Head 18 / 20 · IFSCA (Listing) Regulations 2024 + Direct Listing Scheme 2024 · Live
IPO and Listing at IFSC Stock Exchanges
Equity IPOs (including Direct Listing of Indian unlisted public companies in FCY); debt listings (FC bonds, masala bonds, sukuk); ESG / Green / Sustainability-linked / Social / Transition bonds (USD 15.43 bn ESG-labelled debt listed at 30 Jun 2025 — 25% of USD 65.1 bn total). Section 47(viiab) + 10(4D) + 80LA tax architecture delivers near-zero-tax outcome for non-resident investors and 10-of-15-year (proposed 20-of-25) holiday for issuers' IFSC units.
Listing & Capital Raising — The Practitioner's Booklet
A treatise-grade working reference on the licensing, capital, conduct-of-business and tax framework for Listing & Capital Raising at GIFT IFSC — every conclusion anchored in verbatim statutory and regulatory text.
The case for Listing & Capital Raising — 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
Issuer Listing Pathway Tool
Map issuer type, security type, currency, listing exchange and investor target to the applicable IFSCA Regulations chapter, eligibility test, minimum issue size, allocation breakdown, tax positioning and (for ESG bonds) framework references.
IFSCA (Listing) Regulations 2024 (effective 20 August 2024); Direct Listing Scheme 2024 (DEA); Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules 2024; FEMA (NDI) Amendment Rules 2024. Indicative only — not legal advice.
Related reading
- Booklet XXIII — IPO and Listing at IFSC Stock Exchanges (PDF, May 2026) · Full Firm handbook.
- Market Infrastructure Institutions (Booklet XIX) · NSE IFSC, India INX, IICCL, NICCL, IIDI — the listing-venue layer.
- Capital Market Intermediaries (Booklet XII) · Investment Banker, Broker-Dealer registrations for the lead-manager and underwriter functions.
- Credit Rating Agencies (Booklet XXIV) · Rating for FC bonds and ESG-debt second-party opinions.
- Resources page · IFSCA Listing Regulations 2024; Direct Listing Scheme 2024; ESG bond frameworks; tax provisions.