Starting a business in India without being a Resident is possible, and there are a number of ways to do so:
- Limited Company (Private Limited/Public Limited Company)
- Partnership with Limited Liability (LLP)
- The branch office and the liaison office, there is also the project office
To start any type of the above company or a business in India as a non-resident foreign national, one must have an Indian business visa.
1. Limited Company
India’s Companies Act, 2013, allows for non-resident Indians to form a private, public, or wholly-owned subsidiary company (WOS).
Almost all sectors of the economy allow unrestricted FDI into limited companies pursuant to the FDI Policy. Non-residents can invest in Indian shares, convertible debentures, and preference shares in two ways under the FDI Scheme:
- Automatic Route: In this way of starting a business, the foreign investor doesn’t require to get permission from the Government of India.
- Government Route: In this way of starting a business in India as a non-resident foreign investor, you need permission from the Gov. of India.
2. Limited Liability Partnership
One of the most common forms of partnership is a partnership with limited liability (LLP). The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, governs the incorporation of an LLP. It’s a business structure that combines the advantages of both a partnership and a corporation.
As with Limited Companies, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is authorized in Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs).
3. Branch Office or Project Office
There is no need to create a limited liability partnership or a limited liability company in India for foreign companies to conduct business in this country. A foreign firm can open a branch, liaison office, or project office in India if they follow the RBI’s rules.
Projects or activities or functions like country representative office, procurement, technical and/or marketing support and import-export, etc. are often the focus of such offices’ operations
Documentation
The process of documenting a business depends on the sort of business. Apostilled or attested by the Indian Embassy in their respective countries, documents executed or copies generated from outside India must generally be notarized and apostilled according to Hague Convention requirements.
Application for Registration in India
The Registrar of Companies (ROC), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, must receive an application for Limited Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships.
Once an application has been submitted to the Reserve Bank of India and approved by the RBI, the Registrar of Companies (“ROC”) in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs must register the firm as a branch office, liaison office, or project office.
Required Documents
Foreign investors must have a business visa for India in order to start a business in India. With that, the foreign nationals must provide the following information and documents:
- The Registrar of Companies in India can provide you with a Director Identification Number (DIN).
- Copy of current passport
- Two months’ worth of recent bank account statements in the name of the foreign national.
- Mobile Phone Number That Is In Use
- The email address must be valid.
Get your Business Registration
The business can begin operations after acquiring the registration of its business entity, which allows it to create a bank account, appoint employees, and so on.
In addition, the company must get other registrations, such as GST, professional tax, and registration for shops and establishments.
Myself Aditya and I am from Mumbai, India. As an intern, I joined the local news agency in Mumbai named “The Mumbai News”. Now I am working with various News Agencies and I provide them reports from Mumbai and other parts of India.
