India business expansion, planned end to end and run by one partner.
If you are planning to expand business to India, TMS handles incorporation, FEMA and RBI filings, tax structuring, banking, workforce onboarding and ongoing compliance under a single owner. You get one point of contact from the first call to the first payroll, and a clear paper trail your global HQ can audit.
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What India market entry actually involves
India business expansion is the full sequence of setting up a legal presence, opening the right bank accounts, registering for direct and indirect taxes, meeting FEMA and RBI reporting on foreign share capital, hiring your first team, and keeping the entity in good standing every quarter after that. Most global HQs underestimate the number of parallel workstreams. Incorporation is one filing. The operating entity that follows it is thirty.
TMS runs all of it under one roof. We are not a pure incorporation firm, and we are not only a workforce provider. We sit between company secretaries, chartered accountants, bankers and HR operations, so your finance and legal teams in the home country speak to one owner instead of five vendors.
“Automatic Route” FDI applies to most sectors and does not need prior government approval, but post-investment RBI reporting through FC-GPR is still mandatory. Sensitive sectors and any investor from a country sharing a land border with India need Government Route approval under Press Note 3 (2020). We flag the route on the first call.
What TMS delivers when you incorporate a company in India
Eight workstreams, one plan, one owner. You approve, we execute, and we keep the compliance calendar running long after go-live.
Incorporation and registration
Entity choice, name reservation, DIN and DSC, SPICe+ filing with the MCA, PAN, TAN, GST, IEC, professional tax and Shops and Establishments where applicable.
FEMA and RBI compliance
FDI route confirmation, FIRC coordination with your AD Category-I bank, FC-GPR for share allotment, annual FLA return, and the sector-cap check that sits behind all of it.
Tax structuring
Corporate tax positioning, GST registration and rate mapping, transfer pricing readiness, and a plain-English view of the applicable double taxation avoidance agreement between India and your home country.
Board and secretarial
Resident director support, board minutes, statutory registers, share allotment, annual ROC filings and the meeting cadence a listed HQ needs from a foreign subsidiary.
Banking
Introductions to AD Category-I banks, account opening documentation, foreign inward remittance handling and rupee current account setup for operational spend.
Workforce from day one via EOR
You can hire people in India before your entity is registered. TMS runs the team on our own payroll through EOR in India, then migrates them to your entity payroll once incorporation is complete.
Office and infrastructure
Registered office address, coworking or Grade-A leased space introductions, IT and asset setup, and the vendor coordination that usually eats a country manager’s first two months.
Ongoing governance
Monthly payroll and statutory filings, quarterly compliance reviews, annual audit preparation and a single dashboard that lets your global CFO see what was filed, when, and by whom.
Which entity structure fits your India plan
Four common paths, four different tax and control profiles. We recommend a structure based on your five-year headcount, revenue booking model and repatriation plan, not a template.
| Consideration | Private Limited | LLP | Branch or Liaison Office | EOR (no entity) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Long-term operating entity with employees, revenue and IP in India | Services and professional firms with limited FDI | Representative presence or specific project work | Testing the market or bridging while incorporation is in progress |
| Foreign ownership | Up to 100% under Automatic Route in most sectors | Allowed in Automatic Route sectors with conditions | Permitted, subject to RBI approval | Not applicable, TMS is the legal employer |
| Time to operate | SPICe+ incorporation typically 15 to 25 working days once documents are complete, plus tax and bank registrations | 15 to 20 working days once documents are complete | 4 to 8 weeks after RBI approval | Employees can be onboarded in parallel with incorporation |
| Ongoing compliance | ROC, income tax, GST, TDS, FEMA, PF, ESIC, PT | ROC-LLP, income tax, GST, TDS, PF, ESIC | RBI and ROC reporting, limited scope of activity | Handled inside TMS EOR fee |
| Suits | Global product, engineering and GCC teams | Consulting and services with Indian partners | Market study, buying office, project office | First 1 to 25 hires while entity is being set up |
Your India entry in four phases
Discovery and structure
Two calls to lock the entity type, FDI route, tax position and hiring plan. You get a written scope, timeline and owner list.
Incorporation and bridge hiring
SPICe+ and registrations run in one track. If you need people to start immediately, we onboard them on TMS payroll via EOR in parallel.
