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Our essence is rooted in being honest and straight forward. We advise and advocate what we truly believe.

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Our team and collective efforts allow free flow of information and knowledge from top to bottom and vice versa.

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Teamwork is rooted in affluence DNA and we very much acknowledge the outcome of team work.

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We firmly believe that Confidentiality is the cornerstone of our Profession and strive to maintain it to the fullest possible extent.

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About

Affluence

A company incorporated outside India have an option to have an office in India by way of a branch office (BO), a liaison office (LO) and a project office (PO). These offices can be set up in India subject to fulfillment of certain conditions and within the framework of the Reserve Bank of India.

Investment Route –  for BO / LO / PO

Automatic Route

Where the principal business of the foreign entity falls under sectors where 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is permissible under the automatic route.

Government Route

Where the principal business of the foreign entity falls under the sectors where 100 per cent FDI is not permissible under the automatic route. Applications from entities falling under this category and those from Non – Government Organisations / Non-Profit Organisations / Government Bodies / Departments require government approval.

Prior Government Approval –  for BO / LO / PO

  • Citizen of or Registered/ Incorporated in Pakistan

  • Whose principal business falls in Defence, Telecom, Private security and Information and Broad casting **

  • NGO, NPO or a Body/ Agency/ Department of a foreign government, except cases covered under FCRA

  • Citizen of or Entities registered/incorporated in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Hong Kong or Macau and application for opening LO/BO in Jammu and Kashmir, North East region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (i.e. AD bank can permit to open office without referring matter to RBI if application is in other cities/states excluding Jammu and Kashmir, North East region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands

**  Prior approval not required where Government approval or license/permission by concerned Ministry/Regulator has already been granted.  Further, in the case of proposal for opening a PO relating to defence sector, no separate reference or approval of Government of India shall be required if the said non-resident applicant has been awarded a contract by/ entered into an agreement with Ministry of Defence or Service Headquarters or Defence Public Sector Undertakings

Branch Office

As a Branch Office (“BO”) in India, foreign companies can conduct full-fledged business in India. BO can carry the same or substantially the same trading activities as carried out by their parent or group companies.

Governing Law 
Establishment of a Branch Office of a foreign entity in India is regulated in terms of Section 6(6) of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (“FEMA“) read with FEMA 22(R)/ 2016-RB, dated 31.03.2016: Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of Branch Office or Liaison Office or a Project Office or any other Place of Business) Regulations, 2016 and Master Direction No. 10/2015-16 Dated 1-1-2016: Master Direction on Establishment of Branch Office (BO)/ Liaison Office (LO)/Project Office (PO) or any other Place of Business in India by Foreign Entities as amended from time to time.  A branch office of a foreign company in India upon approval from the RBI must be compulsorily registered under the (Indian) Companies Act, 2013. Upon registration under the Companies Act 2013, the branch office can carry on its business activities in the same way as a domestic company.  
Eligibility criteria –

a profit making track record during the immediately preceding five financial years in the home country.

Net Worth of not less than USD 100,000 or its equivalent i.e. total of paid-up capital and free reserves, less intangible assets as per the latest Audited Balance Sheet or Account Statement certified by a Certified Public Accountant or any Registered Accounts Practitioner by whatever name called.  

Permissible activities –

 

 

 

Export/import of goods

Rendering professional or consultancy services.

Carrying out research work in which the parent company is engaged.

Promoting technical or financial collaborations between Indian companies and parent or overseas group company.

Representing the parent company in India and acting as buying/ selling agent in India.

Rendering services in Information Technology and development of software in India

Rendering technical support to the products supplied by parent/group companies.

Representing a foreign airline/shipping company.

 

Restrictions –

Retail trading activities of any nature is not allowed for a Branch Office in India.

A Branch Office is not allowed to carry out manufacturing or processing activities in India, directly or indirectly.

Profits earned by the Branch Offices are freely remittable from India, subject to payment of applicable taxes.

