Notes & insights.
Periodic notes from the partnership on cross-border tax, FEMA changes, the Indian regulatory environment, and what we learn working alongside founders, investors, and family offices.
Flagship notes
Three long-form pieces we point most partner conversations to — the ESOP-tax mechanics founders keep getting wrong, the reverse-flip playbook that PhonePe / Groww / Zepto / Meesho / Pine Labs used to come home, and the NRI repatriation stack for anyone moving money out of India.
ESOP taxation in India: perquisite at exercise, capital gains at sale.
Two tax events, one FMV number that anchors both — and a bill that can land before the shares are liquid. The perquisite-at-exercise trap, the DPIIT Section 192(1C) deferral that actually helps, the merchant-banker FMV rules, and what a flip does to all of it.
Read the full noteThe reverse flip: moving your startup's domicile back to India.
PhonePe, Groww, Zepto, Meesho and Pine Labs brought their parents home — mostly ahead of Indian listings. The NCLT route versus the September 2024 Section 233 fast-track, the shareholder tax bill, ESOP and SAFE mechanics, and a 12-month sequencing plan.
Read the full noteRepatriating money from India: NRO, NRE, the USD 1 million scheme and Form 15CA/15CB.
The three-account architecture, what moves freely versus within the USD 1 million per year ceiling, the 15CA/15CB certification layer, property-sale proceeds, NRO-to-NRE transfers, and what reverses when you return to India.
Read the full noteRecent notes
ESOP taxation in India: perquisite at exercise, capital gains at sale.
Two tax events, one FMV number that anchors both — and a bill that can land before the shares are liquid. The perquisite-at-exercise trap, the DPIIT Section 192(1C) deferral that actually helps, the merchant-banker FMV rules, and what a flip does to all of it.
Read the full noteFounder secondary sales: how selling unlisted shares is taxed in India.
The 12.5%-with-₹1.25-lakh-exemption regime everyone quotes is Section 112A — for listed shares. Founder equity sits under Section 112, with a different rate structure, a Rule 11UA price floor the buyer cares about, and a distinct transfer to paper alongside the round.
Read the full noteRule 11UA and 409A: valuation for Indian startups with a US entity.
Founders with a Delaware or other US entity often need two unrelated valuations at once. What Rule 11UA requires after its 2023 amendment, what the angel-tax abolition did and didn't change, what triggers a 409A, and why a flip makes the two collide.
Read the full noteThe reverse flip: moving your startup's domicile back to India.
PhonePe, Groww, Zepto, Meesho and Pine Labs brought their parents home — mostly ahead of Indian listings. The NCLT route versus the September 2024 Section 233 fast-track, the shareholder tax bill, ESOP and SAFE mechanics, and a 12-month sequencing plan.
Read the full noteRepatriating money from India: NRO, NRE, the USD 1 million scheme and Form 15CA/15CB.
The three-account architecture, what moves freely versus within the USD 1 million per year ceiling, the 15CA/15CB certification layer, property-sale proceeds, NRO-to-NRE transfers, and what reverses when you return to India.
Read the full noteSSA vs SHA: the legal stack of an Indian startup round.
What the Share Subscription Agreement does, what the Shareholders' Agreement does, why the Articles of Association decide enforceability, the instruments in between (CCPS, CCD, convertible notes, iSAFE) — and the incubator and fund variants, SISFS included.
Read the full noteThe Income-tax Act, 2025: what actually changes for founders, NRIs and foreign companies.
India replaces the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026. Mostly a renumbering and a new “tax year” — but every section reference in your ESOPs, valuations and TP files needs a second look. A plain-English guide with a 1961 → 2025 section map.
Read the full noteBudget 2026 for NRIs: 2% TCS, a bigger PIS limit and a disclosure window
The February 2026 Budget cut TCS on education, medical and tour remittances to 2%, doubled the PIS holding cap, and opened a one-time foreign-asset disclosure window — here is what changes from 1 April 2026.
Read the full noteFAST-DS 2026: the six-month window to fix unreported foreign assets
A one-time disclosure scheme lets taxpayers regularise unreported foreign assets with immunity from Black Money Act penalties — and it closes on 31 December 2026.
Read the full noteAdvance tax for founders and NRIs: the four dates and how to size them
The 15 Jun / 15 Sep / 15 Dec / 15 Mar instalments, why one-off income breaks them, and how to avoid 234B/234C interest.
Read the full noteRepatriating money from India: the USD 1 million NRO route, step by step
How an NRI moves up to USD 1M a year out of an NRO account — the 15CA/15CB path, the documents, and the common rejections.
Read the full noteGIFT City IFSC: when it makes sense for your fund or treasury
The tax holidays and FEMA freedoms inside GIFT City IFSC — and the substance you actually need to claim them.
Read the full noteDPIIT recognition and Section 80-IAC: the startup tax-holiday guide
How eligible startups claim the three-year tax holiday under Section 80-IAC — DPIIT recognition, conditions, and the application sequence.
