Outside India Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean
From Australia
Australia is home to 845,800 overseas Indians, most of them in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement has been in force from 29 December 2022, a wider Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement is under negotiation, and the bilateral investment treaty was terminated on 23 March 2017. This page sets out those agreements, the questions an Australian business or an Indian living in Australia asks first, and the practical facts of working across the border.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 1,743 million
- Cumulative foreign direct investment into India from Australia, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 1,743 million, 0.22 per cent.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 125,903
- 125,903 non-resident Indians live there.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 845,800.
- Source 2
- Investment treaty
- Terminated 23 March 2017
- India-Australia Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. Signed 26 February 2009; terminated on 23 March 2017.
- Source 3
- Double taxation agreement
- In force
- India-Australia Double Tax Agreement. Signed 25 July 1991 and in force from 30 December 1991; the amending Protocol signed 16 December 2011 entered into force on 2 April 2013.
- Source 4
India and Australia: the legal framework
Trade runs under the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement in force from 29 December 2022; the investment treaty was terminated in 2017, and tax and social security each have their own agreement.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment protection | India-Australia Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement | Terminated 23 March 2017 | Signed 26 February 2009; terminated on 23 March 2017. | 3 |
| Double taxation | India-Australia Double Tax Agreement | In force | Signed 25 July 1991 and in force from 30 December 1991; the amending Protocol signed 16 December 2011 entered into force on 2 April 2013. | 4 |
| Trade agreement | India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement | In force | Signed 2 April 2022; in force from 29 December 2022. | 5 |
| Trade agreement | India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement | Under negotiation | The brief records negotiations as ongoing. | 5 |
| Social security | India-Australia Social Security Agreement | In force | In force from 1 January 2016; contributions are paid in the home country for a posting of up to 60 months. | 6 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Applies | The status table lists Australia among the contracting States. | 7 |
Where Australia invests in India
The official sources this page relies on give no list of sectors for investment from Australia into India. The sector pages below are those the notes on Australia draw on.
Sector pages on this site
- Manufacturing
Named in the notes on Australia below
Legal work for manufacturers and the trade that moves their output: incentive schemes and industrial licensing, technology transfer and IP, supply chain and carrier contracts, export control and customs.
- Infrastructure and projects
Named in the notes on Australia below
Legal work on capital projects and the resources that feed them: land acquisition and compensation, environmental clearance, statutory licensing, EPC and concession disputes, power sector regulation and mining.
- Financial services
Named in the notes on Australia below
Legal work for lenders, listed companies, funds and financial technology businesses: SARFAESI and DRT enforcement, insolvency, SEBI proceedings, AIF and FEMA compliance, and the RBI licensing regimes that govern payments and digital lending.
Where the two countries are working together
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Australia, June 2026, names among the fields of cooperation critical minerals, green hydrogen and renewable energy. 5
Questions from Australia
A business from Australia
Can a company incorporated in Australia invest in an Indian company without approval?
The Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 set the routes and the conditions on which a person resident outside India may acquire equity instruments of an Indian company.
They allow it without prior approval where the sector is on the automatic route and the sectoral cap is not crossed, at a price not below fair value, with Form FC-GPR (Foreign Currency-Gross Provisional Return) filed with the Reserve Bank of India within thirty days of issue, as the note on a United States company sets out.
Can a company from Australia have a presence in India without a subsidiary?
A company incorporated outside India can seek a liaison, branch or project office, approved by an Authorised Dealer Category-I bank under the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Direction of 1 January 2016, as the note on a German company sets out.
A branch needs five years of profit and a net worth of USD 100,000, a liaison office three years and USD 50,000.
Is a put option against an Indian promoter enforceable?
It is, and has been since 2013, but it must pass three separate tests: securities law, exchange control, which allows no exit price assured at the outset and needs a lock-in of at least one year, and company law.
When do India’s data protection duties start?
The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 were notified on 13 November 2025, but everything a data fiduciary has to build, the notice, the security measures, breach reporting, erasure and the rights machinery, starts on 13 May 2027, as do sections 3 to 17 of the Act.
Indians living in Australia
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Australia, June 2026, citing the Australian Census of 2021, records most of the Indian diaspora in Australia as living in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. 5
When is an Indian citizen living in Australia resident in India for tax?
Under section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, on 182 days or more in India in a tax year, or on 60 days plus 365 days in the four years before; a citizen visiting from abroad is outside the 60-day test unless income other than from foreign sources exceeds INR 15 lakh, when the test runs at 120 days.
A citizen with such income above INR 15 lakh who is liable to tax in no other country is deemed resident, but only as a person not ordinarily resident.
Selling a flat in India while living in Australia: the tax and the money
For a sale in the tax year that began on 1 April 2026, the buyer withholds tax under section 393(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and a non-resident’s long-term gain on a flat is taxed at 12.5 per cent under section 197.
Remitting a Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee account balance is limited to USD 1 million a financial year without the Reserve Bank of India’s prior approval.
