Guides to setting up an Indian subsidiary

Two more places to look

Guides are not the only resource on this site. If a guide does not answer your question, these two sections might:

How is the guide library organised?

The guides are grouped into seven topics that follow the life of a subsidiary: ownership and entry decisions, incorporation and documents, cost and timelines, banking and capital, tax and GST, hiring and payroll, and annual compliance. Browse a topic below, or use the search box further down to find a guide by keyword across all of them. Our guide on owning 100 percent of an Indian company is the usual starting point if you are still deciding.

New guides are added regularly as ProLead’s own cases raise new questions, so this library grows over time rather than staying fixed.

How should you use them?

Read in the order that matches your stage. If you are still choosing, start with ownership and entity type. If you have decided and want to move, go to documents, capital and banking. If your company already exists, start with the compliance calendar and work back.

Each guide begins with a short answer that stands on its own. The detail below it explains the reasons, sets out steps or deadlines in tables and lists, and says who a route suits and who it does not.

Where do the guides stop?

The guides explain the position in general terms. They do not replace advice on your own facts, and they do not tell you which sector caps, state incentives or tax treaties apply to your investment. Indian rules for forms, tax and foreign investment have changed several times in recent years, including the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the new Labour Codes, so check the current position before you act.

We state rule-based deadlines plainly, such as the 30-day and 180-day company deadlines and the 15 July FLA return date. We describe every other timeline as typical, because real durations depend on the case, the bank and the documents. Regulators can extend some of these periods, but such extensions are usually one-off events, so we have not built them into our guides.

For questions that cut across guides, see the frequently asked questions and how to choose your route into India. For fees and timing across services, see the pricing and timeline overview. If you would rather talk it through, book a free consultation with ProLead Business Consulting.

Note: Rules and forms change often. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check the current position with a practising Chartered Accountant or Company Secretary before you act.

General information only, not legal or tax advice. Rules and forms change, so confirm the current position with a practising Chartered Accountant or Company Secretary before you act. See our disclaimer.