Establishment of Project Office

Establishment of Project Office in India

A Project Office (“PO”) refers to a place of business that established in India to represent the interests of a foreign company executing a project. Such offices are prohibited from carrying on any activity other than those which relates to the execution of the project for which such office is established.

A foreign company can establish a project office in India either on a temporary basis or on permanent basis, provided that the foreign company has been assigned a project from the government or private sector to be executed by them in India. Registration process of Project Office with RBI & ROC must be completed before it starts operating.

chsadvisorsProjectofficeinindia

The difference between project office and liaison office is that project office can undertake commercial activities related to the project awarded whereas a liaison office cannot undertake any commercial activity.

Revised Regulations 2016 under FEMA has delegated all powers of approving applications to AD banks except few cases.

Eligibility

A foreign company can incorporate a project office in India only it has secured a contract to execute a project in India from a Indian Company and

  • The project is funded directly by inward remittance from abroad
  • The project had been approved by appropriate authority
  • The project is funded by international financial institution
  • A company awarding the contract has been granted loan from public financial institution or bank in India

Time Limit for Opening a Project Office

  • The office shall be opened within 6 months from the date of approval letter.
  • Extension for 6 months may be granted by AD Category-I bank for reasons beyond the control of the person resident outside India.
  • Further extension may be granted by RBI only.
  • It takes generally takes 15 days to register a PO.

Validity of PO

PO remains valid for the entire term of the project till the project is achieved or wound up.

Filing Annual Activity Certificate

Under Regulation 2016, a specific clause in respect of filing of AAC by PO has been included. The Annual Activity Certificate (AAC) in Form FNC (Annex D) shall be submitted to the designated AD Category –I Bank by the following:

chsadvisorsPOin India
  • In case of a sole PO, by the PO concerned.
  • In case of multiple POs, a combined AAC in respect of all the offices in India by the nodal office of the POs.
  • This AAC is to be obtained from a Chartered Accountant showing the Project Status and certifying that the accounts of the Project Office has been audited and the activities undertaken are in conformity with the General / Specific permission given by the Reserve Bank.

Time Limit for Filing AAC

  • Where financial year ends on 31stMarch: Within 30th September of that year
  • Where financial year ends on some other date: Within 6 months from the end of the financial year

MCA Compliance Filing

Every Foreign company is required to submit below documents to the Registrar of Companies for registration, within 30 days of the permission of RBI/AD Bank:

    1. Certified copy of the charter, statutes or memorandum and articles, of the company or other instrument constituting or defining the constitution of the company and, if the instrument is not in the English language, a certified translation thereof in the English language;

    2. Full address of the registered or principal office of the company

    3. List of the directors and secretary of the company containing such particulars as prescribed under Rule 3.

    4. Name and address or the names and addresses of one or more persons resident in India authorized to accept on behalf of the company service of process and any notices or other documents required to be served on the company

    5. Full address of the office of the company in India which is deemed to be its principal place of business in India

    6. Particulars of opening and closing of a place of business in India on earlier occasion or occasions

    7. Declaration that none of the directors of the company or the authorized representative in India has ever been convicted or debarred from formation of companies and management in India or abroad.

    8. Other Documents as may be prescribed.

Rule 3(3) of the Companies (Registration of Foreign Companies) Rules, 2014 requires application in e-Form FC-1 to be supported with an attested copy of approval from the Reserve Bank of India/AD Bank under Foreign Exchange Management Act and the rules and regulations there under or a declaration from the authorized representative of such Foreign Company that no such approval is required.

And Rule 3(4) provides that in case of any alteration in the aforesaid documents the Foreign Company is required to submit a return in e-Form FC-2 containing the particulars of alteration as per the prescribed format with the Registrar of Companies, within 30 days of any such alteration.

How S.K. Agrawal & Co. Helps in Establishment of Project Office in India?

  • Obtaining approval of RBI for Establishment of Project office in India.
  • Getting Project office registered with Registrar of Companies.
  • Obtaining CIN of Project Office.
  • Obtaining PAN/TAN and registration under Labour Laws.
  • Maintenance of Financial books of Accounts of Project office.
  • Filing of Withholding Tax Returns/GST Returns on monthly/Quarterly basis.
  • Annual Audit of Books of accounts.
  • Issuance of Annual Activity Certificate (AAC).
  • Getting all Statutory Compliances with regard to Labour laws within timelines.
  • Reporting of Project office on annual basis with concerned authorities like MCA, Income Tax Department, AD Banker.
  • Issuance of Various certificates as may be required by PO in regular course.

Service Area

We provide strategic and qualitative advisory services to all our clients from domestic to international organizations, small, medium and large sized enterprises, assisting them with their incorporation and quality management services so they can establish their business successfully globally. To help them deal with their tax issues, financial and legal requirements we provide all support for post incorporation services, so they are able to run their business seamlessly. We are based at New Delhi and Faridabad, but our wings are spread to serve clients across the globe. Customer Satisfaction, Quality of Service and our Turnaround time are the drivers of our enthusiasm and success. We are continuously serving our client at Faridabad, Delhi, Gurgaon (Gurugram), Noida (Gautam Budh Nagar), Sonipat, Panipat, Palwal, Jind, Karnal, Meerut, Hapur, Kolkata, Mumbai (Bombay), Pune, Bangalore, Nasik, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Mohali, Hyderabad, Bareily, Kanpur, Agra ,Mathura, Baddi, Rudrapur, Haridwar, Siliguri, Jamshedpur,Hubli and many other Industrial Areas.

error:
× Inquiry