Register Foreign Company in India

First, it must obtain RBI approval, then establish a Branch Office, Liaison Office, or Project Office in India,  then submit an application to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, for registration as a far-off Company.

Registration With RBI:

The application for establishing a Branch Office/ Liaison Office/ Project Office in India may be submitted by a non-resident entity in form FNC to a designated AD Category – I bank (i.e., a billboard  Category – I bank identified by the applicant with whom they intend to pursue banking relations) along with the prescribed documents mentioned in the form and the Letter of Comfort (LOC), where applicable. The AD Category-I bank shall grant approval to the foreign entity for establishing a Branch Office/ Liaison Office/ Project Office in India after conducting due diligence on the applicant’s background and satisfying itself on adherence to the eligibility criteria for establishing a Branch Office/ Liaison Office/ Project Office, antecedents of the promoter, nature, and site of the applicant’s activity, sources of funds, and compliance with the extant KYC norms. The AD Category-I banks may formulate policies for handling these applications in accordance with FEMA’s regulations and directives.

However, before issuing the approval letter to the applicant, the AD Category-I bank shall forward a replica of the form FNC along with the details of the approval it proposes to grant to the General Manager,  Federal Reserve Bank of India, CO Cell, New Delhi, for allocation of Unique  Number  (UIN) to each Branch Office/ Liaison Office. The AD Category-I bank shall issue the approval letter to the non-resident entity for establishing a Branch Office/ Liaison Office in India upon receipt of the UIN from the  Federal Reserve Bank.

Non-resident companies are permitted to determine  Project Offices in India so long as they have secured a contract with an Indian company to execute a project in India. Additionally, the Project must have obtained the required regulatory approvals; and be directly funded by inward remittances from abroad or be funded by a bilateral or multilateral International Financing Agency, or the Company or entity in India awarding the contract must have been granted a Term Loan by a Public Financial Institution or a bank in India for the Project.

If the Branch Office/ Liaison Office/ Project Office that approval has been granted is not opened within six months of the date of the approval letter, the approval shall lapse. In cases where the non-resident entity is unable to open its office within the allotted time frame due to circumstances beyond its control, the AD Category-I bank may consider granting a six-month extension for the office’s establishment. In this regard,  any longer extension of time requires the prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India.

Once a Branch Office, Liaison Office, Project Office, or another place of business is established in India, it must register with the Registrar of Companies (ROCs) if required by the Business Act of 2013.