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Ship Leasing from GIFT IFSC
India carries 95% of trade volume by sea but flags only ~8% on Indian-owned tonnage; ~USD 75 bn p.a. leaks as freight to foreign-owned vessels. The IFSCA Ship Leasing Framework (16 Aug 2022) operationalises the financing layer for Maritime India Vision 2030. Parallel to the Aircraft Lease Framework: operating + financial + hybrid; capital USD 200k/USD 3m; Section 80LA + 10(4F) + CBDT S.O. 1135(E) (Mar 2024).
Ship Leasing — The Practitioner's Booklet
A treatise-grade working reference on the licensing, capital, conduct-of-business and tax framework for Ship Leasing at GIFT IFSC — every conclusion anchored in verbatim statutory and regulatory text.
The case for Ship Leasing — 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
Ship Lease Structuring Wizard
Map lease type, vessel type, lessee, flag and sanctions overlay to the IFSCA Framework profile, capital floor, tax positioning, flagging guidance and Standard of Practice flags.
IFSCA Framework for Ship Leasing (16 Aug 2022, consolidated 23 Jun 2023); Merchant Shipping Act 1958 / 2025; Income-tax Act §§80LA, 10(4F), 115VA-VZC. Indicative only — not legal advice.
Related reading
- Booklet XVI — Ship Leasing from GIFT IFSC (PDF, May 2026) · Full Firm handbook.
- Aircraft Leasing · Parallel framework architecture; the two together form the IFSCA asset-leasing duology.
- Finance Company / Finance Unit · Ship Lease is registered as a Finance Company / Finance Unit under FC Regs 2021.
- Resources page · IFSCA Ship Leasing Framework; Merchant Shipping Act 1958; Tonnage Tax (Chapter XII-G); Price Cap Coalition Advisory.