From the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is the sixth-largest source of foreign direct investment into India, USD 36,894 million from April 2000 to March 2026. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Double Contributions Convention both entered into force on 15 July 2026, but no investment treaty came with them: the 1994 treaty was terminated on 23 March 2017. This page sets out what the two agreements change for a United Kingdom business and for staff sent to India, the questions an Indian living in the United Kingdom asks first, and the practical facts of working between London and India.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 36,894 million
- Sixth-largest source of cumulative foreign direct investment into India, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 36,894 million, 4.68 per cent.
- Equity inflow in the financial year 2025-26: USD 1,007 million.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 369,000
- 369,000 non-resident Indians live there, the tenth-largest number in any country.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 1,282,836.
- Source 2
- Investment treaty
- Terminated 23 March 2017
- India-United Kingdom Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. Signed 14 March 1994, in force from 6 January 1995; terminated on 23 March 2017.
- Source 3
- Double taxation agreement
- Agreement signed
- India-United Kingdom Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation. Amending Protocol signed 30 October 2012; see source.
- Source 4
India and the United Kingdom: the legal framework
The trade agreement and the social security convention entered into force together on 15 July 2026; the investment treaty was terminated in 2017.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment protection | India-United Kingdom Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement | Terminated 23 March 2017 | Signed 14 March 1994, in force from 6 January 1995; terminated on 23 March 2017. | 3 |
| Double taxation | India-United Kingdom Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation | Agreement signed | Amending Protocol signed 30 October 2012; see source. | 4 |
| Trade agreement | India-United Kingdom Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Its page in Law | In force | Signed 24 July 2025; in force from 15 July 2026. | 5 |
| Social security | India-United Kingdom Agreement on Social Security (Double Contributions Convention) Its page in Law | In force | In force from 15 July 2026. | 6 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Applies | The status table lists the United Kingdom among the contracting States. | 7 |
Where the United Kingdom invests in India
The official sources this page relies on give no list of sectors for investment from the United Kingdom into India. The sector pages below are those the notes on the United Kingdom draw on.
Sector pages on this site
- Manufacturing
Named in the notes on the United Kingdom 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.
- Technology and services
Named in the notes on the United Kingdom below
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.
Where the two countries are working together
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and the United Kingdom, July 2026, names among the fields of cooperation critical and emerging technologies, critical minerals and climate finance. 9
Questions from the United Kingdom
A business from the United Kingdom
Does a treaty protect a United Kingdom investment in India?
No investment treaty came with the trade agreement: the 1994 bilateral investment treaty ended on 23 March 2017, and the Department of Economic Affairs list shows no replacement.
What does the trade agreement in force from 15 July 2026 change for a United Kingdom business?
For an engineering or services business it lowers Indian import duty in stages, opens a defined list of Indian central government tenders, and sets the permitted length of stay for staff sent to India.
Does a United Kingdom employee sent to India pay into both social security systems?
The Double Contributions Convention, in force from 15 July 2026 with the trade agreement, keeps a seconded United Kingdom employee under National Insurance for up to 60 months.
Can a company incorporated in the United Kingdom 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.
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.
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 the United Kingdom
When is an Indian citizen living in the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom: 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 the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom 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
- Transaction advisory
Structuring, documentation and due diligence for acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring transactions under Indian law.
- Contracts and procurement
Drafting, review and negotiation of commercial contracts and procurement documentation across the supply chain.
- 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 the United Kingdom
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.
- London is five hours and thirty minutes behind Bengaluru, and four 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 the United Kingdom 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 London that is 01:30 to 15:30 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 the United Kingdom 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 the United Kingdom
From the region: Europe
- 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, Register of Bilateral Investment Treaties/Agreements (dea.gov.in), page 9dea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, Indian Treaties Database, Protocol of 30/10/2012 (ratified 24/12/2013); base convention not in the databasemea.gov.in
- Official pagePress Information Bureau, India and UK announce CETA entry into force on 15 July 2026 (17 June 2026) and release of 15 July 2026pib.gov.in
- Official pagePress Information Bureau, India-UK CETA and Agreement on Social Security enter into force (15 July 2026)pib.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-UK 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.