India entry · End-to-end support

India market entry, handled from one place.

Entering India means dealing with the Registrar of Companies, the income tax department, the GST authorities and the RBI — four regulators, different deadlines, none of which sends a reminder. We run the whole sequence and report back in a way your head office can follow.

🧾 CA-reviewed · fee quoted upfront
✓Structure advice with the tax consequences set out before anything is filed
✓Entity setup — subsidiary, LLP, branch, liaison or project office
✓FDI and FEMA reporting — FC-GPR, FC-TRS and the annual FLA return
✓Tax registrations — PAN, TAN, GST, and professional tax where applicable
✓Accounting, payroll and TDS run monthly, in a format your group can consolidate
✓Statutory and tax audit coordinated with an independent chartered accountant
✓A single point of contact who works in your timezone, not only in IST
Tell us what you are planning in India
A short description is enough to start. We will come back with the route, the sequence and a fee — and tell you plainly if something you are planning will not work.
💬 Free consult first·CA-reviewed·No payment to start

What we handle for you

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One sequence, not five vendors

Incorporation, banking, registrations, RBI reporting and the first year of filings run as one plan with one owner.

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Reporting your head office can read

A quarterly status pack written for a non-Indian reader — what was due, what was filed, what is coming.

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Audit, arranged properly

Every Indian company is audited annually whatever its size. We prepare the records and coordinate the audit, which is conducted and signed by an independent chartered accountant.

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Deadlines tracked, not remembered

Every obligation sits on a dated calendar with an owner, so nothing depends on someone recalling that the FLA return exists.

Who this is for

🏢 Foreign companies entering India

First entity, first hires, first filings.

📈 Groups already present

An Indian entity that has outgrown a bookkeeper, or where compliance has slipped.

🤝 Advisers and investors

Counsel and funds needing a reliable India-side team.

Transparent, quoted upfront

Every case is different, so we review yours first and give you a clear price before any work or payment — no charge for the review, no obligation.

Share your details → a CA reviews → you get a fixed quote on WhatsApp.

No hidden charges. You decide after you see the price.

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Common questions

What does India market entry actually involve?

Choosing the structure, incorporating or registering it, opening a bank account, bringing the capital in and reporting it to the RBI, obtaining tax registrations, and then running the ongoing filings — ROC, income tax, TDS, GST and the annual FLA return.

Can you act as our only India presence at the start?

For compliance and finance, generally yes. What we cannot be is the resident director — that has to be someone genuinely resident in India, and it carries real statutory responsibility.

Do you work with our existing advisers?

Yes. We frequently prepare the India local file to fit a master file prepared elsewhere, and work alongside group auditors and overseas counsel.

How quickly can we be operational in India?

A subsidiary with a bank account is realistically five to eight weeks from a standing start, most of it document preparation and banking rather than the incorporation itself.

What is an LUT, and do we need one to export services from India?

Exports are zero-rated under GST, and there are two ways to take that benefit. You can pay the tax and claim it back, which ties up cash, or you can furnish a Letter of Undertaking and export without paying it at all. The letter is filed online, runs for a financial year and is renewed each year, and almost every exporter that can use it should. Missing the renewal is a common and avoidable cash-flow problem for an Indian subsidiary billing its overseas group.

How is a royalty or management fee paid to the foreign parent taxed?

Three things apply at once, which is why these payments are scrutinised. Tax is withheld in India on the royalty or fee at the statutory rate or the lower treaty rate, and the treaty rate needs a tax residency certificate and the declaration that used to be Form 10F, now Form 41. GST generally applies on the import of the service under reverse charge. And because the parties are related, the amount has to be at arm's length, which brings it into transfer pricing and the annual accountant's report. A management fee set at a round number to move profit out is the single most commonly challenged item in a foreign-owned Indian company.

Are there tax incentives for setting up in India?

Fewer than most pages on this subject suggest, and it is worth being straight about it. The concessional 15% rate for new manufacturing companies required manufacture to begin by 31 March 2024 and was not extended, so it is closed to a company starting now. The tax holiday for units in special economic zones closed to units commencing after 31 March 2020. What remains is the three-year profit deduction for startups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, available to companies incorporated before April 2030, along with state-level industrial incentives and the sector-specific production-linked schemes, which are subsidies rather than tax reliefs. Anyone quoting you a 15% rate or an SEZ holiday for a new venture is working from old material.

Do we need an Import Export Code to trade with India?

An Import Export Code from the DGFT is needed by anyone importing into or exporting out of India, including service exporters who receive payment through banking channels or claim a benefit under a foreign trade scheme. It is issued against the PAN, one per PAN, and does not expire — but it has to be confirmed online every year between April and June, and an IEC that is not confirmed is deactivated.

How do we protect our brand name in India?

By registering the trademark here. Trademark rights are territorial, so a registration in your own country gives you nothing in India, and an unrelated Indian party may already have filed or be using the name. An application is made under the Trade Marks Act 1999 in the classes matching your goods or services; registration runs ten years and is renewable. If you filed at home within the previous six months you can usually claim that earlier date under the Paris Convention. We file and follow through Indian trademark applications.

Can you advise on market size, or which Indian city we should be in?

No. We are a tax, GST and corporate compliance firm, and that is what we are competent to advise on. Market sizing, site selection and commercial diligence on a prospective partner are different disciplines, and we would rather say so than give you a confident answer outside our field. We are glad to work alongside advisers you appoint for that.

What is most often missed by new entrants?

Three things: FC-GPR within 30 days of allotting shares, the annual FLA return by 15 July, and the fact that a statutory audit applies to every Indian company regardless of turnover — including a dormant one.

More on entering India

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