February 2010
Establishment of Branch Office (BO) / Liaison Office (LO) in India by Foreign Entities – Eligibility Criteria and Procedural Guidelines
By Pinky Shah
Sonalee Godbole
Gaurang Gandhi
Tarun Ghia
Nimesh Dedhia
Vijay Kewalramani
Chartered Accountants
Reading Time 2 mins
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New Page 1
Part C:
FEMA
Given below are the highlights of certain RBI
circulars, press notes and notifications
33 A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 23, dated December
30, 2009
Establishment of Branch Office (BO) / Liaison
Office (LO) in India by Foreign Entities – Eligibility Criteria and Procedural
Guidelines
This circular places in public domain the
eligibility criteria and procedural guidelines for the establishment of Branch
Offices and Liaison Offices by foreign entities in India.
The broad criteria regarding eligibility for
opening of BO and LO, documents required, etc., are given in Annex A. The scope
of activities permitted and other procedural guidelines (additional offices /
activities, renewal, closure) are given in Annex B.
Application for establishing a BO/LO has to be made
to designated AD Category – I Bank in Form FNC given in Annex C. The same, along
with the relevant documents, will be submitted by the Bank to the RBI. However,
applications from foreign banks and insurance companies will continue to be
received directly by the RBI. Comfort letter to be given by applicants who do
not satisfy the eligibility criteria and are subsidiaries of other companies is
given in Annex D.
All BO and LO (new as well as existing) will be
allotted a Unique Identification Number which needs to be quoted in all
references to RBI.
