Cross-Border · GIFT City / IFSC Advisory
GIFT City is India’s International Financial Services Centre, a dollar-denominated, IFSCA-regulated jurisdiction with a genuine ten-year tax holiday. The opportunity is real, but so is the approval process. We advise on whether your fund, family office or services unit fits, and take the IFSCA registration and the tax structuring from plan to operational.
Launching an AIF or fund-management entity and weighing GIFT City against an offshore hub.
Aircraft or ship leasing seeking the IFSC framework built specifically for it.
A treasury, fintech or global in-house services arm that can operate from the IFSC.
An HNI family setting up a structure to hold and manage global investments tax-efficiently.
Broking, custody or capital-markets intermediary looking to register with the IFSCA.
A foreign group exploring GIFT City as the entry point into Indian and global markets.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Fit & feasibility | Assess whether your activity qualifies for an IFSC unit and which framework applies. |
| Structure & tax | Design the entity and the Section 80LA tax-holiday position, with substance and FEMA in view. |
| Entity setup | Incorporate the unit and arrange space / co-working approval within the IFSC. |
| IFSCA registration | Prepare and file the application to the IFSCA for the relevant licence / registration. |
| Banking & go-live | Open the foreign-currency account, set up books in USD, and get operational. |
| Ongoing compliance | Annual IFSCA, tax and FEMA compliance, and the 80LA deduction claimed correctly each year. |
| Benefit | What it means |
|---|---|
| 10-year tax holiday | 100% deduction of profits for any 10 consecutive years out of 15 under Section 80LA |
| Low alternate tax | MAT / AMT at 9% (where applicable), versus the standard rate |
| Transaction-tax relief | No STT, CTT or stamp duty on transactions on IFSC exchanges |
| Unified regulator | A single window, the IFSCA, instead of multiple regulators |
| Foreign-currency regime | Operates in USD; treated as non-resident for many FEMA purposes |
Government / third-party cost
Professional fees depend on the type of unit, the licence sought and the complexity of the structure. You receive a clear written quote after a feasibility call, no hidden charges, no published menu.
Schedule a 15-minute callGIFT City is India’s first International Financial Services Centre, located at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It is a deemed foreign-currency jurisdiction within India, regulated by a single unified authority, the IFSCA, set up so that international financial services, funds, banking, leasing, capital markets and insurance, can be conducted from India with competitive tax and regulatory treatment.
A unit in the IFSC can claim a 100% deduction of its business profits for any 10 consecutive years out of a 15-year window under Section 80LA of the Income-tax Act. Alongside it, a lower alternate minimum tax of 9% applies where relevant, and there is no securities transaction tax or commodities transaction tax on trades done on IFSC exchanges.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is the unified regulator. Instead of dealing separately with the RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA, an IFSC unit deals with a single authority, which is one of the practical attractions of the jurisdiction.
Yes. Family offices, structured through the Family Investment Fund route under the IFSCA fund framework, are increasingly used by HNI families to hold and manage global investments from GIFT City. We assess whether it fits your family’s situation and structure it accordingly.
No. It depends on being a registered IFSC unit carrying on an approved activity, maintaining genuine commercial substance in the IFSC, and claiming Section 80LA correctly each year. The structuring and the ongoing compliance are what make the benefit hold up, which is the core of our work.
Banking units, fund managers and AIFs, aircraft and ship leasing, capital-markets intermediaries (broking, custody, clearing), insurance and reinsurance, global in-house services, fintech, and bullion and bond trading on the IFSC exchanges, among others.
In foreign currency, typically US dollars. The IFSC is treated as outside the domestic tariff area for many purposes, and for several FEMA purposes a unit is treated as a non-resident, which is part of why the structure is attractive for cross-border business.
It varies with the type of licence and the IFSCA’s processing, typically a few months from a complete application. We give you a realistic timeline at the feasibility stage, once the activity and licence are clear.
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Vijay R Singh & Co., Chartered Accountants · FRN 136869W · ICAI M.No. 153926 · Andheri East, Mumbai, in practice since 2013. References are to the IFSCA Act 2019, Section 80LA of the Income-tax Act and FEMA 1999. Registrations and benefits are subject to IFSCA approval and eligibility. General information, not advice until engaged.
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