Q.Explain the meaning and importance of the certificate of registration of a co-operative society.

Registration is the legal birth of a society, and the certificate the Registrar issues is the proof of that birth.

When the Registrar is satisfied that an application and the proposed bye-laws meet the requirements of the Act and the Rules, he registers the society and its bye-laws and issues a certificate of registration. This certificate is the legal proof of the society's existence.

Its importance lies in the following:

1. Conclusive evidence — under Section 9, the certificate signed by the Registrar is conclusive evidence that the society is duly registered from the date of the certificate. Unless the registration is later cancelled, no one can question that the society was validly formed.
2. Legal (corporate) status — from the date of registration the society becomes a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. It can own property, enter into contracts, open bank accounts, and sue and be sued in its own name, separately from its members.
3. Binding bye-laws — the bye-laws registered along with the society become its binding internal rule-book.
4. Eligibility for benefits — only a registered society can enjoy the privileges, protection and concessions the Act and the Government give to co-operatives.
   ✓Final answer

   The certificate of registration is the Registrar's document proving the society is registered; under Section 9 it is conclusive evidence of valid registration, and on registration the society becomes a body corporate with perpetual succession and the capacity to own property and to sue and be sued in its own name.

Forgetting the two key effects — 'conclusive evidence' (Section 9) and becoming a 'body corporate' — and instead only describing the registration procedure.