Compliance Calendar: India rules for foreign companies

Running the calendar

Compliance in India runs on three clocks: monthly tax and payroll, quarterly withholding statements and advance tax, and annual company, tax and FEMA filings. Missing any of them brings interest, late fees or penalties, and long gaps can lead to director disqualification.

A dependable calendar names an owner for each filing, sets internal deadlines a week ahead of statutory ones, and builds in the parent's approval time. Board meetings must be held at least four times a year with no more than 120 days between them.

The annual cycle runs from the April–March year end: audit, board approval of accounts, the AGM by 30 September, the financial statements and annual return to the Registrar, the tax return and, by 15 July, the RBI's FLA return.

Indian calendar

With the parent closing on the parent's own year end, the Indian January–March quarter falls in a different Indian year, so the group needs a reporting bridge.

Checklist

• Owner and internal deadline per filing
• Board meeting dates fixed for the year
• Audit timetable agreed
• FLA return diarised for July
• Director KYC by 30 September

Common mistakes

• Assuming no revenue means no filings
• Missing the FLA return
• Holding fewer than four board meetings
• Leaving annual filings until after penalties accrue

How this applies to your country

• USA to India en-US
• UK to India en-GB
• Japan to India en-JP
• Germany to India en-DE
• Singapore to India en-SG
• Australia to India en-AU
• China to India en-CN
• Hong Kong to India en-HK
• Russia to India en-RU
• Spain to India en-ES
• France to India en-FR
• UAE to India en-AE

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