Project Office¹²

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.

Without prior permission of the RBI, no citizen or company registered in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iran, China, Hong Kong, or Macau can establish a BO/LO/PO or any other place of business in India.

• 12. Master Direction - Establishment of Liaison/Branch/Project Offices in India by Foreign Entities, RBI, https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/BS_ViewMasDirections.aspx?id=10404, as accessed on 14 May 2022