Company Registration in India from France: Process, Cost and Timeline (2026)

Set up your India registration around the actual investor: a French corporate parent or an individual founder. The choice affects the shareholder documents, signing authority and funding records.

This is the complete France to India guide, from the choice of structure to costs, timeline and the compliance calendar. If you want us to run the filing, see our registration engagement.

Why French companies are building in India now

India's consumption base, its engineering talent pool and its position as a manufacturing alternative to China have made it a logical next market for French companies well beyond the traditional aerospace and luxury names. The move is no longer only for groups with an India strategy already in the boardroom deck; mid sized French manufacturers, software vendors and services firms are increasingly setting up an Indian entity as their first real Asian footprint.

What usually triggers the move

In practice, three triggers show up repeatedly. A French manufacturer wins an Indian customer large enough to need local delivery and after sales support. A software or industrial company needs an India based engineering or support centre to manage cost and time zone coverage. Or a French group already selling into India through distributors decides that margin leakage and lack of control justify setting up their own entity instead.

Choosing the structure from France

The structure decision shapes everything downstream, from liability exposure to how easily profits can later be repatriated to the French parent.

Wholly owned subsidiary as the default

For most French companies, a wholly owned subsidiary structured as an Indian private limited company is the sensible default. It gives the French parent full ownership and control, ring fences liability within the Indian entity, and is the structure Indian customers, banks and tax authorities are most familiar with. It also sits cleanly within the treaty framework between the two countries, which matters when dividends or fees eventually flow back to France.

Branch and liaison office compared

A branch office or liaison office is occasionally considered, usually by French companies testing the market before committing to a full subsidiary. A liaison office cannot generally invoice Indian customers or earn income locally; it exists to represent the parent and gather market information. A branch office can undertake limited commercial activity but is subject to approval requirements and closer scrutiny under current foreign exchange rules, and its tax treatment in India tends to be less favourable than a locally incorporated subsidiary's. For any French company planning to actually sell, manufacture or deliver services in India, the subsidiary route is almost always the better long term choice.

Personal shareholding versus corporate parent

Personal investment and investment through a corporate parent produce different ownership records and document requirements. Choose the investor based on the operating plan, governance and future funding. An individual does not automatically lose all treaty relief because the investment is held personally. Eligibility depends on the treaty, residence, payment and applicable conditions.

The registration process from France, step by step

SPICe plus with a foreign parent

Indian company incorporation runs through a single integrated web form called SPICe Plus, filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. When the parent is a French SAS or SARL, the form requires the parent's corporate details, its authorised signatories, and evidence of the board resolution approving the Indian investment. The process itself is identical in mechanics to a domestic incorporation; the extra work sits entirely in preparing the French side of the documentation correctly the first time.

Documents and legalisation

French documents need an apostille. The competent authority and the translation check are set out under Apostille in France and sworn translations below.

DIN for foreign directors

Every director on the Indian company's board, including French nationals resident in France, generally needs a Director Identification Number before the incorporation filing goes through. This requires identity and address proof from France, again legalised or apostilled as required, along with a photograph and a digital signature certificate. None of this requires travel to India; it can be completed entirely from France with the right document preparation.

Resident director and registered office

At least one director must have stayed in India for at least 182 days during the financial year. For a newly incorporated company, the requirement applies proportionately at the end of its first financial year. Nationality does not replace this residence test. A resident director has statutory duties even when the overseas parent retains ownership. See section 149 of the Companies Act.

Prepare the Indian registered office address, authority to use it and supporting evidence. Ownership of the office is not the same question as company ownership.

France specifics that change the playbook

SAS or SARL as parent, documentation the MCA accepts

Whether the French parent is structured as an SAS or a SARL rarely changes the Indian filing itself, but it does change which French documents exist to evidence the parent's authority. An SAS typically evidences board approval through a president's decision or a board resolution depending on its statutes, while a SARL usually relies on a gérant's decision or a shareholders' resolution. Whichever applies, the Indian registrar will want the document that under French corporate law actually reflects the authorised decision maker's approval of the Indian investment, translated and apostilled consistently with the other filing documents.

Apostille in France and sworn translations

France’s current authority directory assigns apostilles to designated regional and interdepartmental notarial bodies for the listed metropolitan and overseas areas, with separate arrangements for certain other territories. Do not reuse a checklist that sends every French document to a court. Check the authority for the place and type of document. Use the official France authority directory to identify the competent office.

The working set can include the investor’s registration and governing documents, investment approval, signatory authority and director identity evidence. Agree the required forms and any translations before paying for certification.

Treaty Eligibility for the Proposed Payment

Check the treaty provisions and current domestic law for the proposed payment before remitting funds. Dividend, interest, royalty and service payments can have different treatment. Residence evidence alone does not establish every treaty condition. Review beneficial ownership, substance and any relevant limitation or anti abuse rule. Obtain a calculation for the actual recipient and payment rather than assuming a single corridor rate.

Money in, money out

Capital remittance and FC GPR

Agree the investment route, valuation and bank evidence before sending capital. Record the receipt and issue dates separately. A remittance certificate evidences funds received; it does not itself classify the money as equity or a loan. For a reportable FDI equity issue, FC-GPR is due within 30 days of issue under the RBI reporting direction. Assign the reporting work before funding and retain the filed acknowledgement.

Aerospace, luxury and energy, the French corridors that build in India

The sectors that have historically driven French investment into India, aerospace and defence components, luxury goods and retail, energy and industrial engineering, each carry their own additional layer of sector specific approval or licensing in some cases, on top of the standard company registration process. A French aerospace supplier setting up an Indian manufacturing arm, for instance, may need to factor in defence sector conditions alongside the routine incorporation steps, and this should be checked against current sector policy before the structure is finalised.

The compliance calendar after day one

FC GPR, FLA and the FEMA rhythm

Track each investment report from its own triggering event. Check whether the annual Foreign Liabilities and Assets return applies and verify the deadline for that year, including notified extensions. Keep the bank acknowledgements, share records and filed reports together.

ROC, GST and payroll basics

An Indian subsidiary of a French parent carries the same core annual compliance load as any other Indian private limited company: annual filings with the Registrar of Companies, a statutory audit regardless of turnover size, and income tax return filing. If the company sells goods or services above the applicable threshold, or sells across state lines, it will also generally need GST registration and monthly or quarterly GST returns. Once the company hires locally, payroll compliance, including provident fund and employee state insurance where applicable, adds a further recurring layer.

What a monthly retainer should cover

A sensible monthly compliance retainer for a French owned Indian subsidiary should cover bookkeeping, GST filing, payroll processing, TDS deposits and returns, and periodic MIS reporting back to the French finance team, alongside the annual ROC and FEMA filings. A well structured compliance management arrangement is generally cheaper and far less risky over a full year than paying for each filing reactively as deadlines approach.

Costs and timeline from France

A realistic all in budget

Professional fees for incorporating and running an Indian subsidiary vary by advisor and by how much document preparation the French side requires, but the ranges below reflect what a French promoter should generally expect to budget, exclusive of government fees and stamp duty which vary by the state of the registered office.

Item	Typical range (as of 2026)
Incorporation, including SPICe Plus filing and DIN	Krystal7 Consultants' professional fee: USD 1,200 to 1,700 (about EUR 1,050 to 1,500)
Apostille and translation of French documents	Varies by document volume, often EUR 200 to 600 equivalent
Annual ROC and statutory audit compliance	Professional fees generally in the range of INR 60,000 to 1,50,000 per year
FEMA filings (FC GPR, annual FLA)	Often bundled into the compliance retainer, or charged separately per filing
Ongoing monthly compliance retainer	Krystal7 Consultants' retainer starts at USD 300 a month (about EUR 265) and depends on transaction volume and headcount

Exact figures should always be confirmed against current professional fee schedules and government notifications at the time of engagement; see pricing for a current fixed fee structure.

Planning the Completion Date

Ask for a schedule that separates overseas document preparation, any investment approval, incorporation and bank onboarding. Filing queries and bank checks can change the completion date. Do not treat incorporation as confirmation that the company is ready for every transaction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a French company own 100 percent of an Indian subsidiary?+

Yes, under current rules most sectors allow full foreign ownership of an Indian private limited company through the automatic route, meaning no prior government approval is generally needed. A small number of sectors carry conditions or caps, so it is worth confirming the applicable sector position before finalising the shareholding structure.

How long does it take to register an Indian company from France?+

A realistic timeline is about four to five weeks from start to a company with its bank account and GST, plus the time apostille and translation take in France. Advertised two week timelines usually assume the French documents are already apostilled before the clock starts.

Do I need to travel to India to incorporate?+

Much of the incorporation work can be coordinated remotely. Confirm the document execution, digital signature verification and bank KYC requirements for the actual people and documents. Some steps may need original documents or personal attendance. Agree those requirements before deciding whether travel is necessary.

What does it cost to set up and run an Indian subsidiary?+

Krystal7 Consultants' published professional fee for setting up an Indian subsidiary is USD 1,200 to 1,700 (about EUR 1,050 to 1,500). Government fees, apostille and translation costs are extra. Ongoing annual compliance, including audit, ROC filings and FEMA returns, typically adds a further recurring cost each year. Exact figures should be confirmed at the time of engagement against current fee schedules.

Can foreigners register a company in India?+

Yes. Foreign individuals and foreign companies, including French nationals and French SAS or SARL entities, can generally register and wholly own an Indian private limited company under current foreign investment rules, subject to sector specific conditions in a limited number of industries.

How much will it cost to register a company in India?+

Government fees for incorporation itself are relatively modest and vary by the company's authorised capital and the state of its registered office, while Krystal7 Consultants' published professional fee for a standard subsidiary setup is USD 1,200 to 1,700 (about EUR 1,050 to 1,500). Costs rise where extensive apostille and translation work is required, as is typical for a French parent.

How can European companies register business in India?+

The mechanics are largely the same across most European jurisdictions: incorporate an Indian private limited company through the SPICe Plus filing, obtain DIN for foreign directors, legalise the parent company's documents (apostilled where the Apostille Convention is in force between that country and India, such as France, and legalised through the Indian mission otherwise, for example in Germany, which objected to India's accession), and remit share capital followed by the FC GPR filing. The main variable across countries is the document legalisation chain and the specific double taxation treaty that applies.

How to legally register a company in India?+

Registering legally means filing the SPICe Plus form with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, obtaining valid DIN and digital signature certificates for all directors, maintaining a genuine registered office address, and completing the FEMA filings once foreign capital is remitted. Skipping any of these, particularly the FEMA reporting, leaves the company technically incorporated but non compliant from day one.

How much money is required to open a company in India?+

There is generally no fixed minimum paid up capital requirement for a private limited company under current rules, so the amount of capital a French parent remits is largely a business decision based on the Indian subsidiary's working capital needs rather than a regulatory floor.

Can a foreigner be a director of an Indian company?+

Yes, a French national can serve as a director of an Indian company, provided they obtain a Director Identification Number and a digital signature certificate. Under current company law, at least one director on the board generally needs to satisfy an Indian residency requirement, which is why most French owned subsidiaries appoint at least one India based director alongside their French leadership.