Bank Account –

A BO may approach any AD Category-I Bank in India to open an account for its operations in India. Credits to the account should represent the funds received from Head Office through normal banking channels for meeting the expenses of the office and any legitimate receivables arising in the process of its business operations. Debits to this account shall be for the expenses incurred by the BO and towards remittance of profit/winding up proceeds.

Branch office in SEZs –

There is a general permission to non-resident companies for establishing BO in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to undertake manufacturing and service activities subject to the conditions that:

  1. such BOs are functioning in those sectors where 100% FDI is permitted;
  2. such BOs comply with Chapter XXII of the Companies Act, 2013; and
  3. such BOs function on a stand-alone basis.

Taxation –

A BO is considered as an extension of a foreign company in India. Therefore, income earned by the BO is taxed in India in accordance with the taxation provisions applicable to foreign companies under the Act.

In case the provisions of a tax treaty between India and the country of which the foreign company is resident, are more beneficial than the Act, then it is open to the foreign company to elect being taxed under the provisions of the relevant tax treaty.

Closure of Branch office –

In the event of winding-up of business and for remittance of winding-up proceeds, the branch shall approach an AD Category – I bank with the required documents.

Liaison Office

A Liaison office (‘LO’) also known as a representative office can be established in India to promote or facilitate the business of the parent company in India. An LO acts as a communication channel between the foreign headquarters and an Indian company.

Governing Law 
Establishment of a Branch Office of a foreign entity in India is regulated in terms of Section 6(6) of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (“FEMA“) read with FEMA 22(R)/ 2016-RB, dated 31.03.2016: Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of Branch Office or Liaison Office or a Project Office or any other Place of Business) Regulations, 2016 and Master Direction No. 10/2015-16 Dated 1-1-2016: Master Direction on Establishment of Branch Office (BO)/ Liaison Office (LO)/Project Office (PO) or any other Place of Business in India by Foreign Entities as amended from time to time.

Eligibility criteria –

A profit-making track record during the immediately preceding three financial years in the home country.

Net Worth – of not less than USD 50,000 or its equivalent i. e. total of paid-up capital and free reserves less intangible assets as per the latest Audited Balance Sheet or Account Statement certified by a Certified Public Accountant or any Registered Accounts Practitioner by whatever name called.

 

 

 

Representing the parent company / group companies in India. 

Promoting export / import from / to India

Promoting technical/ financial collaborations between parent / group companies and companies in India.

 

Acting as a communication channel between the parent company and Indian companies.

 

Bank Account –

An LO may approach the designated Authorised Dealer (AD) Category-I Bank in India to open an account to receive remittances from its Head Office outside India. It may be noted that an LO shall not maintain more than one bank account at any given time without the prior permission of Reserve Bank of India. The permitted Credits and Debits to the account shall be:

Credits

Funds received from Head Office through normal banking channels for meeting the expenses of the office.

Refund of security deposits paid from LO’s account or directly by the Head Office through normal banking channels.

Refund of taxes, duties etc., received from tax authorities, paid from LO’s bank account. Sale proceeds of assets of the LO

Debits

Only for meeting the local expenses of the office.

Taxation –

LO is not permitted to carry on any industrial, trading or commercial activities, nor to earn any income in India. However, sec 139(1) requires all companies to furnish a return of income. Hence, LO would also be required to file their return of income in India.

Validity Period –

License is given for three years and the same can be renewed every three years.

But, in the case of Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) and those entities engaged in construction and development sectors, the validity period is only two years, and no extension for these sectors (excluding infrastructure development companies) will be considered. Once the validity period expires, the liaison office has to either close down or be converted into a joint venture/wholly owned subsidiary in conformity with the FDI policy.

Closure of Liaison office –

For closure of the Liaison office, it shall approach an AD Category – I bank with the required documents

Project Office

A Project Office (‘PO’) can be established when a foreign company has been awarded a contract to execute a project in India from an Indian company. A PO is valid till the conclusion of the project.

