From Germany
Germany is the tenth-largest source of foreign direct investment into India, USD 15,607 million from April 2000 to March 2026, with transportation, electrical equipment, metallurgical industries, chemicals, insurance and construction among the sectors the Ministry of External Affairs names. The bilateral investment treaty was terminated on 23 March 2017, and the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement concluded on 27 January 2026 has no date of entry into force in the brief. This page sets out those agreements, how a German company can open an office in India, the questions an Indian living in Germany asks first, and why the Apostille Convention does not apply to a document signed there.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 15,607 million
- Tenth-largest source of cumulative foreign direct investment into India, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 15,607 million, 1.98 per cent.
- Equity inflow in the financial year 2025-26: USD 495 million.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 300,000
- 300,000 non-resident Indians live there, the twelfth-largest number in any country.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 364,013.
- Source 2
- Investment treaty
- Terminated 23 March 2017
- India-Germany Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. In force from 13 July 1998; terminated on 23 March 2017. For investments made while it was in force, Article 15 keeps it effective for fifteen years after termination, to 23 March 2032.
- Source 3, 4
India and Germany: the legal framework
The investment treaty was terminated in 2017 and, for investments made before then, stays effective to 23 March 2032; tax and social security each have their own agreement.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment protection | India-Germany Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement Its page in Law | Terminated 23 March 2017 | In force from 13 July 1998; terminated on 23 March 2017. For investments made while it was in force, Article 15 keeps it effective for fifteen years after termination, to 23 March 2032. | 3, 4 |
| Double taxation | India-Germany Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation | In force | Listed in the brief among the important bilateral agreements; a note on this site applies its Article 5 to an office in India. | 5, 4 |
| Trade agreement | India-European Union Free Trade Agreement | No date of entry into force | The brief records the agreement as concluded at the 16th India-European Union Summit on 27 January 2026 and gives no date of entry into force. | 6 |
| Social security | India-Germany Agreement on Social Security | In force | Signed 8 October 2008; in force from 1 October 2009. A comprehensive agreement of 12 October 2011 is also listed. Contributions are paid in the home country for a posting of up to 48 months. | 7 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Does not apply | Germany has lodged an objection to India’s accession. | 8, 10 |
Where Germany invests in India
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Germany lists these sectors for German investment in India, April 2000 to December 2025. 11
- Transportation
- Electrical equipment
- Metallurgical industries
- Services sector (particularly insurance)
- Chemicals
- Construction activity
Sector pages on this site
- Manufacturing
Named in the brief: Transportation; Electrical equipment; Metallurgical industries; Chemicals
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 brief: Construction activity
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 brief: Services sector (particularly insurance)
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 Germany, June 2026, names among the fields of cooperation critical minerals, the semiconductor ecosystem and green hydrogen. 6
Questions from Germany
A business from Germany
Does an investment treaty protect a German investment in India?
The Department of Economic Affairs lists the India-Germany investment treaty as terminated on 23 March 2017; for investments made while it was in force, Article 15 keeps it effective for fifteen years, to 23 March 2032.
Can a company from Germany have a presence in India without a subsidiary?
A German company 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 an office in India a permanent establishment for tax?
It turns on Article 5 of the India-Germany Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and on the facts.
Can a company incorporated in Germany 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.
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.
What does India require of a semiconductor investor or tool supplier?
Semicon 2.0, notified on 31 August 2026, supports a silicon wafer fab at 40 per cent of eligible capital expenditure, and the applicant must already show capital investment of INR 20,000 crore, revenue of INR 7,500 crore in one of the three financial years before it applies, and production grade technology it owns or licenses.
A supplier that exports, re-exports or sends for repair the advanced chip manufacturing tools on India’s export control list needs an authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade first.
Indians living in Germany
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Germany, June 2026, records students, professionals, researchers and scientists, business people and nurses among the Indian passport holders and people of Indian origin in Germany. 6
When is an Indian citizen living in Germany 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 Germany: 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 Germany 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.
Germany has lodged an objection to India’s accession, so the Convention does not apply between Germany and India.
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.
- 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 on Germany
Advocates who write the notes for the region, Europe
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.
- Berlin and Frankfurt are 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 Germany 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 Berlin 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.
Germany has lodged an objection to India’s accession, so the Convention does not apply between Germany and India.
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
Notes on Germany
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 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, Register of Bilateral Investment Treaties/Agreements (dea.gov.in), page 8dea.gov.in
- Note on this siteNote on this site: A German company's presence in India: liaison, branch or project office under the Reserve Bank's Master Direction
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Germany Bilateral Relations brief, list of agreements including DTAA (July 2026) (mea.gov.in)mea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Germany bilateral brief, June 2026mea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, Indian Treaties Database, Agreement on Social Insurance (signed 08/10/2008); EPFO International Workers, Germany card (in force 1 October 2009; new comprehensive agreement of 12 October 2011 also listed)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 pageGerman Missions in India: information sheet on the verification of Indian documentsindia.diplo.de
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Germany Bilateral Relations brief, para 48 (mea.gov.in)mea.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.