Services

Advisory

India, being a complex market, needs a lot of local and subject matter specific expertise. Our panel of business and industry veterans from various functional backgrounds, can guide you to navigate the intricacies of setting up and running a sustainable, growing and profitable business in India.

Entry strategy:

There are multiple legal entity and market entry options and strategies for starting a business in India, depending on the sector and type of products and / or services. One needs to make a suitable choice considering various factors like ease of setting up, impact of taxation, flexibility of operations, regulatory framework, current and likely policies etc.

Currently, following are some of the options for starting and managing a business in India:

  • A Liaison/Project office
  • Branch
  • Private Limited Company (Subsidiary)
  • Limited Liability Partnership
  • Joint venture
  • Partnership
  • Sole proprietor

GCS can help you identify the most suitable form based on specific factors and convenience for your business.

 

Industry-specific analysis:

Having identified the appropriate form of entry, it is essential to know the applicable laws and regulations to be followed, licenses and approvals to be obtained from the relevant authorities and intimations and declarations to be submitted at various stages of set up. There are multiple layers of government in India like Central / State Governments and various Local Authorities. Also, there are various departments of the Government to deal with at these levels like: Ministry of Company Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Customs, Direct taxes, Goods and Services Tax, Stamp Duty, Pollution Control, etc. Also, there are specific regulations for different industries such as Chemicals, Food and Beverages, Fertilizers, Pharmaceuticals and Infrastructure projects.

It may also be relevant to know possibility of claiming incentives if any announced by the Central or State Governments and the mechanism to claim the same.

GCS can guide on all the above aspects so as to help you identify the optimal course of action and effectively design and implement a plan of setting up and maintaining a legally compliant business unit in India.

 

Location analysis:

India is a vast, geographically, climatically, socially and culturally diverse country. It comprises of 29 States and 7 Union Territories, 4000 cities and over 600,000 small towns. Choosing the best location is hence a major challenge. 

GCS can help you identify the best location keeping the following factors in focus:

  • Type of industry
  • Availability and cost of required manpower
  • Availability of land and its cost
  • Proximity to the relevant markets and raw material sources
  • Logistics and other related infrastructure
  • Local Government policies and incentives
  • Law and order situation
Local partners search:

Having identified the appropriate form and location for business, the immediate next step could be to identify appropriate local partners. The partner may be a vendor of materials, or a contract manufacturer or a banker. With its large database of businesses, GCS can help you identify appropriate business and service partners. If you have already identified and / or selected some, GCS can help you evaluate the most appropriate one by conducting due diligence on various parameters.

Set up

Having planned an optimal entry and start up strategy, the next step for any business entity would be to implement the plan expeditiously and economically. Here are some areas where GCS can extend its support at this stage:

Market survey:

To identify the taste of Indian customers and appetite for your company’s products it is very essential to ascertain breath, depth, and flavor of the market. GCS can help you in identifying the market and the best location suitable to your product.

Enabling legal set up:

Whether it be incorporating an entity in India or taking necessary approvals from various authorities, GCS can help you at every stage. Its services include making applications to various authorities, representing you before them, make submissions and finally getting approvals, certificates, registrations, licenses etc.

Incubation support:

Finding a suitable address for correspondence, a small business place to operate from, opening and operating a bank account and initial bookkeeping support can be provided by GCS at the initial stage.

Business Plan:

To prepare detailed business plan, project report and carry out feasibility study including long term financial projections.

Business set up (Manufacturing/Services):

Multiple activities involved at the stage of setting up business. Our experts have the experience of successfully setting up units of various sizes in India. Set up support activities may include the following:

  • Land/office acquisition on lease/purchase basis
  • Obtaining necessary approvals from various authorities
  • Preparation of architectural plans
  • Identification of and negotiation with the vendors
  • Monitoring construction/office set-up
  • Procurement and setting up of plant, machinery & equipment
  • Recruitment / contracting of required manpower
  • Setting up of various internal controls and MIS systems
  • Obtaining final approvals and certificates
  • Trial Run/Start of business

The professional support of GCS will help in a smooth and efficient startup of your business activities.

