Foreign Companies Setting up Branch Office(BO), Project Office (PO) and Liaison Office (LO) in India is required to make application to AD category Banks through which it wishes to peruse Banking Operations  

Eligibility Criteria for Setting up Branch Office / Project Office or Liaison Office in India 

• The Applicant Company Should be Body Corporate Incorporated Outside India 
• For Branch Office — a profit making track record during the immediately preceding five financial years in the home country and net worth of not less than USD 100,000 or its equivalent.
• For Liaison Office — a profit making track record during the immediately preceding three financial years in the home country and net worth of not less than USD 50,000 or its equivalent.

Note: 
An applicant that is not financially sound and is a subsidiary of another company may submit a Letter of Comfort (LOC) (Annex A) from its parent/ group company, subject to the condition that the parent/ group company satisfies the prescribed criteria for net worth and profit.

Net worth : 

Net Worth [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].

Cases in Which RBI Approval is required for Setting up Branch Office(BO), Project Office (PO) and Liaison Office (LO) in India

• The applicant is a citizen of or is registered/incorporated in Pakistan;
• The applicant is a citizen of or is registered/incorporated in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Hong Kong or Macau and the application is for opening a BO/LO/PO in Jammu and Kashmir, North East region and Andaman and Nicobar Islands;
• The principal business of the applicant falls in the four sectors namely Defence, Telecom, Private Security and Information and Broadcasting.
• The applicant is a Non-Government Organisation (NGO), Non-Profit Organisation, Body/ Agency/ Department of a foreign government.

Procedure for making Application to AD-Category Bank for Setting up Branch Office(BO), Project Office (PO) and Liaison Office (LO) in India

If the Applicant Company fulfills the above mentioned eligibility Criteria , the Application can be made to AD category Bank through which applicant company wishes to peruse Banking Relations 

1. The Application shall be made in Form Form FNC  to a designated AD Category – I bank along with Following Documents : 

• Copy of the Certificate of Incorporation / Registration; Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association attested by the Notary Public in the country of registration.
  
  [If the original Certificate is in a language other than in English, the same may be translated into English and notarized as above and cross verified/attested by the Indian Embassy/ Consulate in the home country].
• Audited Balance sheet of the applicant company for the last three/ five years in case of branch office/liaison office respectively.
  
  [If the applicants’ home country laws/regulations do not insist on auditing of accounts, an Account Statement certified by a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or any Registered Accounts Practitioner by any name, clearly showing the net worth may be submitted]
• 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 in favor of signatory of Form FNC in case the Head of the overseas entity is not signing the Form FNC.
  

The AD Category-I bank shall after exercising due diligence in respect of the applicant’s background, and satisfying itself as regards adherence to the eligibility criteria for establishing BO/LO/PO, antecedents of the promoter, nature and location of activity of the applicant, sources of funds, etc., and compliance with the extant KYC norms grant approval to the foreign entity for establishing BO/LO/PO in India. The AD Category-I banks may frame appropriate policy for dealing with these applications in conformity with the FEMA Regulations and Directions, However RBI will issue LIN to every BO/LO.

The validity period of an LO is generally for three years, except in the case of Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) and those entities engaged in construction and development sectors, for whom the validity period is two years only. The validity period of the project office is for the tenure of the project.

Once  applicant that has received a permission for setting up of a BO/LO/PO shall inform the designated AD Category I bank as to the date on which the BO/LO/PO has been set up. The AD Category I bank in turn shall inform Reserve Bank accordingly. In case an approval granted by the AD bank has either been surrendered by the applicant or has expired without any BO/LO/PO being set up, the AD Category I bank shall inform RBI accordingly.

Fastllegal provides Business setup Services for foreign Entities in India , companies may contact at mail@fastlegal.in or Place a request at https://fastlegal.in/place-your-request.html