Project Office¹¹

The RBI has granted general permission to foreign companies to establish Project Offices (PO) in India if they have secured a contract from an Indian company to execute a project in India, if:

• The project is funded directly by inward remittance from abroad
• The project is funded by a bilateral or multilateral international financing agency
• The project has been cleared by an appropriate authority
• The company or entity in India awarding the contract has been granted a term loan by a public financial institution or a bank in India for the project.

However, if the above criteria are not met, the foreign entity will be required to obtain RBI approval.

If the applicant is a citizen of or is registered/incorporated in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Hong Kong, or Macau and the application is for opening a BO/LO/PO in Jammu and Kashmir, the North-East region, or Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the applications shall be processed in consultation with the Government of India.

• 11. Master Direction - Establishment of Liaison/Branch/Project Offices in India by Foreign Entities, RBI, https://rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=10404&fn=5&Mode=0, as accessed on 16 July 2023