Set up and operate in India with India in a Box
You have decided India is part of your plan, and now the questions stack up: private limited company, LLP, or just a liaison office first? Who can be a director? Does your ownership structure need government approval before you can invest at all? Handled by separate advisors who have never spoken to each other, each question waits on the last, and the approval route is usually the one nobody checked early enough. This package puts one project plan around the entity question, the approval route and the registrations that follow, run with our member or partner firm in India.
Tell us about the matter and what you want to achieve. We review it and send a written offer, either a fixed fee or hourly rates with an agreed cap, so the cost is predictable before work starts. If the scope stays the same, so does the fee.
Timeline: Incorporation itself is typically completed within a few weeks of the Registrar receiving complete documentation, once entity choice and any resident-director arrangement are settled. Where the government route applies, there is no reliable timeline: it depends on the review, not on us.
Tell us briefly what you need. We send back a written scope and the fee.
What you get
Advice on entity choice: private limited company, LLP, or a liaison, branch or project office, matched to what you will actually do in India
Incorporation through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' SPICe+ process, with the company's PAN and TAN issued alongside the certificate of incorporation
GST registration where your activity requires it
Two directors in place, with at least one meeting India's resident-director rule, arranged for you if needed
Where the government route applies to your ownership structure, we prepare and coordinate that approval filing rather than assuming the automatic route
Registered office, bank account support, statutory auditor appointment, and the bookkeeping, payroll and compliance calendar that keeps the company current after day one
How it works
A first call to establish what you will actually do in India, and who owns the investment
A written plan covering entity choice, the approval route that applies, the sequence, and the documents we need from you
Our partner firm in India executes: incorporation, PAN, TAN, GST and, where relevant, the government-route filing, reporting at each milestone
Handover: the registered entity, the full document set, and the accounting and compliance calendar for what comes next
Entity, or a lighter presence first
A private limited company under the Companies Act 2013 is the usual choice for anyone who will trade, hire or hold assets in India. An LLP is available for a smaller partnership-style structure. Where you first need a presence without trading, a liaison, branch or project office registered with the Reserve Bank of India under its FEMA rules can be the right starting point, though a liaison office cannot itself invoice customers.
Incorporation runs through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' SPICe+ process, which issues the company's PAN and TAN together with the incorporation certificate. GST registration follows separately where your activity requires it.
The government-route question for Chinese ownership
Where the investor is incorporated in China, or the ultimate beneficial owner is a Chinese citizen, Indian law requires government-route approval rather than the automatic route (Press Note 3, 2020 Series, revised by Press Note 2, 2026 Series). We check this at the scoping stage, before you commit to a structure, and we do not guess at approval timing.
After incorporation
Where the investment needs FEMA reporting, the FC-GPR return is filed through the RBI's FIRMS portal within 30 days of share allotment. A statutory auditor is appointed within 30 days of incorporation. We also arrange the registered office, support the bank account opening and set up bookkeeping, payroll and the ongoing compliance calendar.
If Hungary rather than India is the market, the equivalent package is Hungary in a Box. For any other network country, see company set-up worldwide.
FAQ
Can a Chinese company invest in India?
Yes, but not automatically. India requires government-route approval, not the standard automatic route, for investment from an entity incorporated in a country that shares a land border with India, or where the ultimate beneficial owner is a citizen of such a country. China shares a land border with India, so this applies to Chinese-owned investment structures. In 2026 the rule was narrowed: a small, non-controlling shareholding below a set threshold can now qualify for the automatic route where the Chinese party has no control rights, but a controlling stake or a China-incorporated investor still needs the government route. We review the exact ownership and control structure at the scoping stage and tell you which route applies before you commit to a structure. We do not speculate on how long a government-route approval will take.
Do we need a resident director?
A private limited company needs at least two directors, and at least one of them must meet India's resident-director test under the Companies Act 2013, broadly, presence in India for a set number of days in the relevant year. If none of your team qualifies, we can arrange a resident director as part of the setup, and we explain what that role does and does not involve before you agree to it.
Can we start with a liaison office instead of a company?
Yes, if you only need to represent your business and gather market information for now. A liaison office, registered with the Reserve Bank of India, cannot invoice or otherwise trade in India, and opening one needs RBI approval, which takes longer for applicants connected to a small number of countries including China. If you expect to invoice, hire locally or hold assets, a private limited company is usually the better starting point.
Who actually does the work in India?
Our member or partner firm in India handles registration, filings and local compliance under Indian law. You work with one contact person: we assign the right lawyer to your matter and coordinate the work with our partner firm in India, so you do not have to find a separate adviser there and hold the project together yourself.
How much will this cost?
There is no fixed catalogue price, because entity choice, resident-director needs and the approval route all change the scope. We review what you want to set up and send a written offer, fixed fee or hourly rates with an agreed cap, before we start. If the scope stays the same, so does the fee.
How long does it take?
Once entity choice and any resident-director question are settled, incorporation itself is usually a matter of weeks from complete documentation. Where the government route applies, that review runs on its own schedule, not ours.
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