One question per page, answered with the section, rule, rate and form — for Indian subsidiaries of foreign companies, Indian companies going abroad and the finance teams that serve them. Every page gives the Income-tax Act, 2025 reference with the 1961 Act number alongside, and is reviewed by a partner of the firm.
Start with the short answer at the top of any page — it states the rule, the figure and the provision in two or three sentences. The key facts table under it gives old and new references, thresholds, timing and form numbers. Then read on for the explanation, a worked example, the mistakes we see in practice and the primary sources.
The hub is organised around the five rulebooks that touch a typical cross-border invoice: transfer pricing, the intercompany contract, GST, withholding tax on the remittance, and FEMA.
Arm's length pricing, safe harbour, APAs, documentation and the accountant's report under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Reviewed by Suchit Jhunjhunwala, FCA.
Written service agreements between an Indian subsidiary and its foreign parent — cost base, markup, true-ups and signing formalities. Reviewed by Vidushi Jhunjhunwala, FCA.
Export of services, place of supply, LUT, export invoices, ITC refunds, reverse charge on imports and pure-agent reimbursements. Reviewed by Monal Agarwal, FCA.
Withholding tax on payments to non-residents, Forms 145/146, royalty and FTS under treaties, export realisation and group recharges. Reviewed by Vidushi Jhunjhunwala, FCA.
FDI into Indian subsidiaries, FC-GPR and FLA, pricing guidelines, ODI, ECB, buy-backs and LRS. Reviewed by Suchit Jhunjhunwala, FCA.
Longer reads on the decisions that sit upstream of compliance — entity choice, permanent establishment risk, repatriation and group financing.
How a foreign company should choose between a wholly owned subsidiary, a branch office, a project office and a liaison office in India: permitted activities, RBI approval and eligibility (track record and net worth), tax rates, repatriation, liability and the typical decision for technology and services businesses.
International taxHow a foreign company becomes taxable in India through a permanent establishment: fixed place, service, agency and construction PEs under India's treaties, the Supreme Court's 2025 Hyatt decision on operational control, remote employees and seconded staff, business connection and significant economic presence under section 9 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and profit attribution.
GCCA structured guide to the tax and regulatory design of a Global Capability Centre in India in 2026: entity and FDI, the cost-plus model and the 15.5% safe harbour, intercompany agreement, GST exports and refunds, FEMA realisation and reporting, PE containment, SEZ versus non-SEZ, ESOPs for Indian staff and the annual compliance cadence.
RepatriationA decision guide for foreign parents on extracting cash from an Indian subsidiary: the after-tax cost of dividends at treaty rates, buy-backs under the 2026 capital-gains treatment, royalties and service fees that are deductible but transfer-pricing tested, interest within the section 177 cap, and how groups sequence them.
WithholdingWhether Indian companies must withhold tax on subscriptions to foreign SaaS, cloud and software: the domestic royalty definition versus treaty business profits after Engineering Analysis (2021), the end of the equalisation levy, Forms 145/146 for each vendor, GST reverse charge on OIDAR services, and a vendor-by-vendor decision process.
WithholdingThe compliance steps when an Indian company pays an overseas freelancer, consultant or contractor: classifying the payment as fees for technical services or business profits, treaty relief with TRC and Form 41, withholding under section 393(2), Forms 145/146 thresholds, GST reverse charge on imported services, contractor versus employee risk, and the bank's purpose code.
PeopleTax and exchange-control treatment when a foreign parent grants stock options or RSUs to employees of its Indian subsidiary: perquisite tax on exercise and the Indian employer's withholding, capital gains on sale, foreign asset disclosure and foreign tax credit, FEMA permission under the Overseas Investment Rules, Form OPI reporting, repatriation of sale proceeds, and the transfer pricing treatment of recharged ESOP cost.
PeopleHow to structure the secondment of a foreign parent's employees to its Indian subsidiary: who employs and pays, Indian payroll and social security, the service-PE and fees-for-technical-services risk for the parent, GST on salary reimbursements after Northern Operating Systems, and the documents that keep the arrangement defensible.
Transfer pricingTransfer pricing for financial transactions involving Indian companies: benchmarking interest on inbound and outbound intra-group loans (CUP, credit rating, currency), the safe harbour benchmarks for loans and corporate guarantees, interest-free loans to foreign subsidiaries, guarantee fees, outstanding receivables as deemed loans, and the interaction with ECB rules and section 177.
International taxHow India's place of effective management test in section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 can make a foreign-incorporated company — a founder's Delaware or Singapore holding company, for instance — resident and taxable in India on worldwide income: the CBDT guidelines, the active-business-outside-India test, the ₹50 crore turnover carve-out, consequences and how to manage board governance.
ComplianceA single-page calendar of the recurring obligations of an Indian subsidiary of a foreign company: monthly GST and TDS, quarterly TDS statements, advance tax and ITC refunds, the FLA return, AGM and ROC filings, Form 48 transfer pricing report, income-tax return, master file, GSTR-9, APR, Form OPI, LUT renewal and the safe harbour Form 49 — with the form numbers under the 2026 rules.
New ActA practical summary of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Income-tax Rules, 2026 for Indian subsidiaries of foreign groups and companies making cross-border payments: the single 'tax year', the renumbered sections (161–173 transfer pricing, 393 withholding, 395 certificates, 207 rates, 159 treaties, 177 thin cap), the new forms (48, 49, 41, 44, 56–60, 128, 145, 146), the 2026 safe harbour and APA changes, and what stays the same.
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