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The FinTech Pathway at GIFT IFSC
One regulator covering banking, securities, insurance and pensions perimeters. Two parallel tracks — direct Authorisation as a FinTech Entity, or Limited Use Authorisation in one of three sandbox sub-tracks (Innovation, Regulatory, or Inter-Operable). Cash-grant scheme up to INR 75 lakh for Green FinTech.
FinTech Entity — The Practitioner's Booklet
A treatise-grade working reference on the licensing, capital, conduct-of-business and tax framework for FinTech Entity at GIFT IFSC — every conclusion anchored in verbatim statutory and regulatory text.
The case for FinTech Entity — before the rulebook.
GIFT IFSC competes head-on with Singapore, Dubai and Mauritius — on tax, on currency, and on access to India. Here is what actually moves the decision, before the regulatory detail below.
A 20-year tax holiday
100% deduction on business income for any 20 consecutive years in a 25-year block under Section 147 of the Income-tax Act 2025 (Finance Act 2026), then a 15% concessional rate. MAT capped at 9%.
US-dollar, offshore by law
An IFSC unit is treated as a person resident outside India under FEMA — raise, hold and transact in USD / EUR / GBP, with full foreign-currency freedom and no rupee-conversion drag.
100% foreign & NRI capital
Foreign and NRI investors can hold up to 100% — without the aggregate ownership caps that constrain comparable onshore vehicles.
An on-ramp to India
Unlike a purely offshore hub, GIFT IFSC sits on Indian soil and aligns with national policy — an offshore base that is also a door into one of the world's largest growth markets.
Zero STT, CTT & stamp duty
IFSC-exchange transactions are free of Securities and Commodity Transaction Tax and stamp duty; services rendered by IFSC units are zero-rated for GST.
One regulator, India's rule of law
A single unified regulator (IFSCA) under the IFSCA Act 2019, an independent judiciary, and a treaty-anchored legal order — certainty, not just headline rates.
The opportunity is real, but every benefit carries a condition — and that is where counsel at the threshold earns its place.
The framework — at a glance
FinTech Pathway Selector
Answer five questions; the tool maps your fact pattern to the most likely IFSCA track and grant eligibility.
FE Framework Circular dated 27 April 2022; IFSCA (FinTech Incentive) Scheme 2022; draft Sandbox Framework 19 Sep 2025. Indicative only — not legal advice.
Related reading
- Booklet XIII — The FinTech Pathway at GIFT IFSC (PDF, May 2026) · Full Firm handbook on the FE Framework.
- BATF Services (TechFin alternative) · RegTech / SupTech founders should test eligibility under the IFSCA (TechFin and Ancillary Services) Regulations 2025 first.
- Resources page · IFSCA FE Framework, FinTech Incentive Scheme, draft Sandbox Framework, DPDP Act and Rules.