From France
France is the eleventh-largest source of foreign direct investment into India, USD 12,254 million from April 2000 to March 2026, with services, cement, air transport and petroleum and natural gas among the sectors the Ministry of External Affairs names. The bilateral investment treaty was terminated on 7 April 2017, and the social security agreement has been in force from 1 July 2011. This page sets out those agreements, the Indian law on nuclear power, carbon targets and the Labour Codes that a French business meets, the questions an Indian living in France asks first, and the practical facts of working across the border.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 12,254 million
- Eleventh-largest source of cumulative foreign direct investment into India, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 12,254 million, 1.56 per cent.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 19,000
- 19,000 non-resident Indians live there.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 109,000.
- Source 2
- Investment treaty
- Terminated 7 April 2017
- India-France Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. Signed 2 September 1997, in force from 17 May 2000; terminated on 7 April 2017.
- Source 3
India and France: the legal framework
The investment treaty was terminated in 2017; social security has its own agreement, and the brief gives no date of entry into force for the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment protection | India-France Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement | Terminated 7 April 2017 | Signed 2 September 1997, in force from 17 May 2000; terminated on 7 April 2017. | 3 |
| Trade agreement | India-European Union Free Trade Agreement | No date of entry into force | The brief dates the agreement 27 January 2026 and gives no date of entry into force. | 4 |
| Social security | India-France Social Security Agreement | In force | In force from 1 July 2011; contributions are paid in the home country for a posting of up to 60 months. | 5 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Applies | The status table lists France among the contracting States. | 6 |
Where France invests in India
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and France lists these sectors for French investment in India, April 2000 to December 2025. 8
- Services sector
- Cement and gypsum products
- Air transport (including air freight)
- Miscellaneous industries
- Petroleum and natural gas
Sector pages on this site
- Manufacturing
Named in the brief: Cement and gypsum products; Miscellaneous industries
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.
- Technology and services
Named in the brief: Services sector
Legal work for technology, platform and service businesses: data protection under the DPDP Act, intermediary liability, content and IP licensing, platform regulation, and the licensing and governance regimes that apply to media, education, hospitality and the creative economy.
- Infrastructure and projects
Named in the brief: Air transport (including air freight); Petroleum and natural gas
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.
Where the two countries are working together
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and France, July 2026, names among the fields of cooperation green hydrogen, nuclear energy and digital public infrastructure. 4
Questions from France
A business from France
Can a company incorporated in France 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 France 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.
Can a private company hold a nuclear power licence in India?
Once in force, the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025 makes any company incorporated in India, alone or in a joint venture, eligible for a licence to build, own, operate and decommission a nuclear power plant, with the operator’s liability capped by reactor size at INR 100 crore to INR 3,000 crore.
It comes into force only on a date the Central Government notifies, and the note has not found that notification.
Does an Indian plant face a carbon emission target?
From 8 October 2025 the Greenhouse Gases Emission Intensity Target Rules, 2025 gave named plants in aluminium, cement, chlor-alkali and pulp and paper a binding target, and an amendment from 13 January 2026 added plants in secondary aluminium, refining, petrochemicals and textiles.
A plant that misses its target buys and surrenders carbon credit certificates for the gap; a shortfall left uncovered draws environmental compensation at twice the average traded price.
What do the Labour Codes require of a factory in India?
From 21 November 2025 a factory, mine or plantation that averaged 300 or more workers a day over the preceding twelve months needs the appropriate Government’s prior permission to lay off, retrench or close, and a retrenchment there needs three months’ notice.
Gratuity on fixed-term staff now accrues at one year instead of five.
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.
Indians living in France
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and France, July 2026, records that the Indian diaspora in mainland France comes largely from Puducherry, Karaikal, Yanam, Mahe and Chandernagore and from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Punjab, and that people of Indian origin also live in the French overseas territories. 4
When is an Indian citizen living in France 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 France: 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 France 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 France 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.
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.
- Employment
Advisory and representation on employment disputes, disciplinary process, industrial relations and labour code compliance.
- 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, Europe
Adv. Harsha Swaroop PPartner
- The India and United Kingdom trade agreement took effect on 15 July 2026, and no investment treaty came with it
- An NRI or OCI cardholder selling a flat in India and sending the money abroad: the rules from 1 April 2026
- An heir living abroad can inherit property in India, but money leaves the country only up to USD 1 million a year without Reserve Bank approval
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.
- Paris is four hours and thirty minutes behind Bengaluru, and three hours and thirty minutes behind while summer time is in force there.
- India does not observe daylight saving time, so the difference changes on the dates France 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 Paris that is 02:30 to 16:30 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 France 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: Europe
- The India and United Kingdom trade agreement took effect on 15 July 2026, and no investment treaty came with it
- An NRI or OCI cardholder selling a flat in India and sending the money abroad: the rules from 1 April 2026
- An heir living abroad can inherit property in India, but money leaves the country only up to USD 1 million a year without Reserve Bank approval
- Dutch holding companies investing into India: the MFN clause, the Nestle judgment and dividend withholding
- The India-EFTA agreement's USD 100 billion investment objective is a promotion duty, not investment protection
- A power of attorney signed abroad to sell a flat in Bengaluru: the route, the stamp clock and the limit
- A German company's presence in India: liaison, branch or project office under the Reserve Bank's Master Direction
- A Put Option Against a Resident: What Makes It Enforceable, and at What Price
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 pageDepartment of Economic Affairs, Bilateral Investment Treaties register, row 'France' (columns Date of Agreement / Enforcement / Termination)dea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-France bilateral brief, July 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
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-France bilateral brief, July 2026, para 40mea.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.