Logistics and supply chain:

Logistics and supply chain management plays an important role in sourcing, transporting, storing and distribution for global and local market. Our team of experts can help you identify cost-effective as well as reliable vendors.

Administrative and systems set up:

Setting up robust IT enabled systems and processes are very important to monitor and control from remote locations. 

Some examples of such systems and processes include:

  • Access control and security through CCTV and Biometrics
  • Access control and security through CCTV and Biometrics
  • Goods dispatch/receipt controls
  • Payment process controls
  • Documents and data flow and security
  • Other internal controls and checks

These will also ensure adherence to various statues and standards, checks and audits by various agencies.

Legal agreements:

It is important to put appropriate clauses in the contracts with local partners so that you are assured of fulfilment of promises and take care of your commercial interests. Compliance with local laws is also important.

In India, contracts are usually quite elaborate. GCS, with its seasoned lawyers, can help you draft proper legal contracts or vet the contracts which have been drafted by the local partners. Proper inputs at initial stage can save avoidable litigation at a later stage.

An important aspect of contract drafting is impact of taxes. A right structure at the stage of drafting can help you optimize on taxes.

Manpower procurement:

Human capital is a key resource for survival and growth of any organization. Designing suitable HR policies is also critical. Keeping in mind local regulations and the larger goal of attracting and retaining the talent, GCS can assist you in formulating appropriate HR policy. Moreover, tax-effective remuneration packages can be designed with the help of our in-house tax experts.

At GCS, we can help you recruit right kind of resources for various roles and provide you human resources on secondment basis in case of need.

Finance and sourcing:

Normally, the borrowing cost in India is high as compared to many other countries. However, we can help you procure finance at competitive rates from various sources based on the needs of the Project.

IPR registration:

GCS can help you get your intellectual property rights secured by taking necessary registrations of patents, trademarks, logos and copyrights.

Regular hand-holding

Once the business is set up, it is very essential to ensure that the business runs in a predetermined manner. GCS helps you carry on your business operations in smooth and efficient manner. Our handholding services include:

Directorship Services:

As a part of our one-stop solution philosophy, GCS can offer seasoned professionals as directors. Depending on the need and key result areas, the role of directors can be defined.

Banking and Financial management:

We can provide various services in relation to banking. In addition to opening of bank accounts with due approvals from the Central bank, we can provide additional support with regard to the following:

  • Budgeting
  • Forecast of working capital requirement
  • Cash flow statements
  • Reimbursement control
  • Variance analysis
  • MIS preparation
  • Bank relationship management
Book-keeping:

We can assist you in maintaining your books in accordance with Indian laws as well as your own specific requirements and your global policy. 

  • Accounts code creation
  • Ledger head mapping with HO books
  • Booking revenue and expenses
  • Balance reconciliations
  • Invoice raising
  • Audit assistance
  • Tax reports
  • Details preparation for submission to authorities in case of enquiries
  • MIS
Payroll administration:

Payroll computation as per HR policy, labor & tax laws and filing of necessary returns.

Tax and regulatory

GCS’s in-house experts can help you on various taxes in India like:
  • Income tax & Corporate tax
  • Goods and Services Tax
  • International tax
  • Customs duty
  • Profession tax
  • Stamp duties
  • Other local taxes and levies
GCS can render support in the form of following services:
  • Tax opinions/notes
  • Advisory on tax planning
  • Compliance retainerships
  • Support in assessments/adjudications
  • Litigation support
  • Reviews

Audits

As a one-stop solution provider, GCS can help you take care of various kinds of audits. Certain kinds of audits/attestations are mandatory whereas other types of audits can be voluntary:

Voluntary audits:
  • Internal audit
  • Investigation audit
  • Systems audit
  • Specific function audit

Transactions

Apart from setting up and running the business successfully in India, GCS can also help you in Business transactions like:

  • Acquisitions
  • Mergers
  • Demergers
  • Finding strategic partners