India Market Entry Guide for Foreign Companies: entry structures, FDI routes, FEMA compliance and the setup roadmap

Foreign investment into India is permitted on the automatic route in most sectors, meaning the investor reports after the capital arrives rather than seeking prior approval. The most common vehicle is a wholly owned subsidiary incorporated as a private limited company under the Companies Act 2013, which can be incorporated in three to five weeks but typically needs eight to twelve weeks before it can lawfully invoice and pay salaries, once the authorised dealer bank account, FC-GPR reporting under FEMA, state-wise GST registration and payroll registrations are complete. Every Indian private company needs at least two directors, one of whom must have stayed in India for at least 182 days in the financial year. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 applies from the first hire because employee data is personal data. Published by AMLEGALS, in practice since 1998, with ten offices across India; authored by Anandaday Misshra, Founder and Managing Partner. Contact [email protected], +91-8448548549.