India entry guide
India entry is not a single permit · it is a programme where tax, FX, banking, licences, labour, visas and plant operations connect at once. Designing parallel tracks early reduces decision lag.
Priorities and mandatory steps vary by sector, state, timing and transaction structure. This page is an overview · not a substitute for tailored advice.
Setting up in India is rarely “only” incorporation: GST, FEMA, banking, permits, employment, visas and factory operations tend to move together.
In practice, sequencing and approval timelines interact · teams therefore often draft an end-to-end roadmap at the outset rather than treating each workstream in isolation.
Early roadmap · what to bundle and why it matters
Entity form, capital & equity
- Compare Private Limited, LLP, branch and other structures
- FDI route (automatic vs approval), sector caps and conditions
- Shareholding, investment mechanics and capital plan
- FEMA/RBI reporting posture (e.g. FCGPR/FCTRS)
- JV/partner models and early SHA-style alignment
GST, TDS & corporate tax go-live
- GST registration and taxable/exempt chain design
- TAN/TDS operating model (withholding, roles, returns)
- Accounting policies, chart of accounts and HQ mapping
- Invoice/credit-note patterns; e-invoicing applicability
- ITC discipline and reconciliation cadence (e.g. GSTR-2B)
Banking, remittances & AD codes
- Corporate account opening, KYC and signing arrangements
- FX for equity, intercompany and dividend-style flows
- Capital remittances and shareholder loan patterns where relevant
- ECB-style debt is a separate track · plan limits and filings early
- IEC/AD code alignment with customs/ICEGATE flows
Visas & FRRO
- Employment vs business visa suitability
- FRRO registration, extensions and address updates
- PAN/Aadhaar-style ID interactions for payroll and banking
- Payroll, TDS and personal tax touchpoints for expatriates
Factory, environment & fire
- Factory licence and pollution consent/NOC
- Fire NOC and building/layout approvals
- Power sanction, load and energisation schedule
- Industrial estate/land use and access constraints
Payroll, PF & ESI
- Payroll cadence and cost allocation
- PF/ESI registration and contribution calendars
- Professional tax where the state applies it
- Employment contracts, leave rules and gratuity posture
Data & governance · linking HQ and India operations
HQ reporting, approvals & systems
- Align Korea/HQ reporting cycles with India statutory deadlines
- Month-end closing calendar and evidence cut-offs
- Spend, remittance and contract approval workflows
- Remittance approval packs and audit-friendly documentation
- ERP, file storage and least-privilege access design
Compliance calendar & document control
- Track GST/TDS/PF/ESI/ROC due dates in one board
- Log customs, FX and labour notices and responses
- Archive packs for audit and tax enquiries
- Contract versioning; DSC/DIN hygiene
- Invoice approvals and immutable audit trails
- Vendor KYC refresh cycles
Issues we see often in the field
- Transactions occur before GST registration is effective · reconciliation and disclosure risk
- Bank account opening slips, freezing payroll and vendor payments
- Purpose-of-remittance codes or evidence packs rejected by banks
- FRRO delays affecting continuity of stay and work permissions
- Factory power connection and commissioning slip production go-live
- GST principal place of business misaligned with lease/actual site
- Offer letters clash between group HR templates and India labour practice
- HQ approval latency pushes filings/payments into penalty territory
A typical sequencing pattern
- 1
STEP 1 · Structure
- Investment route and FDI constraints
- Sector caps and conditional approvals
- Capital and distribution policy
- 2
STEP 2 · Incorporation
- DSC/DIN
- INC filings and name approval
- COI and “day-1” legal baseline
- 3
STEP 3 · Tax & banking
- PAN/TAN
- GST
- Banking, signatories and tokens
- 4
STEP 4 · Operating readiness
- Premises/lease
- Hiring and contracts
- Payroll, PF and ESI
- 5
STEP 5 · Steady-state
- Bookkeeping and tax close
- Treasury and remittances
- ROC and ongoing compliance
Sector flavour · headline issues
| Sector | Typical focus |
|---|---|
| Manufacturing | Factory licence, power, pollution, fire |
| Trading | IEC, AD code, ICEGATE and customs |
| IT / services | GST, exports, LUT and TDS design |
| Construction | GST on advances, contract staging, subcontractors |
| F&B | FSSAI, local licences, hygiene and fire |
| Hospitality | Trade licence stack with tourism/alcohol/fire variants |
Where MSV typically plugs in
- Incorporation and equity/FDI structuring support
- GST/TDS and accounting operating model build-out
- Banking, remittance and FX filing execution support
- FRRO/visa administration support
- Factory, industrial permits and licensing coordination
- Payroll, PF/ESI and labour compliance operations
- Governance design aligning HQ reporting with India deadlines
Related services & guides
Handy next reads on this site.
In practice, India entry is less about any single licence and more about how procedures connect; early structural choices materially change operating efficiency and downstream tax risk.