Services for a foreign company setting up in India

What does a foreign company need in India?

Setting up is one step. Once the company exists, it has books to keep, tax returns to file, people to pay, and Companies Act and foreign-exchange filings to make every year. ProLead Business Consulting covers that whole span for foreign companies, from the entry decision to steady-state operations.

ProLead is a professional services firm of chartered accountants and advisers, founded in 2012. It has a presence across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin and Amritsar, plus Singapore (hybrid) and the USA (virtual). It is not a law firm and does not give legal opinions. Filings that need a practising Company Secretary, Chartered Accountant or lawyer are handled with ProLead’s professionals.

ProLead’s five service pillars

ProLead’s service architecture spans five integrated pillars, from market entry through to scale. Clients engage at whichever pillar fits their immediate need, and expand as the business evolves. This site covers only the pillar relevant to market entry into India. For the comprehensive list across all five, see ProLead’s main site.

• Market Entry & Business Setup. Entity set-up, GCC/GDC set-up, registrations and licences, nominee director services, Employer of Record, and market entry research. Covered on this site.
• Offshore Finance Operations. Bookkeeping, reconciliation, month-end close, payables and receivables, payroll processing and statutory reporting.
• CFO & Growth Advisory. Fractional CFO, FP&A, fundraising, valuation, due diligence and transaction advisory.
• Governance, Risk & Process Advisory. Internal financial controls, internal audit, risk and control audits, SOPs and fraud examination.
• Technology & Digital Enablement. ERP implementation, process automation, data analytics and IT assurance.

From entry to steady state

The lifecycle of a foreign-owned Indian company usually runs in this order:

1. Choose the route. Subsidiary, branch office, liaison office, or an Employer of Record while you test the market. Start with how to set up in India and the comparison of EOR and a subsidiary.
2. Incorporate and register. Name approval, the incorporation filings, PAN and TAN, and the registrations that follow.
3. Fund the company. Bank account, capital remittance and the foreign-exchange reports that go with foreign investment.
4. Put people in place. A resident director, a registered office, then payroll or an Employer of Record.
5. Run the finance function. Bookkeeping, month-end close, payables and receivables, and tax compliance.
6. Stay compliant each year. Auditor, annual general meeting, annual filings, the annual foreign liabilities and assets return, director KYC and, where you trade with group companies, the transfer-pricing report.
7. Scale. Add headcount, or build a global capability centre.

The pages below cover each service in detail.

Who is this for?

Decision-makers at foreign companies, most often from Singapore, the USA, the UK, Europe and the UAE, who want an Indian subsidiary or a captive centre without building an in-house India compliance team. ProLead has incorporated 500+ businesses and works with 40+ GCC/GDC clients.

It suits you if you want one accountable team from incorporation onwards.

If you are an Indian entrepreneur, promoter or founder building your own business rather than a foreign company entering India, see ProLead for Indian businesses instead.

How do you start?

Book a free consultation. It is no-commitment. We will ask about your sector, your parent country, your planned headcount and your timeline, then recommend a route. What drives cost is set out on the cost and timeline page.

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.