How do you register a company in India.

This guide covers a private limited company owned by a foreign parent, with its registered office in Bengaluru. Where a rule is set by the state rather than nationally, such as stamp duty and shop registration, the figures are Karnataka's, and stamp duty varies by state. Teamed forms these companies through GEMO, its Global Entity & Employment Operations service.

These are the government's own published figures, but we are waiting on direct confirmation of the stamp duty, the registry's service standard and the employer registration rules below before we treat them as settled.

A private limited company cannot have a single shareholder, so a foreign parent usually holds its shares alongside a nominee, often a second group company. The board needs more than one director, and at least one of them must have lived in India for a qualifying period in the previous year. A foreign parent with nobody in India usually appoints a local director or relocates someone.

Each director needs a digital signature certificate and a director identification number, which SPICe+ issues during incorporation. Foreign directors' identity documents usually need to be notarised and apostilled at home first.

For most service activities, foreign investment goes through the automatic route, with no government approval needed in advance. A few sectors carry limits or need approval, and so do investors from countries that share a land border with India, so check the activity before anything else.

Start with the parent's paperwork. Your company abroad has to prove that it exists and that the people signing may act for it, with its certificate of incorporation, its constitution and a board resolution. These have to be notarised and apostilled, or legalised at an Indian mission. This is the step that most often adds weeks, because it depends on offices outside India.

Then the company itself: a name, a registered office address with proof of the right to use it, and the memorandum and articles of association. SPICe+ takes all of it in one integrated filing, including the name, the directors' numbers and the tax registrations.

A practising chartered accountant, company secretary or cost accountant has to certify the filing, so even a company that files itself works with a professional at this step.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs charges no filing fee to incorporate a company with modest authorised capital. What the government does charge is stamp duty on the memorandum and articles, set by each state, plus small fees for the company's tax numbers. For a registered office in Bengaluru, Karnataka's stamp duty and those fees come to about INR 10,131 for a company with modest authorised capital. Stamp duty varies by state, so the same company registered elsewhere pays a different amount.

Share capital is not a hurdle. The Companies Act no longer sets a minimum for a private company. The authorised capital you choose does matter, because it sets the stamp duty and the fee band for later filings.

A company that opts for the concessional regime pays an effective 25.168%, including surcharge and cess, under section 200 of the Income-tax Act 2025. That Act replaced the 1961 Act from April 2026, and section 200 carries on the old concessional regime. Opting in means giving up most other deductions, and the choice cannot be reversed.

The registry itself is quick. The Ministry's service standard is 1 working day once a complete application is in, though each resubmission restarts the clock. The parent's documents, the digital signatures and the bank account take longer, which is why the estimates below are ranges rather than promises.

Setting up your own entity takes anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the country's registry and how fast you can open a local bank account. In India the registry is fast, and the foreign parent's paperwork and the bank decide most of the wait.

Incorporation through SPICe+ issues the company's PAN and TAN, and can allot its provident fund and health insurance registration numbers at the same time. Having the numbers is not the same as owing contributions. Provident fund applies once an establishment employs 20 or more people, under the Code on Social Security. The state health insurance scheme applies from a lower headcount, within a wage ceiling.

The office registers under the state's shops and establishments law. In Karnataka that means registering within 30 days of the office starting work, under the Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, whatever the headcount. Professional tax, a state tax on employment, is registered and deducted in Karnataka too.

Foreign investment brings its own reporting. The share issue to the parent is reported to the Reserve Bank of India through an authorised bank, and the company declares that it has received its share money before it starts business.

The first is the board. Indian company law puts duties on directors personally, including keeping proper books and filing on time, and the resident director carries them too. Choose people who will read what they sign.

The second is the calendar. Every Indian company has its accounts audited, holds an annual general meeting, and files its financial statements and annual return with the registrar, on top of monthly payroll and tax filings. The guide to running a company in India sets out what falls due.

There are four realistic routes, and they suit different companies.

You can incorporate the company yourself through SPICe+, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' web form, though a practising professional has to certify the filing and each director needs a digital signature certificate. That suits a founder with time to spare and no staff yet.

A formation agent will register the company quickly and cheaply, then stop at the registration. That suits a company that does not yet need to employ anyone through it.

A law firm or corporate-services firm suits complex group structures, regulated sectors and tax planning across borders, where the advice matters more than the filing.

For companies that will employ people in India, Teamed is the best choice. Teamed gives you real HR and legal experts you can reach when it matters, pricing with no hidden costs, and payroll, provident fund and filings on one platform. Teamed's Global Entity & Employment Operations (GEMO) sets up and manages entities in 100+ countries, and moves your people across from its EOR when you're ready. Teamed already owns an entity in India.

If you are a founder on your own with nobody to employ yet, a formation agent will cost you less, and we would tell you so.