Doing Business in India for UK Companies

How Greenwolf Helps

Registering an Indian company is the easy part. Setting it up so that your UK and Indian companies work as one business, with the Indian tax department, the RBI and your own board all comfortable, is where the real work begins.

1. 01

   First, we tell you whether you need an Indian company at all.

   We look at your Indian customers, team plans and what you already spend with Indian vendors. Selling from the UK, a partner, an employer of record or a Build-Operate-Transfer arrangement is often the right first step, and we will say so. If your own company makes sense, we tell you what it should do: sell, build, or both.

2. 02

   We identify the right route, city and structure.

   Own company, BOT, partner or acquisition? Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai or a smaller city? We check the foreign investment rules for your sector and the state incentives that could apply, then recommend one route and one city.

3. 03

   We structure the UK and Indian companies together.

   This is where most of the value sits. How the Indian company is owned and funded; how it charges the UK parent, using the 15.5% safe harbour or a comparison study; who owns the IP the Indian team creates; how to avoid the UK company being taxed in India; how UK staff are posted under the social security agreement; and how profits come back to the UK.

4. 04

   We handle incorporation and the paperwork Indian law requires.

   Name reservation and founding documents; legalising your UK documents and obtaining director IDs; appointing the India-resident director and the second shareholder (usually a nominee); registration with the Registrar of Companies; the bank account and the bank's checks on UK directors; issuing shares to the UK parent and reporting to the RBI on time; the commencement declaration, first auditor, GST, provident fund and payroll.

5. 05

   We put contracts, people and premises in place.

   The services agreement between the companies with the pricing file tax officers expect; data-transfer terms and security policies for UK customer data; employment contracts and HR policies under India's labour codes; and recruitment, office space and visas through specialist partners.

6. 06

   We run the compliance and help the operation grow.

   Monthly accounts, payroll, GST and withholding tax; quarterly advance tax; the annual audit, tax return, transfer-pricing report, RoC filings and RBI return, with regular reports to the UK parent. As India's role grows: partners, joint ventures and acquisitions, passing 300 employees, moving core product work to India, or sending profits to the UK.