Company · Cross-border
A foreign company is opening shop in India — branch, or subsidiary?
The short answer
A foreign company entering India faces a structural fork: a branch or liaison office registers under the FC-series with RBI approval, while a wholly-owned subsidiary follows normal Indian incorporation plus the FDI/FEMA layer. For a place of business in India, FC-1 must be filed within 30 days under Section 380. Annual compliance then runs through FC-2, FC-3, and FC-4 — with FC-2 due within 60 days of the foreign company's financial year-end.
What gets filed with MCA
Within 30 days of establishing a place of business in India.
Section 380, Companies Act 2013; Rule 3, Companies (Registration of Foreign Companies) Rules 2014
Within 60 days of the last day of the financial year of the foreign company.
Section 381, Companies Act 2013; Rule 7, Companies (Registration of Foreign Companies) Rules 2014
Annual accounts + list of places of business of the foreign company
Section 381, Companies Act 2013
Annual return of the foreign company
Rule 7, Companies (Registration of Foreign Companies) Rules, 2014
The sequence
- 1Decide between a branch/liaison office (FC-series + RBI) or a wholly-owned subsidiary (incorporation + FDI/FEMA)
- 2For a branch or liaison, file FC-1 within 30 days of establishing a place of business in India
- 3Obtain RBI approval required for the branch or liaison structure
- 4File FC-3 with annual accounts and a list of places of business
- 5File FC-2 and FC-4 as annual returns within the statutory window after the foreign company's year-end
Do it with us — or check it yourself first
Questions founders actually ask
What is the deadline to register a foreign company's Indian office?
FC-1 must be filed within 30 days of establishing a place of business in India, under Section 380 of the Companies Act 2013 and Rule 3 of the Companies (Registration of Foreign Companies) Rules 2014.
What annual filings does a registered foreign company owe?
FC-2 is the annual return due within 60 days of the last day of the foreign company's financial year. FC-3 covers annual accounts and places of business. FC-4 is the annual return under Rule 7.
Should we open a branch or incorporate a subsidiary?
A branch or liaison office operates under the FC-series with RBI approval. A wholly-owned subsidiary is a separate Indian entity formed through normal incorporation, with an additional FDI/FEMA compliance layer.
Last verified 2026-08-24 against MCA V3 records and ICSI reference material. Form-level deadlines and penalties live on the linked form pages and update there.