Read the full noteRNOR status explained: the NRI's tax-free window on returning to India
How Returning NRIs use RNOR status to shield foreign income for 2–3 years — eligibility, the day-count rules, and what to do before you land.
Read the full noteForm 15CA/15CB: paying a foreign vendor from India without TDS trouble
The certificate-and-declaration pair behind every foreign remittance — when each is needed, treaty rates, and the documents to keep ready.
Read the full noteSetting up a GCC in India: structure and the transfer-pricing pitfalls
Why most India Global Capability Centres run on a cost-plus model — and the transfer-pricing and FEMA traps that cost groups later.
Read the full noteSHA vs Articles of Association: which one wins when they conflict?
A shareholders' agreement grants an investor a veto; the articles don't mention it. Which controls — and how to make sure your rights are enforceable.
Read the full noteSetting up in India as a foreign company: the 6-week path
Entity choice, FDI/FC-GPR, GST, bank account and transfer pricing — the realistic sequence to an invoicing-ready Indian subsidiary.
Read the full noteForm 13 LDC for NRIs: when it works, when it doesn't.
A practical note for NRIs selling Indian property. Section 195 requires TDS on the full sale consideration (12.5% LTCG plus cess since 23 July 2024, not on the gain); Form 13 reduces that to tax on your actual gain. We walk through when the application succeeds, when it fails, what to file, and what to do when timing is against you.
Read the full noteFlip structuring after GAAR. Delaware, Singapore, Cayman, IFSC, UAE compared.
Indian startups going offshore now operate in a post-GAAR, post-PoEM, post-Section 9 reality. We compare five common destination jurisdictions across substance requirements, capital-gains exposure, ESOP migration, IP transfer, and cost. There is no single right answer, but there are wrong ones.
Read the full noteWhat changed in India-US transfer pricing for FY26.
Three meaningful changes (Master File / CbCR threshold revision, the Safe Harbour rules update for IT/ITeS captives, and the Advance Pricing Agreement programme's data-driven turnaround acceleration) meaningfully shift how Indian arms of US groups should approach FY26 documentation.
Read the full noteMailing list
Be notified when we publish. We send updates only when a note goes live — typically once or twice a month, sometimes more if a regulatory change demands it. No marketing, unsubscribe any time.
For journalists & researchers
For interview requests, citation-ready summaries of our positions on cross-border tax, or speaking engagements at industry events, contact info@advisorymonks.com.
Guides & tools
NRI selling property in India: TDS, Form 13 & repatriation
Cut Section 195 TDS on the full sale price down to tax on your actual gain, with a worked example and the repatriation path.
Read the guideNRI property TDS & Form 13 savings estimator
Estimate the TDS withheld, the tax actually due, and the cash a Form 13 certificate could free up.
Open the calculatorNR / RNOR / ROR residential-status checker
Answer nine questions and get your Section 6 residential status with the reason trail — including the 120-day and deemed-residency rules.
Check your statusESOP tax estimator: exercise + sale
Perquisite tax at exercise, capital gains at sale, listed and unlisted — with the DPIIT deferral note.
Estimate your taxIndia entry timeline & cost estimator
WOS, LLP, Branch or Project Office — how many weeks to invoicing-ready, and what it indicatively costs.
Estimate your timelineFlip-structuring readiness quiz
Seven questions on investors, revenue, IP and exits — scored against GIFT City and offshore options.
Take the quizNRI capital gains tax calculator
Shares, mutual funds, unlisted stock and property under the post-July-2024 rates — with the ₹1.25 lakh exemption and the TDS gap.
Estimate your taxDTAA withholding rate checker
Treaty vs domestic rates on Indian interest, dividends and royalties for 20 countries — with the TRC and Form 10F checklist.
Check your rateTCS on foreign remittances calculator
FY 2026-27 LRS rates after Budget 2026 — 2% on education, medical and tours, nil on loan-funded education — and how the credit comes back.
Calculate your TCSCapital gains exemption calculator: 54, 54F & 54EC
How much LTCG tax reinvesting in a house or 54EC bonds can eliminate — with the ₹10 crore cap and the timelines.
Estimate your savingAdvance tax calculator: the four instalments
15 Jun / 15 Sep / 15 Dec / 15 Mar targets from your estimated tax and TDS — and what's due at the next date.
Size your instalmentsThe India reverse-flip tracker
Who has flipped home — PhonePe, Groww, Zepto, Pine Labs, Meesho and more — by which route, and what it reportedly cost.
Open the trackerThree engagements, end to end
A ₹28.6L Form 13 release, a 5-week India entry, and one India–US memo both sides signed — anonymised and step-by-step.
Read the case studiesIndia entry for foreign companies: subsidiary, FEMA & GST
Choosing the vehicle, incorporation, FDI/FC-GPR, GST and transfer pricing — a practical setup guide.
Read the guideIndia–US cross-border tax: DTAA, withholding, PFIC & GILTI
Treaty positions, Section 195 with 15CA/15CB, US-person exposure and transfer pricing in one place.
Read the guide