Doing Business in India

By Pradnya DeshDesh International and Business Law

Desh International Law• Helps companies do business in the

US and abroad.• Distribution, contracts, selling abroad• Mergers and acquisitions• Foreign investment• International business transactions• International trade and customs

Indian Legal System• Long tradition civil and criminal law

in Ancient India• The modern judicial system evolved

from British control• English common law

• US and Indian legal systems have a common parent

Federal System• Constitution

• Supremacy• Separation of powers• Independent judiciary

Regulatory Environment• Domestically incorporated

subsidiaries are taxed the same as domestic companies

• Industrial licensing is limited to a few industries

• Foreign brand names are generally unrestricted

Legal environment for business• Multiplicity of procedures• Bureaucratic delays in business

registration• Viewed as excessive and

burdensome• The trend is toward simplification

FDI in India• Prohibited in some sectors• Automatic route• Government approval route

Ease of Doing Business

Ease of Doing Business• Goal to move up to the top 50 in the

World Bank’s ranking• Competitive federalism• India’s Department of Industrial

Policy circulated 98 actions points for enabling a framework for stimulating investments in manufacturing.

• States will be ranked on ease of setting up a business, registration of property, labor compliance, infrastructure availability, finance and tax issues.

Companies Act• Amended in 2014• New amendments in Parliament• Goal of improving business

climate for SMEs