Execute a specific contract in India through a temporary project office under RBI's general permission — then close it.
When a foreign company wins a contract to execute a project in India, such as an infrastructure, engineering or installation contract from an Indian company, it can open a project office for the duration of that project without forming an Indian company. The Reserve Bank of India grants general permission for this if the project is funded by inward remittance from abroad, by a bilateral or multilateral financing agency, or by a term loan from an Indian bank, and the AD bank handles the approval. Fastlegal prepares the application, registers the office with the Registrar of Companies, obtains tax IDs, and manages closure and remittance of the surplus when the project ends.
One fixed professional fee, inclusive of GST, agreed with you before any work starts — no hourly billing, no surprises, and nothing charged until you approve it. AD bank charges, ROC fees and apostille or consularisation costs extra, at actuals.
Order project office registration and pay online in INR or by international card; we review your contract on a short call.
Upload the contract, funding evidence, apostilled parent documents and representative KYC to your Fastlegal dashboard.
We submit the application through the AD bank, obtain the UIN, file FC-1 with the ROC and complete PAN, TAN and GST registration.
Track approval and registration in your dashboard and download the bank approval, ROC certificate and tax registrations when issued.
When your foreign company has secured a specific contract to execute a project in India and needs a local presence only for that project. For ongoing business in India, a branch office or subsidiary is more suitable.
Under current rules the project must be funded directly by inward remittance from abroad, or by a bilateral or multilateral international financing agency, or have been cleared by an appropriate authority, or the Indian company awarding the contract must have obtained a term loan from an Indian bank or public financial institution. If these are not met, specific RBI approval is required and we advise accordingly.
No. Parent-company documents are apostilled or attested by the Indian embassy abroad and uploaded to your dashboard. Your project manager or representative in India signs locally where needed.
Typically 4–6 weeks after apostilled documents reach us, since general permission cases are processed by the AD bank rather than referred to RBI. Timelines depend on the bank and MCA and are not guaranteed.
The office must file annual accounts and returns with the ROC (FC-3 and FC-4), an income tax return as a foreign company, GST returns, and an Annual Activity Certificate with the AD bank. Withholding tax on payments received from the Indian customer also needs to be tracked for credit.
The project office must be closed: a closure application is made to the AD bank with a chartered accountant's certificate, tax clearance and ROC filings, after which the surplus can be remitted to the parent. We handle closure as a separate engagement when your project ends.
Project Office Registration in India
4–6 weeks after documents are apostilled, subject to AD bank and MCA processing