India: Compliance

Most businesses running entities across the UAE, Singapore and India assume their compliance position is solid because each entity files on time in its own jurisdiction. However, that assumption is rarely tested until an audit exposes the gaps.

Starting a business in India involves several legal and regulatory obligations, one of the most important being GST Registration. Many entrepreneurs assume registration becomes relevant only after achieving...

India's new Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 2026 replaces the 1952 framework under the Code on Social Security, 2020. While core obligations remain largely unchanged, the scheme introduces digital compliance mechanisms, a revised penalty structure, and amnesty provisions. How should private employers navigate this transition and what compliance actions are now required?

The Supreme Court's recent order in Tej Pratap Singh has reignited a fundamental debate about statutory authority in India's faceless assessment regime. When Parliament retrospectively inserted Section 147A to clarify which officer holds jurisdiction over reassessment notices, it transformed a procedural efficiency measure into a constitutional question about the limits of legislative intervention and the identity of the officer authorized by law to impose tax liabilities.

India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs has launched the Companies Compliance Facilitation Scheme, 2026, offering defaulting companies a narrow 90-day window to clear backlogs with up to 90% fee waivers, transition to dormant status, or exit the registry at concessional rates. Will your company seize this strategic reset opportunity before the July 15 deadline triggers aggressive enforcement actions and director disqualifications?

The Reserve Bank of India has undertaken a comprehensive overhaul of FEMA reporting requirements between January and April 2026, consolidating scattered circulars into principle-based regulations while introducing new digital portals and standardised forms. These reforms balance procedural simplification with enhanced reporting granularity across external commercial borrowings, cross-border guarantees, export-import trade, and non-debt investment flows.

A trading window email is missed. A designated person trades through a family account. A contra transaction is noticed only when the exchange asks for trade details. A pre-clearance approval form is signed without testing past trades. An SDD entry is incomplete. A senior executive is involved, and the compliance team is unsure who should inquire. The company has a code, but no real process to identify the breach, examine it fairly, decide the consequence and close the record.

Cross-border Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs) have become an increasingly important component of global compensation strategies. As multinational corporations, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), private equity-backed businesses and internationally expanding startups continue to grow their operations in India, employee participation in foreign equity incentive plans has become commonplace.

India has introduced three new social security schemes under the Code on Social Security, 2020, effective July 1, 2026, fundamentally restructuring the country's provident fund, pension, and insurance frameworks. These schemes replace decades-old regulations and introduce special provisions including enrollment campaigns, damage relief programs, and retrospective exemptions for establishments. The new framework maintains contribution structures while introducing significant operational changes and transitio