Your India Subsidiary, Set Up Right from Day One

From the day we receive complete documentation to the day your subsidiary is revenue-ready with a bank account, GST, and INC-20A filed, typical timelines are 40-50 days. The main variables are document turnaround from your home country (especially apostille) and bank KYC speed. We have seen fastest completion in 32 days and slower ones at 60+ days when document delays happen abroad.

Yes. The Companies Act 2013 requires at least one director to be a resident of India, meaning they stayed in India for 182+ days in the previous financial year. If your entire team is outside India, you need a nominee until you hire locally. Our nominees are qualified CAs or CSs under a formal service agreement with clear scope: statutory compliance only, no operational decisions.

You need a registered office in India with a physical address that can receive legal notices, along with a No Objection Certificate from the property owner. If you do not have an Indian address yet, our virtual office service provides a compliant solution in Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, or Delhi with NOC, mail handling, and signage. You can transition to your own office whenever you sign a lease.

In most sectors, FDI up to 100% is allowed through the Automatic Route, which means no prior approval is needed. You just need to file FC-GPR within 30 days of share allotment to inform the RBI. Some sectors (defense, banking, insurance, certain media categories) require government approval under the Approval Route. During the discovery call, we verify which route applies to your business.

There is no statutory minimum capital for most sectors. You can start with INR 1 lakh of paid-up capital. However, practical considerations matter: bank account minimum balances, initial operating expenses, local hire salaries, rent. We usually recommend remitting at least 3-6 months of projected operating expenses to avoid cash flow stress and repeated remittances.

Missing FC-GPR (30-day deadline post-allotment) triggers a compounding proceeding at the RBI. You file a compounding application, pay a penalty based on the amount and delay, and resolve it. Penalties can range from INR 1 lakh to several lakhs depending on the delay. Missed FLA (annual return due July) attracts separate penalties. This is exactly why we track these dates proactively, not reactively.

The moment your India subsidiary has any transaction with your parent or sister companies (service fees, cost-plus billing, licensing, inter-company loans, expense reimbursements), Indian transfer pricing rules apply. You need to maintain documentation and file Form 3CEB annually. If annual aggregate transactions cross INR 1 crore, a TP audit becomes mandatory. We offer a separate deep dive on our Transfer Pricing Advisory page.

Yes. Once your subsidiary has incorporation, PAN, EPFO, and ESIC registrations, you can hire employees. For most foreign-owned subsidiaries, PAN and TAN are procured during SPICe+ incorporation, so hiring can start as soon as the Certificate of Incorporation is issued. However, you also need a bank account to actually pay salaries and remit TDS, so practical hiring typically starts around Day 25-30 of the setup timeline.

No, and this is where we see a lot of mis-selling. Central Government DPIIT Startup India recognition and Section 80-IAC tax holidays require Indian promoter shareholding of at least 51%. A foreign-owned subsidiary does not qualify. Some state-level startup policies have different rules, but the central benefit is off the table. Be careful of firms that promise these benefits and charge you for them.

This is a significant part of our practice. We run compliance audits for companies with inherited problems: missed FC-GPR filings, incorrect paid-up capital, late INC-20A, suspended GST, misclassified revenue, missing Form 3CEB. We identify what needs fixing, prioritize by risk level, and execute the remediation. Sometimes this means compounding applications, sometimes rectifications, sometimes just getting books accurate. Book a discovery call to discuss your specific situation.