Wholly owned subsidiary the usual way into India.

An Indian company whose entire share capital is held by a foreign parent (in practice, one share is often held by a nominee to meet the two-shareholder minimum for a private limited company). It is a separate legal entity incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, and is taxed in India as a domestic company.

In most sectors, yes, under the automatic route with no prior government approval. Some sectors are capped and a short list is prohibited outright. A separate rule applies where the ownership chain runs back to a country sharing a land border with India: an investor that is itself resident in or a citizen of such a country still needs government approval, but since Press Note 2 of 2026 and the amendment to the non-debt instruments rules in May 2026, an indirect beneficial interest of less than 10% with no control can come through the automatic route. The sector and the ownership chain are both confirmed before you commit.

A subsidiary is taxed as a domestic Indian company. A branch office is treated as a foreign company and is generally taxed at a materially higher rate. That difference is usually the deciding factor for businesses that expect to earn profit in India.

A private limited company needs at least two directors and two shareholders. At least one director must be resident in India. The shareholders can both be part of the foreign group.

Yes, and many groups do, usually for treaty or group-structure reasons rather than Indian ones. Two cautions. First, a holding company does not hide the ownership chain: the land-border rule and the beneficial-ownership tests look through it, and Indian banks and the Registrar ask for the ultimate beneficial owner. Second, treaty benefits are not automatic just because a company is incorporated in a treaty country — substance and commercial purpose are tested, and a holding company with no activity is a weak position. Pick the jurisdiction for a real reason, not to obscure anything.

Yes. An Indian company with foreign shareholding can borrow domestically like any other Indian company, and there is no FEMA restriction on rupee borrowing from an Indian bank. What you will find is a commercial hurdle rather than a legal one: a new subsidiary with no Indian trading history is usually asked for a parent guarantee, a letter of comfort or collateral. A guarantee given by the foreign parent has its own FEMA reporting, so mention it before it is signed.

By subscribing to shares, with the money remitted through normal banking channels into the Indian company bank account. The bank issues a Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate and completes KYC on the remitter. Shares must then be allotted within 60 days of the money arriving, at a price not below fair value worked out on an accepted valuation methodology and certified by a chartered accountant or merchant banker, and the allotment reported to the RBI in Form FC-GPR within 30 days. Money sent without following that sequence has to be refunded.

Yes, and this is not a formality. The consideration for the shares has to be received from the investor who is being allotted them — remitted from abroad through banking channels, or paid from that investor's own NRE or FCNR account in India. A payment made by somebody else on the investor's behalf does not satisfy the requirement, however genuine the arrangement, and it leaves an allotment that cannot be reported cleanly. If the money will move through a group treasury or a director's personal account, say so before it is sent rather than afterwards.

Every inward remittance is tagged with a purpose code from the Reserve Bank's balance-of-payments list, and for share capital it must be the foreign direct investment code — not a generic services, advance-against-exports or gift code. It matters more than it sounds: the purpose code is what ties the inflow to your FDI reporting, and a wrongly coded remittance is the most common reason an FC-GPR will not reconcile months later, by which time the bank has to be asked to amend its reporting. Tell your remitting bank what the money is for, in writing, before it leaves.

Six, broadly. A dividend, out of taxed profit. Payment for services, royalty or interest to the parent, which is deductible to the Indian company but must be at arm's length and brings transfer pricing with it. A buyback of shares, which is capped by the Companies Act at a proportion of capital and reserves and cannot be done more than once a year. A reduction of capital, which needs tribunal approval. Sale of the shares to a resident buyer, with FC-TRS and a pricing ceiling. And the surplus on liquidation. Each has a different tax cost and a different paper trail, and each remittance goes out with Form 15CA and, where required, a Form 15CB certificate from a chartered accountant.

If the investment was made on a repatriable basis — that is, with money remitted from abroad or from an NRE or FCNR account — the sale proceeds including your capital can go back out. Three things happen first. Capital gains tax applies, currently at 12.5% plus surcharge and cess on a long-term gain on unlisted shares for a non-resident, with the buyer deducting it at source. The transfer is reported in FC-TRS, and the price cannot exceed fair value where the buyer is resident. Then the remittance goes out with Form 15CA and the accountant's certificate. If the investment was originally non-repatriable, the proceeds stay in India — which is why the account the money came from matters so much at the start.

Yes, within the rules, and there is no ceiling on the amount. Dividends can be remitted once Indian tax has been paid, subject to dividend withholding at the domestic rate or the lower treaty rate. Service fees, royalties and interest can also be remitted, subject to withholding and, for royalties and technical fees, to the arrangement being at arm's length. Each remittance goes through the bank with Form 15CA and, where required, a Form 15CB certificate issued by a chartered accountant. What cannot be done is moving cash out with no underlying transaction.

FC-GPR to the RBI within 30 days of allotting shares, then the ongoing set: statutory audit, AOC-4 and MGT-7 with the Registrar, DIR-3 KYC for each director, an income tax return, quarterly TDS returns, GST returns where registered, and the annual FLA return by 15 July.