Operational setup
Bank account, GST, PF, ESIC, PT, professional tax, statutory compliance calendar, board resolutions and payroll cutover from EOR to your entity.
Steady state governance
Monthly payroll, quarterly compliance review, annual audit prep and one dashboard for your HQ finance and legal teams.
Ready to scope your India entry?
One 30-minute call, one written plan, one owner across incorporation, tax, banking and workforce.
Why global teams pick TMS for India expansion
One partner, five workstreams
Incorporation, tax, banking, workforce and governance under one contract, one SPOC and one monthly review.
Day-one hiring through EOR
You can employ people in India before the entity is registered, then migrate the team to your own payroll without changing their date of joining.
Compliance-first delivery
Statutory compliance across PF, ESIC, PT, LWF, TDS, GST and ROC is handled by teams that run it every day for 8,500+ employees on our books.
Coverage across India
State-level registrations in all 28 states and UTs, so a Bengaluru engineering team and a Gurugram sales team sit under one payroll.
Audit-ready paperwork
Your HQ auditor gets clean registers, filed challans, board minutes and FEMA filings without a scramble at year end.
Human owner, not a portal
You will speak to the same relationship lead through discovery, setup and steady state. Escalations reach a director, not a queue.
About TMS
Team Management Services has run India workforce and compliance operations since 2006. We support 450+ clients and 8,500+ employees on our payroll across 100+ cities and all 28 states and UTs. TMS is not a tax or legal advisor on specific positions, and we work alongside your chosen counsel where a formal opinion is needed.
Services that connect to India entry
EOR in India
Hire your first India team before your entity is registered, on TMS payroll.
PEO
Co-employ your workforce for HR, payroll and compliance while you retain day-to-day management.
Payroll Outsourcing
Run monthly payroll, TDS, PF, ESIC and PT filings without building an in-house team.
Statutory Compliance
Central and state labour compliance across PF, ESIC, PT, LWF, S and E and the four Labour Codes.
India business expansion, common questions
How long does it take to incorporate a company in India?
A Private Limited SPICe+ filing typically clears in 15 to 25 working days once your documents, KYC and director details are ready. PAN and TAN are issued with the incorporation certificate. Bank account opening, GST and other registrations add another 2 to 4 weeks in most cases.
Do I need a resident director for a Private Limited in India?
Yes. Under the Companies Act, every Indian Private Limited needs at least one director who has stayed in India for 182 days or more in the previous financial year. TMS can support a resident director arrangement during setup while you nominate your own.
Can I start hiring in India before my entity is incorporated?
Yes. Most of our clients onboard their first India hires through EOR in India while the incorporation runs in parallel. Once the entity is live and its PF, ESIC and bank accounts are ready, we migrate the team to your payroll without breaking their tenure.
What is the FDI route and how do I know which one applies to me?
India permits foreign direct investment either through the Automatic Route (no prior government approval, only post-investment RBI reporting) or the Government Route (prior approval needed). Sector caps and Press Note 3 (2020) for investors from bordering countries decide the route. We confirm the route on the first call.
What compliance is needed after incorporation?
Recurring items include monthly TDS and GST returns, monthly PF and ESIC filings, professional tax where applicable, quarterly TDS returns, annual ROC filings, annual FLA return to RBI where FDI has been received, statutory audit and income tax return. TMS runs the calendar and files on your behalf.
Can TMS help me open a bank account for the new entity?
Yes. We introduce you to AD Category-I banks, help prepare the account opening file, and coordinate FIRC and FC-GPR once foreign share capital hits the account.
Do I need a physical office to incorporate?
You need a registered office address in India from day one. This can be a leased office, a coworking address or a serviced address, provided the utility bill and no-objection paperwork are in order. TMS can coordinate the address and the paperwork.
Who owns the compliance risk once the entity is live?
Statutory liability sits with the entity and its directors. TMS runs the filings, keeps the audit trail and flags exposure early, so the directors sign a clean set of registers each quarter rather than a firefight at year end.
Plan your India entry with one owner
Tell us your target go-live month, first-year headcount and home country. We will send back a written plan covering entity, FDI route, tax setup, banking and the first payroll date, usually within one working day.
Prefer to talk? Call +91 22 4896 7640, WhatsApp +91 91360 24090, or email sales@tmservices.co.in.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice.