CLEARED TO INVEST, COMPLIANT FROM DAY ONE
Entry & Regulatory Approvals
Every Approval, Filed, Tracked And Closed.
India welcomes foreign investment — 100% FDI is permitted under the automatic route in most sectors — but the approvals still have to be filed correctly and on time. We manage the FDI route and sectoral approvals, FEMA and RBI filings, JV formation, sector licences, environmental clearances, CCI approval, customs registration and labour compliance as one coordinated programme.
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE
Eight Approvals. One Missed Deadline Can Stall All Of Them.
FDI clearance means nothing if the FC-GPR filing misses its 30-day window. A joint venture means nothing if the sector licence hasn't come through. Each of these eight categories has its own regulator, its own form, its own deadline — and in a typical entry, they run in parallel, not in sequence. Accelor tracks all eight on a single register with a named owner and a deadline, so nothing is discovered after the fact.
Approval 01 · Entry Structuring
Know Your Route Before You Wire The First Rupee
India permits 100% FDI under the automatic route in most sectors — no prior government approval needed, just a post-facto filing. But strategic and sensitive sectors (defence, telecom, media, insurance, multi-brand retail, and investment from land-bordering countries under Press Note 3) require prior approval from the relevant administrative ministry via the Government route. Getting the route wrong doesn't just delay the deal — an automatic-route filing made where government approval was actually required can be treated as a FEMA contravention.
- ✓ Sector classification & FDI cap verification
- ✓ Automatic vs Government route determination
- ✓ Press Note 3 screening (land-bordering country investment)
- ✓ Pricing guideline compliance (fair value / DCF)
- ✓ Entry vehicle alignment (WOS, JV, LLP or Branch)
- ✓ Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIFP) filing
Approval 02 · Foreign Exchange Compliance
Every Rupee In, Every Filing On Time
The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 governs every cross-border capital transaction, and RBI enforces it through a small set of forms that carry real deadlines. Form FC-GPR reports share allotments to foreign investors — filed within 30 days of allotment. Form FC-TRS reports any transfer of shares between a resident and non-resident. The annual FLA return, covering all foreign liabilities and assets, is due every 15 July regardless of transaction activity. Miss a deadline and the remedy is a compounding application to RBI — not a quiet extension.
- ✓ Form FC-GPR — share allotment, 30-day window
- ✓ Form FC-TRS — resident/non-resident share transfers
- ✓ Annual FLA Return — due every 15 July
- ✓ External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) compliance
- ✓ Advance Reporting Form (ARF) for inbound remittance
- ✓ Compounding application if a deadline is missed
Approval 03 · Partnership Structuring
Structure The Partnership Before You Sign It
A joint venture that looks aligned at signing can come apart at the first disagreement if the agreement doesn't specify who decides what. Shareholding and board composition are the easy part — the real work is reserved matters (what needs unanimous consent), exit mechanics (put/call options, right of first refusal, tag-along and drag-along rights), and deadlock resolution before either party has a reason to invoke it. Certain sectors — insurance, defence, multi-brand retail — carry their own mandated JV structures on top of the commercial terms.
- ✓ Shareholders Agreement (SHA) drafting & negotiation
- ✓ Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) stamping & registration
- ✓ Board composition & reserved-matter design
- ✓ Exit mechanism design (put/call, ROFR/ROFO, drag/tag)
- ✓ Deadlock resolution & dispute escalation clauses
- ✓ Sector-mandated JV structure compliance
Approval 04 · Operating Licences
The Licence List Nobody Warns You About
FDI approval clears you to invest — it doesn't clear you to operate. Most sectors carry a second layer of licences before doors can open: a factory licence and pollution NOCs for manufacturing, RBI or SEBI registration for fintech, drug licences for healthcare and pharma, FSSAI registration for food. Every state and municipality adds its own trade and establishment licensing on top, each with its own renewal cycle.
- ✓ Factory / establishment licence
- ✓ Municipal trade licence
- ✓ Fire safety NOC
- ✓ Sector regulator registration (RBI / SEBI / IRDAI / FSSAI)
- ✓ State-specific industrial approvals
- ✓ Weights & Measures / legal metrology registration
Approval 05 · Environmental Compliance
Green Clearance, Before Ground-Breaking
The EIA Notification, 2006 sorts industrial projects into Category A, B1 or B2 by pollution potential — and the category determines who signs off. Every category needs Consent to Establish (CTE) from the State Pollution Control Board before construction starts, and Consent to Operate (CTO) before operations begin. Category A projects additionally require Environmental Clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change — a process best started before the site is finalised, not after.
- ✓ EIA category classification (A / B1 / B2)
- ✓ Consent to Establish (CTE) — before construction
- ✓ Consent to Operate (CTO) — before operations
- ✓ Environmental Clearance (EC) for Category A projects
- ✓ Hazardous waste authorisation, where applicable
- ✓ Groundwater extraction NOC, where applicable
Approval 06 · Merger Control
When Your Deal Needs A Green Light From CCI
The Competition Act, 2002 requires Competition Commission of India approval for combinations — mergers, acquisitions, and certain joint ventures — that cross specified asset or turnover thresholds under Section 5. Smaller targets may qualify for the de minimis exemption. Combinations with no horizontal overlap between the parties can use the Green Channel, which grants deemed approval in a single day rather than the standard review cycle — a distinction worth checking before assuming the full statutory timeline applies.
- ✓ Threshold assessment — assets and turnover, Section 5
- ✓ De minimis exemption eligibility check
- ✓ Green Channel eligibility (no horizontal overlap)
- ✓ Form I / Form II filing preparation
- ✓ Statutory review period tracking
- ✓ Gun-jumping risk review pre-signing
Approval 07 · Cross-Border Trade
Nothing Crosses The Border Without This
An Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from the DGFT is the baseline requirement for any cross-border trade — no shipment moves without one. Alongside it sits AD Code registration with your banker, which links customs clearance to your accounts, and an RCMC from the relevant Export Promotion Council, which is what actually makes you eligible for export incentive schemes rather than just legally permitted to trade.
- ✓ Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) registration
- ✓ AD Code registration, linked to your banker
- ✓ RCMC (Registration-cum-Membership Certificate)
- ✓ HSN classification & duty structure mapping
- ✓ Customs bonded warehouse setup, where applicable
- ✓ Export incentive scheme eligibility review
Approval 08 · Workforce Compliance
Compliant From Employee Number One
The Labour Codes, 2020 consolidate 29 central labour laws into four codes — Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety — but the practical registrations still stack up individually. Shops & Establishment registration is a state-level day-one requirement. EPF registration becomes mandatory past 20 employees, ESI past 10 in notified areas, and a POSH Internal Committee is required the moment headcount crosses ten, regardless of sector.
- ✓ Shops & Establishment registration
- ✓ EPF registration (mandatory past 20 employees)
- ✓ ESI registration (past 10 employees, notified areas)
- ✓ Professional Tax registration (state-specific)
- ✓ POSH policy & Internal Committee constitution
- ✓ Labour Welfare Fund registration, where applicable
LET'S TALK
Ready To Clear Every Approval, In Parallel?
Bring us your entry plan — sector, structure, timeline. You'll get a single tracked register covering all eight categories, with a named owner and deadline for each.
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