Can a family member living abroad inherit property in India?
Under section 6(5) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and rule 24(c) of the Non-debt Instruments Rules, a non-resident Indian or an overseas citizen of India may inherit any immovable property in India, agricultural land included.
An authorised dealer bank may remit inherited assets and their sale proceeds abroad up to USD 1 million a financial year; whether probate or a succession certificate is also needed turns on the asset.
Signing a power of attorney in Australia for property in India
Two routes lead to a document Indian authorities will take: signature before an Indian consular officer, or signature before a foreign notary followed by an apostille under the Hague Convention of 1961.
The status table of the Hague Conference lists Australia among the contracting States.
What may an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder do in India?
An OCI cardholder is a foreign national with a lifelong multiple-entry visa and parity with a non-resident Indian on buying and selling immovable property other than agricultural land, a farm house or plantation property.
Four heads of activity need special permission, and the registration can be cancelled under section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Divorce, maintenance or custody where one spouse lives abroad
These are governed by the personal law statutes and by the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, and a judgment of a foreign court is conclusive in India only within section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
Practice areas and counsel for this corridor
Practice areas
- Boardroom and corporate
Standing legal advisory to boards and promoters on governance, contract oversight, regulatory compliance and outsourced in-house legal support.
- Transaction advisory
Structuring, documentation and due diligence for acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring transactions under Indian law.
- Capital markets
Advisory on public and private capital raising, listing compliance and continuing obligations under Indian securities law.
- Contracts and procurement
Drafting, review and negotiation of commercial contracts and procurement documentation across the supply chain.
- RERA and real estate
Advisory and representation on real estate regulatory compliance, project registration and disputes under the RERA framework.
- Taxation and fiscal
Advisory and litigation on goods and services tax, direct tax and indirect tax disputes before departmental and appellate forums.
Advocates who write the notes for the region, Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean
Adv. Adithya Karthik KPartner
- What protects a Japanese investor in India today: the CEPA investment chapter and the tax treaty
- An FPI must disclose its owners down to natural persons if over half its Indian equity sits in one group or it holds over INR 50,000 crore
- What the India-Singapore CECA investment chapter protects for a Singapore investor, and what it leaves out
Working across the border
The practice advises on Indian law. Where a matter turns on the law of another country it is referred to counsel qualified there, and the advice states which part rests on that referral.
Time difference
India Standard Time is five hours and thirty minutes ahead of UTC throughout the year.
- Sydney is four hours and thirty minutes ahead of Bengaluru, and five hours and thirty minutes ahead while daylight saving time is in force there.
- India does not observe daylight saving time, so the difference changes on the dates Australia changes its clocks.
Instructions are taken between 07:00 and 21:00 India Standard Time (IST), Monday to Friday, as the offices page states. In Sydney that is 11:30 to 01:30 the next day at standard time, and an hour later on the local clock while summer or daylight saving time is in force.
Documents signed there
India is a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961, so a public document from another contracting State that carries an apostille issued by the competent authority there is accepted in India without further legalisation. The status table of the Hague Conference lists Australia among the contracting States.
Offices
- Bengaluru
7th Floor, Raheja Towers, East Wing, 26/27 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Craig Park Layout, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001
+91 76765 68787
- Mumbai
Unit No. 4, 3rd Floor, Inspire BKC, Village Kolekalyan, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051
- New Delhi
L29 to L34, First Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001
Notes for readers there
From the region: Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean
- What protects a Japanese investor in India today: the CEPA investment chapter and the tax treaty
- An FPI must disclose its owners down to natural persons if over half its Indian equity sits in one group or it holds over INR 50,000 crore
- What the India-Singapore CECA investment chapter protects for a Singapore investor, and what it leaves out
Sources
- Official pageDepartment for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade: Quarterly Fact Sheet on Foreign Direct Investment inflow, April 2000 to March 2026dpiit.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs: Population of Overseas Indians, January 2026mea.gov.in
- Official pageDEA BIT register, row 'Australia'. Enforcement column reads 04.05.2000, which precedes the signing date, so left null as unreliabledea.gov.in
- Official pageAustralian Treasury, Income Tax Treaties table, row India (page last updated 24 March 2026)treasury.gov.au
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Australia bilateral brief, June 2026mea.gov.in
- Official pageEPFO, International Workers - Social Security Agreements, partner country list (page last updated 27 Oct 2026)epfo.gov.in
- ConventionHague Conference on Private International Law: status table of the Apostille Convention, 1961hcch.net
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs: Attestation and Apostillemea.gov.in
Limits of this page
Nothing on this page is advice, and nothing on it is a statement that any provision applies to a particular set of facts. It is not an offer of engagement. Reading it creates no advocate-client relationship.
Each agreement is stated as its official source records it: a status only where the source states it, and an agreement no verified source records is left out rather than guessed. Each answer on this page restates a note, a law page or a practice page on this site, which carries the detail and its sources.