India Entry Entity Setup

India Entry Entity Setup

Setting up and running an entity in India

Foreign companies entering India rarely struggle with the incorporation itself. They struggle with the eighteen months afterwards: registrations they didn’t know existed, a bank account that takes six weeks, payroll rules that vary by state, FEMA reporting triggered by their own capital infusion, and a parent-company reporting calendar that nobody in India is set up to meet.

We handle the setup and then stay on as the finance and compliance function, so there is no gap between “the company exists” and “the company works”.

Choosing the structure

	Wholly Owned Subsidiary	Liaison Office	Branch Office	Project Office	LLP
Can earn revenue in India	Yes	No	Yes, limited to permitted activities	Yes, project-specific	Yes
Typical use	Full operations, hiring, sales	Market research, representation	Trading, consultancy for foreign parent	A single contracted project	Services, JVs, funds
RBI approval	Generally not required (automatic route, sector permitting)	Required	Required	Conditional	FDI permitted in some sectors
Set-up time	[[ 2–4 weeks ]]	[[ 8–12 weeks ]]	[[ 8–12 weeks ]]	[[ 6–10 weeks ]]	[[ 2–4 weeks ]]
Ongoing compliance	Full corporate compliance	Annual activity certificate, limited filings	Full, plus AD bank reporting	Project-linked	Lighter than a company
Tax profile	Resident company rate	Not taxable if no income	Higher branch rate	Higher branch rate	Firm rate, no dividend distribution

What’s included

Phase 1 — structuring and incorporation

1. Entity structure comparison against your business model, sector caps and exit plan

2. Name availability and reservation

3. Incorporation, MOA/AOA drafting, DIN and DSC for directors

4. Registered office setup [[Confirm whether you offer a registered office / virtual office service]]

5. Resident director requirement — guidance and options

Phase 2 — registrations

1. PAN and TAN

2. GST registration in each state of operation

3. Import Export Code, where relevant

4. Provident Fund and ESI registration

5. professional tax registration, state by state

6. Shops & Establishments registration

7. Sector-specific licences and approvals as applicable

8. STPI / SEZ / MSME / DPIIT registrations where relevant

Phase 3 — banking and capital

1. Bank account opening support and KYC documentation for a foreign parent

2. Capital infusion routing, FIRC and KYC from the AD bank

3. FC-GPR filing on share allotment

4. Entity Master registration on the RBI FIRMS portal

Phase 4 — operations

1. Chart of accounts aligned to both Indian requirements and the parent’s group reporting

2. Accounting system setup and opening entries

3. Payroll setup, salary structuring and employment documentation

4.Transfer pricing policy input for parent-subsidiary transactions

5. A twelve-month compliance calendar handed over on day one

Phase 5 — running it

1. Ongoing accounting, payroll, tax, GST, ROC and FEMA compliance

2. Monthly reporting to the parent in its format and its GAAP

3. A single point of contact in your time zone

Who This Is For

Foreign companies establishing a first India presence; groups consolidating several India entities; companies whose India operation has outgrown a distributor or contractor arrangement.

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