Cross-Border Advisory
For Indian corporates investing abroad and India subsidiaries managing flows with an overseas parent — structuring, repatriation, withholding tax and regulatory advisory that connects Indian regulation with the realities of a global group.
The connective layer between Indian regulation and global group structures.
Almost every cross-border transaction — a dividend remittance, a management fee, a loan from a parent, a royalty for IP use, an investment into or out of India — sits at the intersection of multiple regulatory regimes: FEMA and RBI reporting in India, withholding tax under the Income Tax Act and applicable treaties, and the reporting and tax obligations of the counterparty jurisdiction.
Our Cross-Border Advisory practice is where these threads come together. We advise on the Indian side of cross-border structuring and ensure it aligns with — rather than works against — the global group's broader tax and treasury position.
- Setting up or restructuring an India subsidiary of a foreign parent
- Indian company investing in an overseas subsidiary or JV (ODI)
- Repatriation of profits via dividend, royalty or management fee
- Intercompany loans, guarantees or cash pooling arrangements
- NRI or foreign promoter shareholding and exit planning
- Group reorganisation involving Indian and overseas entities
Inbound and outbound structuring.
We advise Indian companies on the most efficient and compliant way to structure investment into India (FDI) and from India into overseas markets (ODI), considering sectoral caps, pricing guidelines, reporting timelines, and the interaction with the company's existing corporate structure.
For India subsidiaries of multinational groups, this typically means ensuring that funding structures — equity, debt, hybrid instruments — are aligned with both Indian FEMA/RBI requirements and the parent's global financing strategy.
- FDI structuring — entry route, pricing guidelines, sectoral conditions, reporting (FC-GPR, FC-TRS)
- ODI structuring for Indian companies investing overseas — automatic route eligibility, reporting (FC, APR)
- External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) structuring and compliance
- Hybrid instrument structuring — CCDs, CCPS, and their FEMA treatment
- Group reorganisation involving cross-border share transfers or mergers
Getting money out — efficiently and compliantly.
Repatriation of funds out of India — whether as dividends to a foreign parent, royalty or fee for technical services, or repayment of intercompany debt — carries withholding tax obligations that depend on the nature of payment, the applicable Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), and beneficial ownership considerations.
We advise on the most tax-efficient repatriation structure available to a client, prepare the documentation needed to support treaty positions (including Tax Residency Certificates and Form 10F), and handle the procedural compliance — Form 15CA/15CB certification, and related filings.
- Dividend repatriation planning and withholding tax computation
- Royalty, technical fee and management fee structuring under applicable DTAAs
- Form 15CA / 15CB certification for outward remittances
- Treaty position documentation — TRC, Form 10F, beneficial ownership analysis
- Interest and loan repayment structuring for intercompany debt
Cross-border tax planning for individuals.
Beyond corporate structures, we advise non-resident Indians and globally mobile individuals on the Indian tax implications of foreign income, asset holding, residency status determination, and repatriation of funds — frequently relevant for founders, promoters and senior executives of the corporate groups we serve.
- Residential status determination and its tax implications
- NRI taxation — Indian-source income, capital gains on Indian assets, repatriation
- Foreign asset and income disclosure compliance (Schedule FA)
- DTAA relief and foreign tax credit claims
- Estate and succession planning considerations for cross-border families
Cross-border advisory rarely stands alone.
A cross-border transaction usually has implications across multiple service lines — a transfer pricing position affects the quantum of a management fee; a valuation may be required to support a share transfer at fair value; and the resulting transaction needs to be reflected correctly under Ind AS, IFRS or US GAAP, depending on which entity is reporting.
Because these practices sit within one firm, cross-border engagements are scoped and delivered as a single, coordinated workstream — not as separate handoffs between vendors.