Foreign Subsidiary Registration in India, 100% Online from Your Country
Foreign subsidiary registration in India means incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary, almost always an Indian private limited company, with bank account, nominee resident director, FEMA reporting and the ongoing calendar, run entirely online while you stay home. Documents are apostilled in your country, signatures are digital, and every deliverable is fixed-price upfront. The full technical playbook lives in our foreign subsidiary registration guide.
Four moves. Your foreign subsidiary registration process, step by step.
You sign at home
We send apostille-ready templates to your local notary. Nothing expires mid-process because we sequence every document.
We file with the MCA
Name reservation, MoA and AoA drafted for the parent holding structure, then SPICe+ covers incorporation, PAN, TAN, EPFO and ESIC in one filing, with a resident nominee director arranged if you need one.
Bank, capital, FC-GPR
Account opened, your capital lands, shares allotted inside 60 days and reported to RBI inside 30. The deadlines most firms miss.
The calendar takes over
GST, payroll, ROC filings and the July FLA return run on a fixed monthly retainer with one accountable team.
Who qualifies for foreign subsidiary registration in India. And the myths that stall founders.
The real conditions are shorter than most portals make them look. Here is the complete list, plus the two myths we bust on almost every call.
Two shareholders on record
An Indian private limited company needs a minimum of two members. Your parent holds every share except one, and a nominee holds that single share on the parent's behalf, with the nomination papered properly. The result is a wholly owned subsidiary in substance: 100 percent economic ownership and full consolidation in your group accounts.
One resident director
At least one director must meet India's residency test of 182 days of presence (verify the current Companies Act wording for your financial year). Neither founder relocates. A locally appointed nominee resident director satisfies the requirement, and we arrange one with a written indemnity and defined, limited authority.
A registered office in India
Every company needs an Indian registered address for statutory mail and MCA records. A compliant virtual or serviced office works at incorporation, which is why it appears as a line item in our pricing table rather than a surprise invoice later.
Myth one: minimum capital. There is no statutory minimum paid-up capital to set up a subsidiary in India as a private limited company. Capitalise for runway, not for a threshold that was abolished years ago. Authorised capital does nudge government fees at the margin, so we size it deliberately, not by template. Myth two: you must fly to India. Every signature is digital, every parent document is apostilled in your home country, and the bank account opens remotely. Zero trips, start to finish.
Subsidiary vs branch office vs liaison office. Why most founders pick the subsidiary.
India gives a foreign parent three entry vehicles. Only one of them invoices customers, ring-fences liability and scales without asking the RBI's permission first.
| Question | Wholly owned subsidiary | Branch office | Liaison office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Approval route | Automatic route in most sectors, no prior approval | Prior RBI approval through an AD bank | Prior RBI approval through an AD bank |
| What it can do | Any lawful business in its objects: invoice, hire, own IP, raise capital | Only activities the RBI permits, broadly mirroring the parent's business | Representation and market research only. No commercial activity, no revenue |
| Liability | Ring-fenced. Separate legal entity; parent's exposure limited to its capital | Extension of the parent. Parent directly liable for Indian obligations | Extension of the parent. Parent directly liable |
| Tax position | Taxed as an Indian domestic company at domestic rates | Taxed as a foreign company at the higher foreign-company rate (verify current rate) | Earns no income, so generally no income tax, though filings still apply |
| Exit and scale | Cleanest: sell shares, admit investors, buy back | Hard to convert or scale | Must upgrade to a branch or subsidiary before trading |
If you intend to invoice Indian customers, hire a team or hold IP locally, the wholly owned subsidiary in India wins on every line that matters. That is the structure this page, and our fixed-price package, is built around.
The FDI route and tax picture, in five minutes.
Automatic route, most sectors
100 percent foreign ownership is permitted in most sectors with no prior government approval. Your only obligations are reporting ones: FC-GPR within 30 days of allotting shares against your capital, and the annual FLA return each July. We calendar both before the money moves.
Government route, the exceptions
A shorter list of sectors carries caps or needs prior approval; verify your sector against the current consolidated FDI policy before wiring capital. Separately, investment from countries sharing a land border with India needs prior government approval regardless of sector under Press Note 3. We flag both at the discovery call, not after filing.
Tax after incorporation
Your subsidiary is taxed as an Indian domestic company, with a concessional corporate rate regime available on election (verify the current rate and surcharge for your year). GST applies once registered, every transaction with the parent must be priced at arm's length under transfer pricing rules, and dividends repatriate freely after withholding at your treaty rate.
Want the full detail on routes, sector caps and deadlines? It lives in the complete foreign subsidiary registration guide, and the ongoing filings are covered under our FEMA compliance service.
What foreign subsidiary registration in India actually costs. In writing.
The all-in foreign subsidiary registration package: ₹70,000 to ₹1,70,000. No competitor publishes real numbers. We do, because surprise invoices are how cheap firms make their money back.
| Component | Where paid | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Notarisation, apostille, certified translations | Your country | Varies by corridor |
| Government incorporation and stamp fees | India | ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 |
| Digital signatures for two directors | India | ₹4,000 to ₹6,000 |
| Professional fees, foreign parent incorporation | India | ₹60,000 to ₹1,50,000 |
| Registered office, virtual office or serviced, monthly | India | ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 |
| All-in registration package, most parents | ₹70,000 to ₹1,70,000 | |
| Ongoing compliance retainer, monthly | India | ₹25,000 to ₹60,000 |
About those ₹999 packages
Every Krystal7 quote is itemised: government fees separated from professional fees, timelines in writing, nothing added later.
Get an itemised quoteBuilt for founders crossing borders.
One accountable team
Company law, FEMA, transfer pricing and tax under one roof. No three vendors pointing at each other when a deadline slips.
Your timezone, 4-hour response
PST to SGT, your questions get answered inside your working day. A dedicated advisor who remembers the last conversation.
The FEMA layer, handled
FC-GPR inside 30 days, the annual FLA return each July, clean paper for every remittance. The filings that quietly sink cheap setups.
Your corridor has its own playbook. We wrote it.
Apostille chains, currency cost tables and treaty positions differ by home country. Pick yours.
Want the full mechanics first? Read the complete foreign subsidiary registration guide: process, documents, FEMA deadlines and the compliance calendar. Choosing an adviser? Here is how to choose a CA firm for your Indian subsidiary.
Foreign Subsidiary Registration in India: FAQs from almost every discovery call.
Can our parent company own 100 percent?
In most sectors yes, through the automatic route with no prior approval. The parent holds every share except one nominee share, since Indian law needs two members on record. The subsidiary is wholly owned in substance and consolidates as 100 percent.
Do we need to travel to India at any point?
No. Documents are apostilled in your country, signatures are digital, the filing is electronic and bank account opening is coordinated remotely. The one structural requirement is a director who meets the 182 day residency test, which a locally appointed resident satisfies.
How long does it really take?
3 to 6 weeks all-in. The Indian filing moves in days once documents are complete; the apostille chain at home is the honest pacing item, which is why we start it first.
What happens after incorporation?
The compliance calendar starts immediately: commencement declaration (INC-20A) within 180 days, first auditor within 30 with statutory audit mandatory from year one, FC-GPR within 30 days of allotting your capital, then GST, payroll, ROC filings and the annual FLA return each July, all on one retainer.
Can we take profits back out of India?
Yes. Dividends are freely repatriable to the parent after Indian withholding tax at your treaty rate, service invoices flow at arm's length under transfer pricing rules, and exits by buyback or capital reduction stay open with valuation formalities. Plan repatriation at incorporation and every route stays clean.
Ready to Set Up Your India Subsidiary Right?
A 30-minute discovery call to understand your structure, timeline, and specific requirements. We share a fixed-price proposal within 2 business days. No obligation, no sales pressure.
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