Setting 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.

For a foreign company, "setting up in India" is less about incorporation and more about sequencing — entity, capital, tax registrations and banking have dependencies that, done in the wrong order, add weeks.

Choosing the vehicle

• Wholly-owned subsidiary (private limited) — the default for operating businesses: limited liability, 100% FDI under the automatic route in most sectors, clean compliance.
• LLP — lighter, but FDI and downstream-investment rules make it less common for funded operations.
• Branch / liaison / project office — RBI-approved, narrow-purpose, rarely right for a revenue-generating operation.

Incorporation and FDI

Incorporation runs through the MCA's integrated SPICe+ form (name, DIN, PAN, TAN together). Once shares are issued to the foreign parent, you file FC-GPR with the RBI through your AD bank within 30 days of allotment — the step most often missed, and the one that holds up later remittances.

Tax and operating registrations

• GST registration, state-wise, based on where you supply
• PAN / TAN, professional tax, Shops & Establishment, and payroll (PF/ESI) as headcount grows
• Transfer pricing from day one if you transact with the parent — Form 3CEB and contemporaneous documentation

A realistic timeline

With documents in order, an invoicing-ready subsidiary — incorporation, FC-GPR, GST and a working bank account — typically takes 4 to 6 weeks. The long pole is usually bank-account opening and apostilled parent documents, not incorporation.

How Advisory Monks helps

Our India Entry desk runs the whole sequence end-to-end — entity, FDI/FC-GPR, GST, payroll and the transfer-pricing baseline — and coordinates the bank so the dependencies don't stall you.

General information, not advice.