Offshore Accounting Services From India: Regulatory Obligations Across Five Laws
This article sets out the obligations that arise for Indian accounting firms and captive teams that provide outsourced bookkeeping and accounting to clients in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
It matters because the work is treated as an export, and that single label engages exchange control, indirect tax, transfer pricing and income tax, each with its own conditions. The rules described are existing law, and no new notification is involved.
Exchange control
What is the nature of the receipts?
Accounting services billed to a foreign client are an export of services. Export proceeds must be realised within the period prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India, generally nine months from the date of export, subject to extensions allowed by the RBI.
What follows if realisation is late?
A delay can require compounding for a technical breach. The exposure is avoided by tracking the invoice date and the receivable for each client and following up well before the nine months run out. Any extension depends on the RBI's prevailing directions, so the position should be checked when a receivable ages.