EOR from China to India.

A company headquartered in or operating from China can hire full-time employees in India without setting up an Indian legal entity by using an Employer of Record (EOR) like TMS. TMS becomes the legal employer in India, handles payroll, statutory compliance, and benefits — typically live within 48 hours.

Why companies from China hire Indian talent through an EOR

• Access India’s STEM scale. India produces roughly 1.5 million STEM graduates annually with strong English-language working ability and a deep engineering talent pool across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, and the Delhi NCR.
• Diversify your engineering footprint. Adding India alongside existing China teams gives geographic redundancy, additional time-zone coverage, and a second talent pool for hiring competition.
• Cost-competitive at engineering scale. Senior engineering compensation in major Indian tech cities is broadly competitive with Tier-1 Chinese tech cities, with strong English-fluency that simplifies global client interaction.
• Time-zone overlap. India is 2.5 hours behind China standard time. A 9am Beijing or Shanghai start is 6:30am in Bangalore — close enough for full daily overlap with light shift adjustment.
• Avoid the India entity setup hurdle. Setting up a wholly-owned Indian subsidiary takes 4-6 months and ~₹15-35 lakh in first-year operational cost — and is subject to additional regulatory review for companies with Chinese ownership under Press Note 3 (2020). EOR through TMS sidesteps the entity-setup process entirely.

How EOR China to India works

1. TMS is the legal employer of record in India. Employee signs an Indian employment contract with TMS. TMS issues offer letter, pays salary in INR, deducts statutory taxes, files all returns.
2. You retain operational control. Day-to-day work, performance management, projects, goals stay with your team. Relationship governed by Master Services Agreement (MSA).
3. No Indian permanent establishment for your parent entity. Because TMS is the employer, your parent company does not create taxable presence in India by virtue of having staff here.
4. Your payment to TMS is a deductible service expense in your operating jurisdiction, invoiced in USD, CNY, INR, or other currency by agreement.

Practical note on contracting party. TMS typically contracts with the operating entity that is signing the MSA and paying the invoices. For groups with multiple regional entities (e.g., HK or Singapore subsidiary alongside mainland operations), the MSA can be signed with whichever entity is most efficient for billing, compliance, and audit purposes.

Roles companies from China typically place on TMS payroll

• Software engineers (backend, full-stack, frontend, mobile) — the dominant category.
• DevOps, SRE, and platform engineering — strong India talent pool, time-zone advantage.
• QA and SDET — automation-heavy roles.
• Data engineers and ML/AI engineers — strong growth corridor.
• Embedded software and IoT engineering — for hardware-led clients.
• Customer support for English-speaking customer bases (not domestic Chinese-language support).
• Sales development reps (SDRs) targeting US/EU markets from India for companies expanding global outbound.

On language. TMS’s India talent pool works in English. For Chinese-language requirements (Mandarin or Cantonese customer support, in-depth coordination with non-English-speaking China staff), India is not typically the right pool — TMS recommends keeping those roles in China or considering Singapore / Malaysia for nearshore Mandarin capacity.

The TMS 5-step onboarding process

1. MSA and scope agreement — commercial terms, IP assignment, confidentiality, exit provisions.
2. Candidate sign-on — Indian offer letter, KYC, PAN, Aadhaar, prior-employer relieving letter, bank details.
3. Statutory enrollment — EPF, ESI (if applicable), professional tax, gratuity nomination.
4. Payroll setup and first salary credit — CTC structured per Indian conventions.
5. Monthly compliance and reporting — EPF, ESI, PT, TDS, quarterly statutory returns.

We deploy talent in 48 hours.

EOR vs setting up your own India entity

For 1-25 hires, EOR is overwhelmingly the right path. The entity-setup math: – Registrations and legal: ₹3-12 lakh. – Operational setup: ₹15-35 lakh (auditor, payroll software, HRMS, compliance consultant, banking, FX). – Time to operational: 4-6 months minimum. – Additional regulatory review under Press Note 3 (2020) for entities with Chinese ownership — adds approval timeline. – Ongoing burden: 80-150 hours per month of HR + compliance work.

EOR through TMS replaces all of that with a single per-employee fee, 48-hour deployment, zero PE risk, one-line accounting.

When EOR fits: 1-25 employees, market-test phase, multi-country expansion. When to transition: 30+ India headcount, Indian directorial presence on roadmap, strategic IP held by Indian subsidiary. TMS supports the EOR-to-entity transition as a standard service.

FAQ

Q1: Does my company need an Indian entity to hire engineers in India? No. Through an EOR like TMS, you can hire full-time Indian employees without registering an Indian company.

Q2: How fast can a new hire be live on TMS payroll? For candidates you have already identified, TMS deploys talent in 48 hours.

Q3: Who is the legal employer — TMS or my parent company? TMS. The Indian employee signs an Indian employment contract with TMS. This eliminates Indian permanent-establishment risk for your parent entity.

Q4: Are there restrictions on Chinese-owned companies hiring in India via EOR? EOR is a services arrangement, not an investment by your parent company in an Indian entity. The Press Note 3 (2020) FDI rules govern direct investment into India by entities from countries sharing a land border with India. An EOR services contract — where TMS is paid for HR services and is the legal employer — does not constitute FDI. Please consult your own legal counsel for specifics applicable to your structure.

Q5: Can I convert my EOR hires to my own Indian entity later? Yes. TMS supports EOR-to-entity transition as a standard service. We preserve EPF continuity, gratuity tenure, and employee experience.

Q6: Can my India team work China business hours? Yes. India is 2.5 hours behind China standard time. A 9am-6pm Beijing day is roughly 6:30am-3:30pm in Bangalore. Many India engineering teams work an early IST shift for full China-hours coverage.

Q7: How are India statutory benefits handled? TMS administers EPF (12% employer + 12% employee), ESI where applicable, professional tax, gratuity (4.81% provision), paid leave per Shops & Establishments Act, and maternity benefits.

Q8: What does TMS NOT handle? TMS handles employment, payroll, statutory compliance, and benefits. Not in scope: IP assignment specifics (covered in MSA), employee equity/RSU administration, individual income tax filing for non-Indian persons, work-visa processing for travel outside India, Chinese-language training, and direct contracting that bypasses TMS as employer of record.

Illustrative engagement — A regional tech company building India engineering