Governing Law 

Establishment of a Branch Office of a foreign entity in India is regulated in terms of Section 6(6) of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (“FEMA“) read with FEMA 22(R)/ 2016-RB, dated 31.03.2016: Foreign Exchange Management (Establishment in India of Branch Office or Liaison Office or a Project Office or any other Place of Business) Regulations, 2016 and Master Direction No. 10/2015-16 Dated 1-1-2016: Master Direction on Establishment of Branch Office (BO)/ Liaison Office (LO)/Project Office (PO) or any other Place of Business in India by Foreign Entities as amended from time to time.   Project office of a foreign company can be set up in India only after obtaining the permission from Reserve Bank of India. Before setting up a project office in India, foreign companies need to secure a contract with an Indian company to start a project. A Foreign company establishing a project office in India is required to be registered with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) and to comply with certain procedural formalities, as prescribed under the Companies Act, 2013 and RBI guidelines.  

Eligibility criteria –

To establish a PO in India, the following additional conditions are required to be met in addition to the contract being awarded to the foreign company:
The project is funded by remittances from the parent company/overseas entity
The project is funded by a multilateral or bilateral international agency
The project has been cleared by the appropriate authority in India
The Indian company awarding the contract has been granted a term loan from a public financial institution for the project.

Permissible activities – 

The activities of the project office would depend upon the nature of the contract awarded by the Indian company to the foreign company.

Bank Account –

Any foreign entity except an entity from Pakistan who has been awarded a contract for a project by the Government authority/Public Sector Undertakings or are permitted by the AD to operate in India may open a bank account without any prior approval of the Reserve Bank.

An entity from Pakistan shall need prior approval of Reserve Bank of India to open a bank account for its project office in India. 

Project office can have two foreign currency accounts- one denominated in USD and other in the home currency of the awardees of the project- but with the same bank. 

The permissible debits to the account shall be payment of project related expenditure and credits shall be foreign currency receipts from the Project Sanctioning Authority and remittances from parent/group company abroad or bilateral / multilateral international financing agency.

The foreign currency accounts have to be closed at the completion of the project.

Taxation –

A PO is considered as an extension of a foreign company in India. Therefore, income earned by the project office is taxable in India in accordance with the taxation provisions applicable to foreign companies under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (“Act”).

Validity Period –

There is no particular time limit as to the duration of the project office. The same shall be subject to the contract between the foreign company and the Indian company.

Closure of Project office –

Reserve Bank of India has granted general permission for closure of Project office and for remittance of surplus money on completion/winding up of the project subject to fulfillment of certain conditions.

Annual Compliance applicable to BO / LO / PO

Form Name

Description

Due date

Authority 

 

 

 

 

Form 49C *

Annual Statement under section 285 of the IT Act

30th May every year

Income Tax

 

 

 

 

FC-4

Annual return of foreign company

30th May every year

ROC

 

 

 

 

FC-3

Annual accounts with list of principal places in India by foreign companies

30th Sept every year

ROC

 

 

 

 

AAC, Annual Accounts

Annual activity certificate along with annual accounts

30th Sept every year **

AD Bank, DGIT, DGP

 

 

 

 

DGP Annexure (applicable to entities from specified countries)

Various information

Not yet prescribed

DGP, AD Bank

 

 

 

 

ITR-6

Income tax return filing by companies

30th Sept /30th Nov every year ***

Income Tax

 

 

 

*  Applicable to LO Only

** No due date prescribed for PO

*** For BO & PO if Transfer Pricing is applicable

Our Expertise

Our Services

  • 01
    Valuation

    Valuation opinion requires the right blend of analysis, experience and professional judgement. Our team has a Registered Valuer as required under

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  • 02
    Due Diligence

    We provide financial, tax and corporate law due diligence support to our clients for inbound and outbound transactions.

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  • 03
    ESOP

    ESOPs are one of the important tools to attract and retain employees and have long term career with the organization.

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  • 04
    RBI / FEMA Compliance

    There are several compliances specified under FEMA for Indian Companies having FDI and ODI (Indian entities having investments in overseas Joint Venture

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  • 05
    NBFC Registration and Compliances

    We carry experience of 15 years for registration of the NBCF with the RBI or carry out the process for change in management and control of the NBFC.

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  • 06
    Fintech

    FinTech Companies are broadly categorized into digital payments or digital lending Companies. At Affluence,

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  • 07
    Foreign Entities

    India has emerged as one of the most attractive destinations not only for investments

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  • 08
    Company Secretarial Compliances

    We provide the entire gamut of Corporate Law Services, essential in rapidly changing regulatory and corporate environment.

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  • 09
    SEBI Registration and Compliances

    SEBI plays an important role in regulating all the players operating in the Indian capital markets. It attempts to protect the interest of investors and aims at

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  • 10
    Stressed Asset Resolution under IBC

    We provide advisory and support services to the corporates/other entities, devising and structuring solutions for stress mitigation in their enterprises/units.

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  • 11
    Initial Public Offer

    On the journey of transformation of a private company into a public company, success depends a great deal on a coordinated team

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  • 12
    Direct Tax

    The efforts of any management in modern business environment are towards enhancing a shareholder’s value. The taxes (both direct and indirect) and

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  • 13
    Indirect Tax

    We at Affluence, adopt a comprehensive approach for implementation and compliances related to the GST and with an object to offer seamless services to our clients listed below.

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  • 14
    Accounts Outsourcing

    In the fast-changing environment, procuring and retaining skilled staff is a challenge. Specially in the case of SMEs, in the absence of accounting manual

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  • 15
    Risk Advisory

    Today’s businesses across the globe increasingly seek better decision-making and stronger internal controls in order to attain greater shareholder value.

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  • 16
    Startup and MSME Advisory

    ‘Startup India’ is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to catalyze startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and

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  • 17
    Assurance

    Assurance and accounting services are directed towards supporting stakeholders such as lenders and investors. Our standardized

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  • 18
    Directors Due Diligence

    Director stand in a fiduciary position with the Company and Director will be held liable if Director do not act diligently in discharging his/her duties.

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We are Professional

Our Team

People are our greatest asset and we believe in our people. Our multi disciplinary team would always go that extra mile to ensure that all the client deliverables are prepared within agreed time frame to technical standards and presentational quality. Our success is greatly dependent on quality and performance of our people.

  • CA Nimish Khakhar

    Nimish Khakhar

    He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has over 23 years of experience in Transaction (M &A) and Transaction Support Services (Vendor and Buyer side Due Diligence). His Portfolio includes both Brick and Mortar and Modern Trade Businesses. He has played key roles in a few large M & A transactions and is also been actively involved in advising Unicorns since the commencement of operations.

  • CS S. N. Baheti

    S. N. Baheti

    He is an Associate Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has 42 years of work experience in banking and financial services (including 34 years in IDBI group), with a diversified work profile having all-round exposure to activities of Development Financial Institutions, Infrastructure Debt Fund (NBFC), Mutual Funds, Commercial Banking, NBFC-HFC, and Company Boards including MD and CEO positions and Directorships in large corporates. Presently handling assignments as Insolvency Professional. He has played a key role as RBI representative in the resolution of one of the largest NBFC transaction.

  • Sanjiv Kumar Sachdev

    Sanjiv Kumar Sachdev

    Banking professional with more than 36 years of experience in Bank and more than 25 years of experience in Project Evaluation and financing, Financial Restructuring, Resolution of Stress Accounts, Debt Syndication, Infrastructure projects, Relationship management & networking, Business development, Legal and contractual Documentation and Business Planning. During his tenure with the Bank, he had held important portfolio’s and was heading Large Corporate Group of the Bank. He also worked in Infrastructure Corporate Group for Northern Region. He was involved in various policy meetings for development of Infrastructure Projects organised by various Govt agencies and Indian Banks’ Association. He has been Chairing many consortium meetings of Lenders for Debt Syndication as well as Resolution of Stress Assets.

  • CA Dwiresh Oza

    Dwiresh Oza

    He is having 27 years of extensive professional experience in Corporate Finance, Project Finance, Private Equity, Public/Rights Issues, Due Diligence, Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR), ERP implementation, 50:50 International Joint Venture, Closely held as well as Listed Manufacturing Accounting, Statutory/Internal/Tax Audit and knowledge of IFRS. Have worked for more than 10 years in Infrastructure, viz. Ports and roads. Have demonstrated the ability to work across teams and with the senior management and Board of Directors in achieving various strategic initiatives on a time-bound and structured approach.

