Company identifiers
- CIN
- Corporate Identity Number — the unique number the Ministry of Corporate Affairs gives every Indian company. More.
- LLPIN
- LLP Identification Number — the equivalent of a CIN for a limited liability partnership.
- DIN
- Director Identification Number — a unique number every director of an Indian company must hold. More.
- MCA / MCA21
- The Ministry of Corporate Affairs and its online portal, where company records, filings and financial statements are kept. More.
- ROC
- Registrar of Companies — the MCA office that registers companies and receives their filings.
- AOC-4 / MGT-7
- Annual company filings with MCA: AOC-4 for financial statements, MGT-7 for the annual return (shareholders, directors). More.
- Private limited company
- India's most common company form, with limited liability and restrictions on share transfers — the usual vehicle for foreign subsidiaries. More.
- LLP
- Limited liability partnership — open to foreign investment only in sectors allowing 100% automatic-route FDI without conditions. More.
Tax
- PAN
- Permanent Account Number — the income-tax identifier for people and entities, including foreign companies with Indian tax matters. More.
- TAN
- Tax Deduction Account Number — needed by those who deduct tax at source (individual buyers of property from NRIs can use PAN since October 2026). More.
- TDS
- Tax deducted at source — tax the payer withholds from payments such as salaries, fees, royalties and payments to non-residents. More.
- TCS
- Tax collected at source — collected by the seller or bank on certain transactions, such as overseas remittances under LRS. More.
- Income-tax Act, 2025
- The law that replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026, renumbering sections and forms. More.
- Form 41
- The treaty-relief information form a non-resident files online — formerly Form 10F. More.
- TRC
- Tax residency certificate — issued by a person's home tax authority; needed to claim treaty rates in India. More.
- DTAA
- Double taxation avoidance agreement — India's tax treaty with another country. More.
- PE
- Permanent establishment — a taxable presence of a foreign company in India, such as an office or dependent agent. More.
- Forms 145 / 146
- The remittance declaration (145) and CA certificate (146) for payments abroad — formerly Forms 15CA and 15CB. More.
GST and trade
- GST / GSTIN
- Goods and Services Tax — India's indirect tax; GSTIN is the 15-character registration number. More.
- IGST
- Integrated GST — charged on inter-state supplies and imports.
- LUT
- Letter of Undertaking — lets an exporter export goods or services without paying IGST. More.
- OIDAR
- Online information and database access or retrieval services — the GST category for foreign digital services sold into India. More.
- IEC
- Import Export Code — the DGFT registration most businesses need to import or export. More.
- DGFT
- Directorate General of Foreign Trade — the government body for trade policy and IEC registration.
- SEZ
- Special Economic Zone — designated zones with export-focused tax and customs treatment.
Foreign investment (FEMA)
- FEMA
- Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 — the law governing foreign investment and cross-border payments. More.
- FDI
- Foreign direct investment — investment by a non-resident in an Indian company's capital. More.
- Automatic route
- FDI that needs no prior government approval, only reporting — available in most sectors. More.
- Press Note 3
- The 2020 rule requiring government approval for investment from countries bordering India — eased in 2026 for non-controlling stakes up to 10%. More.
- FC-GPR
- The RBI form reporting shares issued to a foreign investor — due within 30 days of allotment. More.
- FC-TRS
- The RBI form reporting a share transfer between a resident and a non-resident — within 60 days. More.
- FLA return
- Annual return on foreign liabilities and assets filed with RBI by 15 July. More.
- FIRMS
- RBI's online portal for foreign-investment reporting.
- AD bank
- Authorised dealer bank — a bank permitted by RBI to handle foreign-exchange transactions and many FEMA approvals.
- ODI / APR
- Overseas direct investment by Indian residents, and the annual performance report filed on each overseas entity. More.
- ECB
- External commercial borrowing — loans to Indian entities from foreign lenders.
- Liaison / branch / project office
- Ways a foreign company can be present in India without an Indian company, each with RBI rules. More.
Deals and disputes
- NCLT
- National Company Law Tribunal — handles insolvency, mergers and company-law disputes.
- IBC
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 — India's insolvency law.
- SEBI
- Securities and Exchange Board of India — the securities-market regulator.
- AIF
- Alternative Investment Fund — a SEBI-registered private fund (Categories I, II and III). More.
- GIFT City / IFSC
- India's international financial services centre in Gujarat, regulated by IFSCA. More.
- DPIIT
- Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade — issues FDI policy and press notes.
- CCI
- Competition Commission of India — reviews larger mergers and acquisitions.
Please note: this guide is general information based on the rules as they stood on the review date above. Regulations and RBI/CBDT procedures change often — please get advice on your specific facts before acting.