The sleeping elephant has woken up. Or is it another Asian tiger. Call it what you may, but the truth is that India is on the move. Since economic liberalization began in 1991, India has been clocking an 8 percent GDP growth year after year, foreign direct investments are hitting $10 billion annually, and the stock market has tripled in the last three years. The 300 million strong middle class, with new money in their pockets are continuing to fuel the economic engine.
All this makes India a popular alternative for companies desiring to do business abroad. When you, as an individual or as a foreign company, come to a decision to do business in India, the question arises about the type of business entity you should adopt. In short, you have three options – to establish a liaison / representative office, a project office, or a branch office.
A. Doing Business As A Non-Indian Company
A liaison office may not be engaged in any business activity in India. Rather, it has a limited role of collecting information and marketing your company’s services to prospective Indian customers.
If your company is engaged in manufacturing and trading activities, you may opt to set up a project office for executing a specific project. Such a process requires the approval of the Reserve Bank of India, which is generally accorded to government-aided or approved project.
A branch office may be established by your company to