Establishing in GIFT City
Setting up in GIFT IFSC is a sequence of decisions and approvals: what you will do, for whom, through which entity, and in what order the approvals come.
The five decisions
- Activity: which IFSCA framework your business falls under.
- Clients: non-residents only, or residents as well; your own group or third parties.
- Entity: company, LLP or branch of a foreign entity.
- People and premises: who will be your principal officer and key managerial persons, and where you will sit.
- Timing: when you will commence, which matters for tax.
The approvals
Most set-ups need four things: an Indian legal entity or branch registration; IFSCA registration for the activity; SEZ unit approval (also through IFSCA); and the State and tax registrations that every business needs. The set-up sequence page shows the order.
Guides in this section
The questions that determine structure
Before choosing a structure, answer five questions. Each answer narrows the frameworks open to you.
Read the guide →Company, LLP or branch
Most IFSC frameworks allow a company; many allow an LLP; several allow a branch of a foreign entity. The right choice depends on the framework, the capital that must sit in India, and how the group wants to be taxed and governed.
Read the guide →The set-up sequence: office space to certificate of registration
IFSCA's own workflow for setting up in the IFSC (SWIT workflow V1.0, July 2026) runs from finding premises to the certificate of registration. In outline, the sequence runs as follows.
Read the guide →Using SWIT, the single window
SWIT (Single Window IT system) is IFSCA's portal at swit.ifsca.gov.in. Applications for registration, SEZ approval and many post-registration filings are made there.
Read the guide →Office space, physical presence and substance
IFSCA expects an IFSC entity to have real presence: premises in the IFSC, people with authority, and decisions taken there.
Read the guide →Group centres compared: GIC, GAO, finance unit, TechFin and ancillary
A group that wants a captive centre in GIFT IFSC has several routes. They differ in who can be served and what activity is allowed.
Read the guide →Global In-House Centres
A Global In-House Centre lets a financial-services group set up a captive unit in GIFT IFSC to serve group entities abroad. The governing instrument is the IFSCA (Global In-House Centres) Regulations, 2025 (IFSCA/GN/2025/012, 24 December 2025), which replaced the 2020 Regulations.
Read the guide →TechFin and ancillary services
TechFin and ancillary service providers support financial institutions in the IFSC and abroad with technology and professional services, under the IFSCA (TechFin and Ancillary Services) Regulations, 2025 (10 July 2025), as amended in 2026.
Read the guide →BATF services
BATF service providers offer book-keeping, accounting, taxation and financial-crime compliance services from GIFT IFSC to clients outside India, under the IFSCA (Book-keeping, Accounting, Taxation and Financial Crime Compliance Services) Regulations, 2024.
Read the guide →International branch campuses and offshore education centres
Foreign universities may set up international branch campuses and offshore education centres in GIFT IFSC under IFSCA's regulations for such institutions, teaching courses in financial management, fintech, science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Read the guide →Relocating an existing business or fund to GIFT
Groups move existing businesses or funds to GIFT IFSC to consolidate offshore operations in India. Relocation is a set-up plus a transfer, and the transfer is where the legal work lies.
Read the guide →Exit, wind-down and surrender
An IFSC unit can surrender its registration, wind down, or exit the SEZ. Each requires formal steps with IFSCA, the SEZ framework and company law.
Read the guide →Authorities and further reading
The official instruments and pages this guide relies on. Check the current version on the issuer's site before acting.
Talk to the firm about your plans.
A short note on what you are setting up is enough for a first conversation. No confidential information is needed at this stage.
Arrange a consultation →