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Liaison Office Registration online in India with REGISTRATION MITRA

Starts from INR 19,999/- 14,499 only

Inclusions

  • Free advisory by experts
  • Approval from RBI
  • Registration with ROC
  • PAN & TAN of the Office
  • Assistance in opening of Bank Account

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    Liaison Office Registration In India

    The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) defines Liaison Office in India as “a place of business to act as a channel of communication between the Principal place of business or Head Office by whatever name called and entities in India but which does not undertake any commercial / trading / industrial activity, directly or indirectly, and maintains itself out of inward remittances received from abroad through normal banking channel”.

    The master circular of RBI states that a Liaison Office in India (“LO”) can undertake only liaison activities, i.e. it can act as a channel of communication between Head Office abroad and parties in India. It is not allowed to undertake any business activity in India and cannot earn any income in India. Expenses of a Liaison Office should be met entirely through the foreign exchange from your Head Office outside India.

    Therefore, the role of a Liaison Office is limited to collecting information about possible market opportunities and providing information about the company and its products to prospective Indian customers.

    Foreign companies are allowed to open liaison offices in India, subject to obtaining specific approval from the RBI, to undertake liaison activities on their behalf. Permission to set up such offices is initially granted for a period of 3 years and this may be extended from time to time by an “AD Category I bank”.

    Eligibility Criteria to register a Liaison Office in India

    • Profit making track record : Preceding 3 financial years
    • Minimum Net worth : US$50,000 or equivalent**
    • Activity : No income generating activity

    NOTE:

    * Must be verified by the most recent audited balance sheet or account statement.

    * Liaison office is allowed only to collect information about possible market opportunities.

    Permitted activities to register a Liaison Office in India

    • Promoting technical/ financial collaborations between parent / group companies and companies in India.
    • Representing the parent company / group companies in India.
    • Acting as a communication channel between the parent company and Indian companies.
    • Promoting export / import from / to India.

    Documents Required

    • Name and address of the branch office in India
    • Copy of the Certificate of Incorporation / Registration; Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association duly notarized and apostilled in the country of registration.
    • Audited Balance sheet of the applicant company for the last three years in case of liaison office.
    • Bankers' Report from the applicant’s banker in the host country / country of registration showing the number of years the applicant has had banking relations with that bank.
    • Power of attorney or board resolution in favor of the authorized representative
    • Address proof of Registered business address of the office, i.e.
      • Electricity Bill or Telephone Bill or Gas Bill not older than 1 month
      • NOC from the landlord in the name of the office
    • Declaration that none of the directors of the company or the authorized representative in India has ever been convicted or debarred from formation of companies and management in India or abroad
    • List of directors and secretary of the foreign company
    • Name and address of the company’s official representative based in India (the person authorized to accept delivery of notices and documents served to the company).

    Note: All the documents of Foreign Individuals or body corporates should be duly Apostilled or Consularized and notarized by Native Country.

    Advantages of Liaison Office in India

    • Fewer on-going formalities as compared to other business entities.
    • Ideal if no income accrual in India.
    • Easy to shut down.
    • Not subject to taxation in India
    • Uncomplicated set-up formalities
    • Able to coordinate and manage quality control of sourcing and buying activities in India.

    Registration Procedure

    • Step 1
      Application to RBI
      • The first step is to submit an application in Form FNC (As per Annex C of Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of a branch office or a liaison office or a project office or any other place of business) Regulations, 2016) to an Authorized Dealer Category-I bank along with the requisite documents.
      • The AD Category-I bank shall after exercising due diligence and compliance with the extant KYC norms grant approval to the foreign entity for establishing LO in India as per the directions and/or guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank in this regard.
    • Step 2
      Obtain a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
      • The next step is to obtain Digital Signature Certificates for the authorized representative.
      • Digital Certificates are the digital/ electronic equivalent of physical signatures.
      • MCA accepts applications only if the DSC are affixed on it so as to ensure the authenticity of application of registration.
      • Hence, to file the application online one needs to obtain DSC.
    • Step 3
      Filing the application for registration with ROC
      • The final step is to prepare & file the application for registration of office
      • This application has to be filed within 30 days from the date of approval by RBI.
      • The application is filed online in Form No. FC-1 along with relevant documents.
    • Step 4
      Certificate of Registration
      • On receipt of the application, If MCA feels that the application filed is complete in all respects, it will issue a Certificate of Registration within 7 days, OR
      • On receipt of the application, If MCA needs any additional information or clarification, then they will give an opportunity to resubmit all the documents with the additional information or clarification. Once they are satisfied that the application is complete or the clarification is they will issue the Certificate of Registration.

    Register For A Setting Up Liaison Office In India With Registration Mitra

    We at Registration Mitra can help you in setting up a Liaison office or Representative Office in India. Our dedicated team will help you with the entire process from RBI Approval to registration under Companies Act to post registration Compliances. Anyone looking for Liaison Office in India can contact Registration Mitra for a quick and reliable solution.

    How Registration Mitra helps in this Entire Process

    Proper Advice and research

    Our experts will advice you throughout the process for registration

    Drafting of documents and application

    We will draft the required supporting documents and application for submission with the RBI and Registrar of companies.

    Online application

    We will prepare the online application in in Form FNC and Form FC-1 and submit the same for approval of ministry.

    Follow-up

    After submission, we will keep following the authorities for getting approval and update you accordingly.

    Other registrations

    After getting Certificate of Registration and RBI approval, we will apply for other registrations.