Foreign companies may set up business in India any kind of one of the next manners while retaining its status like a foreign company:
Liaison Offices – A foreign company can open a liaison office in India to pay attention to its Indian operations, to promote its business interests, to spread awareness belonging to the company’s products and to explore further open positions. Liaison offices are not allowed to stick with it any business or earn any income in India and every one expenses are to borne by remittances from abroad.
Project Offices – The project office is the ideal method for companies to establish a business presence in India, if the object is to have a presence for a limited period of schedule. It is essentially a branch office fitted with the limited purpose for executing a specific project. Foreign companies engaged in turnkey construction or installation normally install a project office for their operations in India.
Branch Offices – Foreign companies engaged in manufacturing and trading activities outside India may open branch offices for extra of:
oRepresenting the parent company or other foreign companies within a matters in India, like acting as buying and selling agents.
oConducting research, during which the parent company is engaged, provided the results of this research are made to be able to Indian companies
oUndertaking export and import trading ventures.
oPromoting technical and financial collaborations between Indian and foreign companies.
Trading companies – Foreign companies may invest in trading companies engaged primarily in exports. Such trading companies are treated at par with domestic trading companies in accordance with the trade policy.
The RBI accords automatic approval for foreign equity up to 51 per cent for setting up trading companies engaged primarily LLP Formation Online in India exports. All other proposals, which do not meet the criteria for automatic approval, can be addressed to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, i.e. “FIPB”.
Wholly owned subsidiaries – Foreign companies may set up a wholly owned subsidiary, which is definitely an Indian Company through having an independent legal status, distinct from parents foreign company.
Under the current foreign investment policy, a wholly owned subsidiary can be established either under the automatic route, if the conditions specified therein are complied with (specific high priority industries) or get an approval from the FIPB.
Joint venture companies – Foreign companies may set up a joint venture company i.e. in financial collaboration with an Indian business house/company in India, which is an Indian Company with an independent legal status, distinct from the parent foreign company.
Under the current foreign investment policy, a joint venture can be established either under the automatic route, if the circumstances specified therein are complied with or obtain an approval from the FIPB.
Foreign companies intending to set up any form of office mentioned above activities on the part the parent company or foreign trading companies in India for promotion of exports from India have to obtain a previous approval of this Reserve Bank by submitting an application in the prescribed form to the Central Office of Reserve Bank. On approval of the cases, permission is granted initially for finding a period of three years, foreclosures the condition that expenses of such office will be met exclusively out of inward remittances; such offices are not permitted to generate any income in Japan.