International tax advisory for corporates and foreign businesses: India treaty analysis, permanent-establishment exposure, withholding and cross-border transaction review.
Where does the activity happen, and how do contracts and payments reflect it? Contract and payment flows; Taxable-presence and treaty considerations; Implementation and documentation priorities
Cross-border tax questions depend on more than the location of a payment. Contractual rights, actual activities, personnel, commercial substance and treaty eligibility affect the analysis. An India-focused review connects those facts with the domestic and treaty framework relevant to your transaction. It provides a basis for contracting, withholding and compliance decisions, while identifying conclusions that depend on information or advice from another jurisdiction.
An overseas business is contracting with Indian customers or deploying personnel in India. Your group needs to assess permanent-establishment exposure. Services, software, intellectual property or financing payments require a consistent withholding position. A revised operating model changes how income, functions and risks are allocated.
Establish parties, contractual rights, delivery model and consideration flows. Examine how arrangements operate in practice rather than relying solely on contract labels.
Assess relevant India tax and treaty provisions, eligibility documentation and withholding questions. Identify qualifications, alternative interpretations and information gaps.
Review agreed activities, personnel presence, premises and contracting authority for potential India taxable-presence exposure. Document assumptions and measures for further evaluation.
Translate analysis into a documentation checklist and review process for recurring transactions. Coordinate with legal, treasury and overseas tax advisers where included in the mandate.
A technical memorandum setting out facts, the applicable framework and India tax position. A transaction-specific risk and documentation matrix. Recommendations for the agreed withholding and compliance process. Implementation dependencies for the finance or tax team.
Agreements, invoices and a description of services, rights or funding. Group structure, counterparty residence information and available treaty documents. Personnel, premises, travel and contracting-authority details. Previous advice, withholding positions and related correspondence.
Submit a short enquiry about your organisation, intended outcome and timetable. Our team reviews the mandate. Responsible professionals, deliverables and fees are agreed before work begins.
Connect the commercial agreement, business activity and payment flow in a single transaction review.
Identify counterparties, rights, obligations, the commercial purpose and the proposed payment terms. Potential engagement output: A transaction fact pattern with assumptions and unresolved questions.
Examine people, decision-making, delivery and business presence alongside the written agreements. Potential engagement output: An issues map for India tax and any specialist foreign-jurisdiction review.
Review the character of payments, the documentary position and the withholding or compliance questions within the agreed scope. Potential engagement output: A reasoned advisory memorandum and practical implementation actions.
Connect the contract, actual activities and payment character with the India tax position.
Examine service, software, licensing and financing arrangements against the rights granted, delivery model and character of consideration. Potential engagement output: A documented fact pattern and transaction-specific tax issues.
Review the relevant domestic and treaty framework, residence evidence and supporting documents before agreeing a withholding position. Potential engagement output: A reasoned position memorandum and documentation checklist.
Assess personnel, premises, contracting authority and the activities performed in India against the agreed taxable-presence questions. Potential engagement output: An exposure assessment with assumptions and information gaps.
Translate the analysis into review responsibilities, evidence requirements and escalation points for finance, treasury and legal teams. Potential engagement output: A payment-review matrix for the transactions in scope.
Tenured Chartered Accountants & Advocates. 15 years in practice, with experience across manufacturing, services, banking, insurance and logistics.
Chartered Accountants and Advocates bring complementary financial and legal perspectives to the facts behind a cross-border arrangement. Our sector background informs the questions we ask about contracts, activities and payment responsibilities.
Connect the agreement with the actual service, rights and business activity.
Bring payment character, records and recurring finance processes into the same discussion.
Identify the assumptions and supporting evidence on which a reasoned position depends.
Supply chains, capital investment & intercompany arrangements. India expansion and investment structures; Related-party supply and service arrangements; Finance workflows and document controls
Cross-border delivery, operating models & scalable processes. International contracts and payment flows; Group service models and transfer pricing; Workflow automation and AI use-case assessment
Transaction readiness, documentation & controlled operations. Transaction tax and diligence workstreams; Documented approval and reporting workflows; Technology integration with human review
Evidence, reporting & process governance. Tax exposure and transaction documentation; Reporting and reconciliation workflows; AI-assisted document handling with review controls
International operations, service flows & connected systems. Cross-border operating arrangements; Intercompany services and documentation; Operational data and workflow integration
US$ billion · India cross-border M&A. 2024: Cross-border M&A 13.0; 2025: Cross-border M&A 33.2. India cross-border M&A deal value, as reported by EY.
Contracts, taxable presence and intercompany pricing deserve attention before a new operating model goes live. Does your tax and operating structure match how the business actually works?
9 October 2026
A pre-execution review can identify India tax questions while commercial terms are being considered. The proposal confirms the documents and issues to be reviewed.
The engagement is India-focused. Your appointed local advisers handle other jurisdictions; coordination with them can be included.
A mandate can include a review framework with defined assumptions, supporting documents and escalation criteria when facts change.
EY India M&A report 2026 · Calendar years 2023–2025 · report pages 6 and 8