Service / Consultancy Agreement need stamp paper or stamp duty in Punjab and Chandigarh?

Chargeable, if at all, as an agreement not otherwise provided for, under the residuary entry of Schedule I-A to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 as applicable in Punjab, and under the corresponding entry as applicable to the Union Territory of Chandigarh — commonly a modest fixed value for an agreement of this kind, but this drafter could not confirm a current, citable figure for either place with confidence.

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses
Does the Service / Consultancy Agreement need registration in Punjab and Chandigarh?

Not registrable in either place.

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses
What does the Service / Consultancy Agreement cost on Kaagazaat?

Free.

Documents are free. Only kits are paid.

Does the Service / Consultancy Agreement need witnesses?

Not statutorily required, but two witnesses attesting execution are good practice for an agreement of this value and duration, and this template asks for them.

See the full position on stamp duty, registration and witnesses

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