India Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in india, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Licensing Requirements for Professional Services
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According to the Indian Ministry of Finance, the services sector accounts for over 50 percent of its economy. The sector was also the largest recipient of FDI inflows, receiving approximately $100 billion between April 2000-December 2022. India has implemented policy reforms over the years in several services sectors, including banking and financial services, telecommunications, air transportation, healthcare, postal services, and other professional services. However, India still has restrictions on the provision of certain professional services by foreign nationals. These restrictions may include the number of foreign employees, transaction value, the supplier’s legal structure, or amount of foreign capital. For example:

  • Accounting and audit services are highly restricted, but U.S. accounting firms have been able to navigate these by having an Indian accounting firm as an affiliate.
  • Although the practice of professionals in engineering, integrated engineering, and construction services are not restricted, foreign engineering and construction firms are generally not awarded government contracts unless local firms are unable to perform the work.
  • International architectural firms are not allowed to provide direct services in India. Foreign firms may only participate through joint ventures with Indian architecture firms. An Indian partner registered with The Council of Architecture must be a signatory to get an architectural plan approved for a project in India.
  • Indian citizenship is not required to practice law in India.  However, only lawyers who have fulfilled the requirements of, and hold, an Indian law license, may practice law in India.  Per the recent Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022, foreign firms are allowed to enter into partnerships with Indian law firms.

India is a signatory to the WTO negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services, which came into force on January 1, 1995. Under this framework, India has progressively made several commitments, and is actively involved in comprehensive multilateral negotiations regarding trade in services. India is a proponent of the liberalization of trade in services, especially through Mode 4: Presence or movement of natural persons who are either service suppliers (such as independent professionals) or who work for a service supplier and are present in another WTO member country to supply a service.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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