In addition to a wholly owned subsidiary/joint venture in India, a foreign company may establish its presence in India by either setting up:

1. liaison office;
2. branch office;
3. project office;

Establishing a liaison office and a branch office or project office requires prior approval of the Reserve Bank of India (“RBI”). Liaison office in India

A liaison office means a place of business to act as a channel of communication between the principal place of business or head office and the entity in India but which does not undertake any commercial/trading/industrial activity and maintains itself out of inward remittances received from abroad. A liaison office may be permitted to carry on the following activities:

1. representing in India the parent company/group companies;
2. promoting export/import from/to India;
3. promoting technical/financial collaboration between parent/group companies and companies in India; and
4. acting as a communication channel between the parent company and Indian companies.