The certificate of incorporation is in hand, the parent board has signed off, and the Indian compliance calendar has already started. For a newly incorporated foreign company in India, the first twelve months carry more statutory deadlines than most overseas management teams expect. Some fall within 30 days, some within 180, and a few are triggered the moment foreign money reaches the bank account.
What usually goes wrong isn't the headline filing. It's the small one nobody owned: a Board meeting held on day 35, an inflow never reported to the RBI, or a payment to the parent made before the paperwork existed. This guide walks through all the India compliances for a newly incorporated foreign company in the order they fall due, across corporate law, income tax, FEMA, GST and labour law. If you are still choosing a structure, start with our foreign company registration in India service.
Worth knowing upfront: these obligations run from the date of incorporation, not the date revenue begins. A subsidiary with zero sales in year one is still a fully regulated Indian company.
| When | What | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Within 30 days of incorporation | First Board meeting; first auditor appointment | Companies Act, 2013 |
| Within 15 days of auditor appointment | Form ADT-1 | Companies Act, 2013 |
| Within 30 days of receiving funds | Inflow reported on RBI's FIRMS portal | FEMA |
| Within 30 days of allotment | Form FC-GPR | FEMA |
| Within 180 days | Form INC-20A | Companies Act, 2013 |
| Monthly / quarterly | TDS and GST returns | Income tax / GST |
| 15 July | FLA return | FEMA |
| 30 September | Director KYC (DIR-3) | Companies Act, 2013 |
| 31 October (30 November with transfer pricing) | Income tax return | Income tax |
| After the AGM | AOC-4 (30 days), MGT-7/7A (60 days) | Companies Act, 2013 |
Company law starts the clock immediately. Indian regulatory frameworks require the Board to meet and designate the company's first statutory auditor within a 30-day window from the date of incorporation, irrespective of commercial activity. If the Board misses the window, members can appoint the auditor at an extraordinary general meeting within the next 90 days. The revised Form ADT-1, effective July 2025, now carries a "first auditor" option, and filing it within 15 days of appointment is the safe practice. Our blog on statutory audit for foreign companies in India explains who can sign the report and how the audit cycle works.
The first Board meeting is also where directors give their disclosures, statutory registers are opened and share certificates are authorised. Two points regularly trip up foreign promoters. At least one director must be resident in India (182 days or more in the financial year). And the company must identify its significant beneficial owners, which usually means looking through the foreign holding structure up to the ultimate parent.
Money coming in from abroad creates reporting duties with the RBI, separate from anything filed with the Registrar of Companies:
• Report the inflow on the FIRMS portal within 30 days of receipt
• Allot the shares within 60 days of receipt, failing which the amount must be refunded
• File Form FC-GPR within 30 days of share allotment, through the AD (authorised dealer) bank
• File the Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA) return by 15 July every year
While delays in RBI and FEMA compliances can be regularised through the compounding process, meeting the deadlines prevents unnecessary complications during critical events like capital repatriation or debt financing. Our guides on FC-GPR, FC-TRS and FLA returns and on FEMA regulations in India explain the framework. Our FEMA and RBI compliance team handles the filings end to end.
Every company having share capital is required to file Form INC-20A on the MCA portal within 180 days of its incorporation, confirming that all the subscribers have paid the amount of share capital. Until it is filed, the company cannot commence its business or exercise borrowing powers. Default attracts a ₹50,000 penalty on the company, further penalties on officers, and possible strike-off proceedings. Practically the sequence is very simple: open the company's bank account, receive the subscription amount from the parent entity, and file the form well before 180 days expire.
PAN and TAN are issued at incorporation, so the real work comes afterwards. The company must deduct and deposit TDS on expenses such as salaries, vendor payments and payments to non-residents where the threshold is exceeded, file quarterly TDS returns and pay advance tax in quarterly instalments. The annual return (ITR-6) is generally due on 31 October for audited companies, or 30 November where transfer pricing applies.
One change needs attention. The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026 and replaces the concepts of "previous year" and "assessment year" with a single "tax year". Income earned up to 31 March 2026 is still assessed under the 1961 Act, while income from 1 April 2026 falls under the new law, with revised rules and forms. A company incorporated after that date will work under the new framework from its first tax year. Our comparison of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the Income Tax Bill, 2025 covers the structural changes.
This is the typical area where most foreign-owned entities face scrutiny. Management fees, royalties, software licences, shared services and intercompany loans are international transactions that must be priced at arm's length, supported by documentation and an accountant's report (Form 3CEB, which the Income-tax Rules, 2026 replace with Form 48).
Every remittance to the parent also needs a withholding tax review and Forms 15CA/15CB. To claim treaty rates, the parent needs a tax residency certificate and Form 41; see our Form 41 guide and the blog on DTAA benefits for foreign investors. Our international tax advisory and compliance team advises on structuring these flows before the first commercial invoice is raised, and our repatriation and wealth transfer advisory covers sending the profits to the home country.
GST registration becomes compulsory once turnover crosses the prescribed threshold, though many foreign subsidiaries register earlier to claim input tax credit on set-up costs. Three issues come up repeatedly: services imported from the parent may attract GST under reverse charge; exports of services to the parent can be zero-rated if a Letter of Undertaking is in place; and registered companies must file monthly or quarterly returns plus an annual return. See our GST compliance services and the blog on GST implications on cross-border transactions.
Once the first financial year closes on 31 March, the annual cycle begins: financial statements under Schedule III, the statutory audit, and the AGM (the first AGM can be held within nine months of the first year-end; later ones within six months). Form AOC-4 follows within 30 days of the AGM and Form MGT-7 or MGT-7A within 60 days. Directors complete DIR-3 KYC by 30 September, and Form DPT-3 is due by 30 June where applicable. Clean books throughout the year make this far easier than a year-end scramble, which is where accounting outsourcing helps.
Depending on activity and headcount, a new company may also need Provident Fund and ESI registration, professional tax, a Shops and Establishments licence, an Importer Exporter Code and sector licences. Foreign nationals posted to India add visa, registration and personal tax questions, covered by our expatriate taxation and advisory service. For the sector view, read government permissions and approvals for foreign companies and our guide on legal requirements for business setup in India.
• Treating a zero-revenue year as a zero-compliance year
• Remitting the amount of capital before the bank and KYC trail is ready
• Paying the parent without transfer pricing documentation or a withholding review
• Allotting shares late and missing the FEMA windows
• Leaving departmental notices unanswered; our tax litigation services exist for this, and our blog on 7 pitfalls foreign companies face covers more
We work with foreign companies from incorporation through every annual cycle. Our team coordinates the Board and ROC filings, FEMA and RBI reporting, income tax, transfer pricing and GST as one connected calendar, so your overseas team deals with one firm rather than five advisors. For the wider picture, see cross-border tax planning for businesses expanding into India and setting up a foreign subsidiary in India.
Compliance in the first year decides how smoothly the Indian entity banks, files, remits profits and handles audits for years afterwards. A clear calendar, owned by someone in India, is cheaper than fixing a missed filing later.
Need help with post-incorporation compliance? Contact R Pareva & Company | www.rpareva.com | info@rpareva.com | +91 9711323533
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