US Company Setup for Indian Founders & India-Entry Services

Cross-border practice

Two tax systems. Two regulators. One accountable desk.

Every cross-border setup has two sides. The country you are entering wants its incorporation papers, tax IDs and annual filings. The country you are leaving wants disclosures, remittance certificates and returns of its own. Most of the problems we untangle began the same way — a founder got excellent advice on one side of the border, and silence on the other.

We run both sides from one desk. Indian founders incorporating abroad get the entity, the EIN and the bank account — along with the FEMA disclosures and Form 15CA/CB work India expects back home. Foreign businesses entering India get a subsidiary, branch or liaison office set up correctly, with the RBI filings, tax registrations and payroll that follow.

The work moves fast because the process is settled — recent clients have gone live with a US entity in under a week. And it stays clean because one team watches the compliance calendar in both geographies, so nothing falls into the gap between two advisors. Behind it sit years of hands-on accounting and finalisation work for entities based in Canada, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong — foreign books are familiar ground here, not a new adventure.

At a glance

US LLC & C-Corp incorporation for Indian founders
EIN & bank account guidance
India subsidiary, branch & liaison office setup
FEMA & RBI filings — FC-GPR, FLA return
Form 15CA/CB for outward remittances
DTAA & withholding tax advisory
US tax returns — 1120, 1065, 1040/1040-NR, 5472 & franchise tax
Books maintained in both geographies

Two directions

Both directions, one desk.

Whether the money is leaving India or arriving in it, the same questions decide everything — structure, ownership, reporting. We answer them before the first form is filed.

Outbound — Indian founders going global

You have an Indian passport and a global product. We set up the overseas entity and keep your India file clean while you scale — so the structure survives due diligence, not just incorporation.

Entity choice & state selection — LLC or C-Corp, and where to form it
Incorporation & EIN — formation documents, registered agent, IRS tax ID
LRS / ODI considerations flagged early — before money moves, not after
India-side disclosures — foreign assets and interests reported in the right returns
Ongoing US bookkeeping — so the entity stays credible with banks and investors

Inbound — foreign businesses entering India

You run a business overseas and India is the next market. We set up the entity, the registrations and the payroll — then stay on as your India compliance desk, in your time zone when it matters.

Subsidiary vs branch vs liaison office — the structure settled before the paperwork
Incorporation with the resident director requirement handled
FC-GPR filing after share allotment — reported to the RBI on time
GST & income-tax registrations — PAN, TAN and GSTIN from day one
Payroll & accounting in India — a local back office without building one

What we handle

Every filing a border touches.

From the first incorporation document to the last remittance certificate of the year — each piece named, owned and tracked.

US entity incorporation

LLC or C-Corp formation for Indian founders — state filings, registered agent, EIN and operating documents, typically live within days, not months.

International setup beyond the US

Entity structures in the other jurisdictions our clients operate in — weighed on treaty access, banking and running costs, not fashion.

India-entry structuring

Subsidiary, branch or liaison office — we match the structure to what you will actually do in India before a single form is filed.

FEMA & RBI compliance

FC-GPR after allotment, the annual FLA return and the ongoing FEMA housekeeping that keeps foreign investment clean and reportable.

Form 15CA/15CB & remittances

Certificates and filings for outward foreign payments — the right form at the right treaty rate, ready before the bank asks for it.

DTAA, withholding & transfer pricing

Treaty positions, TDS on cross-border payments under Section 195, and transfer pricing documentation for related-party transactions.

Global bookkeeping

Books maintained on QuickBooks and Xero for your Indian and overseas entities alike — one team, both geographies, no gaps between them.

US tax returns & franchise tax

Forms 1120, 1065, 1040 and 1040-NR prepared and filed, Form 5472 disclosures, and state franchise taxes covered — IRS and state, one desk.

Straight from a founder

A US company, live in under a week.

I got my company registered in the US in less than a week. I'd recommend CA Pranay Oswal to other Indian founders looking to incorporate entities in the US.

AD

Amit Dodani

Founder, Valuenaire

How it works

How a cross-border setup runs.

01

Structure call

Where you are incorporating, what entity fits, who owns it and from where — settled before any paperwork begins.

02

Incorporate

We run the formation filings, obtain the EIN or local tax IDs, and guide the bank account opening end to end.

03

Calendar

Compliance dates on both sides — overseas annual reports and India's FEMA, tax and ROC deadlines — mapped into one calendar.

04

Operate

Bookkeeping, remittance certificates and annual filings handled month after month, in both geographies.

Common questions

Cross-border questions, answered plainly.

Yes. Individuals can generally invest under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, while structures routed through an Indian entity fall under the Overseas Direct Investment framework. The key is sequencing — we consider the LRS and ODI implications upfront, before the entity is formed or any money moves, so the ownership is clean under FEMA from day one rather than regularised later.

It depends on what the company is for. A Delaware C-Corp remains the default for startups planning to raise US venture capital — investors know its case law and expect it. Wyoming LLCs are inexpensive to maintain and popular with bootstrapped service businesses. And if your customers, team or inventory sit in one particular state, that state may matter more than either. We settle this on the structure call, not by template.

No. Form 15CA is filed for taxable remittances, and Form 15CB — the CA's certificate — is generally required where taxable remittances exceed ₹5 lakh in aggregate during the financial year. A list of specified payments under Rule 37BB needs neither. We check taxability and the applicable DTAA rate first, then file only what the remittance actually requires — so the bank clears it without a back-and-forth.

A private limited subsidiary needs at least two directors, of whom one must be resident in India, along with digital signatures, name approval and the incorporation filings. Once shares are allotted to the foreign parent, the FC-GPR filing must reach the RBI within 30 days of allotment. We handle the incorporation, the resident director requirement and the FEMA reporting as one sequence — followed by PAN, TAN and GST registrations so the entity can actually operate.

Usually not twice on the same income. India's tax treaties (DTAAs) allocate taxing rights between the two countries, and where both do tax the income, Indian residents claim foreign tax credit by filing Form 67 along with their return. The exact answer turns on your residency and the type of income — which is precisely what the structure call is designed to pin down before you commit to anything.

Yes — we prepare and file the US returns alongside the Indian ones: Form 1120 for C-Corps, Form 1065 for partnerships and multi-member LLCs, Form 5472 for foreign-owned single-member LLCs, and Forms 1040/1040-NR for individuals. State-specific compliance is covered as well, including franchise taxes such as Delaware's — so the IRS and the state both stay satisfied, from one desk.

Have a deadline, a notice, or a plan to grow?

Get a clear answer on where you stand and what to do next — usually within one working day.

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