  • CA Payal Gada

    Payal Gada

    She is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has 18 years of post-qualification experience. She is a registered valuer with IBBI as Valuation Professional and for the last 8 years, she is working on financial modeling and fair value analysis across different industries for diverse purposes, including regulatory/compliance, investment, and financial reporting. Fair valuation across asset classes including but not limited to business valuation, intangible, ESOPs, convertible instruments, and other complex instruments.

  • CA Rashmi Dubey

    Rashmi Dubey

    She is an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Over 6 years of post-qualification experience she has specialized in Risk Advisory. Her Risk Advisory experience includes internal audit, ICFR, designing of SOPs, corporate governance, enterprise risk management, internal audits.

  • CS Sachin Kotian

    Sachin Kotian

    He is a fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Over 15 years of experience, he has expanded his advisory and compliance services in respect of Companies Act/ SEBI / RBI / FEMA /NBFC and other Corporate Laws. Further, Research is his area of interest.

  • CS Rajeshri Kanojia

    Rajeshri Kanojia

    She is an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India with 10 years of experience in secretarial compliance and legal matters. Her forte is RBI and FEMA compliances and she is leading advisory and compliances practice of financial services which includes NBFC and Fintech Companies. Her LLB qualification gives her an edge to attend Corporate agreements and Corporate Laws.

  • CS Vinesh Mestry

    Vinesh Mestry

    He is an associated member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. His horizon for more than 7 years in the field of Corporate Law and adjudication-related matters before Regional Directors, NCLT. His LLB qualification gives an additional advantage in matters relating to Compounding, Mergers & Amalgamations before Regional Directors, NCLT & Other Regulatory Authorities.

  • CS Bhavesh Chheda

    Bhavesh Chheda

    He is an associated member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has experience of more than 8 years and focuses on BSE and NSE Listed Companies and SEBI and Corporate Governance related matters. He also supports the compliance team in respect of Companies Act / RBI / FEMA / Corporate law.

  • CS Tanvi Shah

    Tanvi Shah

    She is an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Over 5 years of post-qualification experience, she focuses on Compliances of Companies Act/RBI/ and NBFC.

  • CS Karishma Parmar

    Karishma Parmar

    She is an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Her interest is in Compliances of Company Law/RBI and NBFC.

  • CA Ambarish Sodha

    Ambarish Sodha

    He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Over 43 years in direct tax litigation and tax advisory services, he appears before first and second appellate authorities. Over and above Profession, he is actively engaged in several social causes including promoting girls’ education in rural areas.

  • CA Payal Khakhar

    Payal Khakhar

    She is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. She has experience with over two decades. She heads indirect tax practice that covers regular GST compliances, GST reviews, and advisory services across different sectors.

  • CA Tejas Sodha

    Tejas Sodha

    He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He handles Direct tax litigation and compliance for over 12 years and regularly appears before first and second appellate authorities. He advises NRI on direct tax and withholding tax matters. His involvement in complex tax structuring has been appreciated by the Clients.

  • CA Dipesh Sangoi

    Dipesh Sangoi

    He is a fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He heads Assurance practice and handles listed as well as unlisted companies and MNCs over the last 15 years. He manages Statutory Audits, Bank Audits - Central Statutory and Branch Audits, and Certification work for obtaining Bank Finance and certificates required for Public Issues.

  • CA Payal Doshi

    Payal Doshi

    She is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Her 10 years of experience is channelized towards Statutory Audits of Listed as well as unlisted entities and Tax Audits and Certification work.

  • CA Viral Shah

    Viral Shah

    He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has experience of more than 7 years and he is involved in Statutory Audits of Listed as well as Unlisted entities and Tax Audits and Bank Audits.

  • CA Ritesh Jain

    Ritesh Jain

    He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He is engaged in compliance and management support functions. His industry experience contributes significantly to his delivery.

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