Outside India Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean
From Singapore
Singapore is the largest source of foreign direct investment into India, USD 194,688 million from April 2000 to March 2026, or 24.72 per cent of the total. A Singapore investor relies on Chapter 6 of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, in force from 1 August 2005, and on a tax treaty under which gains on Indian shares acquired on or after 1 April 2017 may be taxed in India. This page sets out those agreements, the questions a Singapore business or one of the 450,000 non-resident Indians there asks first, and the practical facts of working across the border.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 194,688 million
- Largest source of cumulative foreign direct investment into India, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 194,688 million, 24.72 per cent.
- Equity inflow in the financial year 2025-26: USD 19,802 million.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 450,000
- 450,000 non-resident Indians live there, the ninth-largest number in any country.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 483,199.
- Source 2
- Investment treaty
- In force
- India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (trade; investment in Chapter 6). Signed 29 June 2005; in force from 1 August 2005 under Article 16.8. The register of the Department of Economic Affairs lists no separate India-Singapore bilateral investment treaty.
- Source 3, 4, 5
India and Singapore: the legal framework
Investment and trade sit in one agreement, the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement of 2005; tax has its own agreement.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade and investment | India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (trade; investment in Chapter 6) Its page in Law | In force | Signed 29 June 2005; in force from 1 August 2005 under Article 16.8. The register of the Department of Economic Affairs lists no separate India-Singapore bilateral investment treaty. | 3, 4, 5 |
| Double taxation | India-Singapore Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion Its page in Law | In force | Signed 20 April 1981; Third Protocol signed 30 December 2016. A note on this site applies it to gains on Indian shares acquired on or after 1 April 2017. | 6, 7 |
| Social security | Social security agreement | None listed | Singapore has no entry on the list. | 8 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Applies | The status table lists Singapore among the contracting States. | 9 |
Where Singapore invests in India
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Singapore lists these sectors for investment from Singapore in India, April 2000 to March 2026. 11
- Services sector
- Computer software and hardware
- Trading
- Telecommunications
- Drugs and pharmaceuticals
Sector pages on this site
- Technology and services
Named in the brief: Services sector; Computer software and hardware; Telecommunications
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.
- Healthcare and pharma
Named in the brief: Drugs and pharmaceuticals
Legal work for hospitals, pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, and life sciences enterprises: medical negligence proceedings, CDSCO and drug regulatory compliance, NPPA price control, clinical trial regulation, and restructuring where intellectual property is the principal asset.
Where the two countries are working together
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Singapore, July 2026, names among the fields of cooperation the semiconductor ecosystem, green hydrogen and advanced manufacturing. 12
Questions from Singapore
A business from Singapore
What protects a Singapore investment in India?
Chapter 6 of the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement gives a Singapore investor national treatment, protection against expropriation without prompt, adequate and effective compensation, free transfer of returns and arbitration of most disputes after six months of consultations, but no fair and equitable treatment article.
The register of the Department of Economic Affairs lists no Singapore treaty, and no official notice terminating or amending Chapter 6 has been published.
Are gains on Indian shares held through Singapore taxed in India?
Under the India-Singapore tax treaty as amended in 2016, gains on Indian shares acquired on or after 1 April 2017 may be taxed in India, while shares acquired before that date stay taxable only in the investor’s State of residence, subject to a limitation of benefits clause.
Does a tax residency certificate settle access to the treaty?
Not by itself: the Supreme Court’s judgment of 15 January 2026 in Tiger Global holds that it does not settle the question.
The General Anti-Avoidance Rule in Chapter XI of the Income-tax Act, 2025 also sits over both the Mauritius and the Singapore treaty.
When must a foreign portfolio investor disclose its owners?
A foreign portfolio investor that holds more than 50 per cent of its Indian equity assets in one Indian corporate group, or more than INR 50,000 crore of Indian equity alone or with its investor group, must name every person with any ownership, economic interest or control in it, down to natural persons.
One that stays over a limit without disclosing has its registration rendered invalid and 180 days to sell.
Can a company incorporated in Singapore 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 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 Singapore
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and Singapore, July 2026, records Indians in Singapore working in financial services, information technology, construction and the marine sector. 12
When is an Indian citizen living in Singapore 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 Singapore: 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 Singapore 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 Singapore 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
- 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.
- 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 Singapore
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.
- Singapore is two hours and thirty minutes ahead of Bengaluru.
- India and Singapore do not observe daylight saving time, so the difference holds all year.
Instructions are taken between 07:00 and 21:00 India Standard Time (IST), Monday to Friday, as the offices page states. In Singapore that is 09:30 to 23:30.
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 Singapore 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
Notes on Singapore
- Investing into India through Mauritius or Singapore in October 2026: the treaty tests, the GAAR and Tiger Global
- What the India-Singapore CECA investment chapter protects for a Singapore investor, and what it leaves out
From the region: Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean
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 pageCECA Chapter 16 (General and Final Provisions), Articles 16.3 and 16.8, Enterprise Singapore legal textenterprisesg.gov.sg
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, Indian Treaties Database, Mutual Recognition Agreement on Nursing Services under the CECA, recital stating CECA signed 29 June 2005 and in force 1 August 2005mea.gov.in
- Official pageDepartment of Economic Affairs, Register of Bilateral Investment Treaties/Agreements, pages 0 to 9 (dea.gov.in); no Singapore entrydea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, Indian Treaties Database, Third Protocol (signed 30/12/2016, ratified 24/01/2017); base agreement listed at TreatyDetail?1114 as signed 20/04/1981mea.gov.in
- Note on this siteNote on this site: Investing into India through Mauritius or Singapore in October 2026: the treaty tests, the GAAR and Tiger Global
- Official pageEmployees' Provident Fund Organisation, International Workers, list of social security agreements (epfo.gov.in); no Singapore entryepfo.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-Singapore Bilateral Relations brief, para 21 (July 2026 edition)mea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-Singapore bilateral brief, July 2026mea.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.