Project Office Registration

"Transforming Ideas into Action – Choose Project Office!"

Overview:

A Project Office (PO) means a place of business established to represent the interests of a foreign company executing a project in India. The project office is the ideal method for companies to establish a business presence in India, if the object is to have a presence for a limited period of time.

Pre-registration Requirement:

Reserve Bank has granted general permission to foreign companies to establish POs in India, provided they have secured a contract from an Indian company to execute a project in India, and

a) The project is funded directly by inward remittance from abroad; or

b) The project has been cleared by an appropriate authority; or

c) The project is funded by a bilateral or multilateral International Financing Agency; or

d) A company or entity in India awarding the contract has been granted Term Loan by a PFI or a Bank in India for the project.

Setting up of PO by foreign NGO / NPO / Foreign Government Bodies / Departments is under the Government Route. Such entities are required to apply to RBI for prior permission to establish an office in India.

Without prior permission of the Reserve Bank, no person being a citizen of / registered in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Hong Kong or Macau can establish in India a PO in India

Time Limit for opening of Project Office:

a) The office shall be opened within 6 months from the date of approval letter.  

b) Extension for 6 months may be granted by AD Category-I bank for reasons beyond the control of the person resident outside India. 

C) Further extension may be granted by RBI only.

d) It takes generally takes 15 days to register a PO.

Pre-registration Requirement:

a) The application for establishing PO in India may be submitted by the non-resident entity in Form FNC to a designated AD Category – I bank (i.e. an AD Category – I bank identified by the applicant with whom they intend to pursue banking relations) along with the prescribed documents mentioned in the form.

b) The AD Category-I bank shall after exercising due diligence in respect of the applicant’s background, and satisfying itself as regards adherence to the eligibility criteria for establishing PO, antecedents of the promoter, nature and location of activity of the applicant, sources of funds, etc., and compliance with the extant KYC norms grant approval to the foreign entity for establishing PO in India.

c) The AD Category-I banks may frame appropriate policy for dealing with these applications conformity with the FEMA regulation and Directions.

d) An applicant that has received permission for setting up of a PO shall inform the designated AD Category I bank as to the date on which the PO has been set up. The AD Category I bank in turn shall inform Reserve Bank accordingly. In case an approval granted by the AD bank has either been surrendered by the applicant or has expired without any PO being set up, the AD Category I bank shall inform RBI accordingly.