US–India Business, Technology & Disputes Counsel
advised at the Indian end.
Candour Legal acts as Indian counsel for US technology companies, manufacturers, funds and law firms — Indian subsidiaries and capability centres, investment due diligence, SaaS and technology contracting, hiring in India, data-protection compliance, and disputes with Indian counterparties. We advise on Indian law; US-law questions stay with your US counsel, whom we work alongside rather than around.
Why this corridor is different
The US–India corridor runs on technology and people. American companies build engineering teams, capability centres and subsidiaries in India; American funds hold Indian portfolio companies; Indian founders incorporate in Delaware and operate from Bengaluru or Ahmedabad. The legal work follows those patterns — employment and contractor structuring, IP assignment chains that survive diligence, SaaS terms enforceable at both ends, and DPDP compliance that now reaches US businesses serving Indian users.
The corridor also carries a structural quirk US clients discover late: the United States is not a reciprocating territory under Indian law, so a US court judgment cannot simply be executed in India — it must be sued upon afresh. That single fact makes dispute-resolution clauses in US–India contracts a design decision, not boilerplate, and it is one of the first things we review in any contract that crosses this corridor.
India-related matters we handle for US clients
Subsidiaries, GCCs & market entry
Wholly-owned Indian subsidiaries for US parents, global capability centres through our dedicated GCC practice, FDI-route analysis and the FEMA filings that follow capitalisation — with the intercompany and IP-assignment agreements US diligence expects.
VC / PE investment & due diligence
Legal due diligence on Indian targets and portfolio companies — corporate record, share title, ESOP hygiene, material contracts, litigation and regulatory searches — reported to US fund timetables, with Indian-law input on investment documents your US counsel drafts.
SaaS, technology & data
Technology and services agreements enforceable at the Indian end, IP assignment and confidentiality chains for Indian teams, and DPDP Act compliance for US businesses processing Indian personal data — grounded in our DPDP practice.
Hiring in India — employees & contractors
Employment contracts and policies under Indian law, contractor and employer-of-record structuring with the misclassification and permanent-establishment risks flagged honestly, POSH compliance, and exits and investigations documented to standard.
Disputes & enforcement
Litigation and arbitration against Indian counterparties, Section 9 interim relief in aid of US-seated arbitrations, enforcement of New York Convention awards, fresh suits on US judgments, and IBC leverage against Indian debtors — through our cross-border disputes practice.
US law firms & US-based NRIs
Defined-scope instructions for US firms — opinions, searches, Indian proceedings, evidence coordination — per our local-counsel page; and property, succession and family matters for NRIs across the US through our NRI practice.
Working across the time zones
The nine-to-twelve-hour gap between US time zones and India is either a friction or an advantage, depending on discipline. We run it as an advantage: instructions received during the US working day are worked in the following Indian day, so opinions, drafts and filings land in your inbox before your next morning — and video calls are scheduled in the overlap windows, US morning or evening, not at our convenience. Written reporting carries the rest, in the form described on the international overview.
Frequently Asked Questions
What US companies, funds and firms ask about the Indian end.
Can a US company hire employees in India without an entity?
Up to a point. Contractors and employer-of-record arrangements are lawful and common for early teams, but arrangements that function like employment build misclassification exposure, and a sustained Indian operation can raise permanent-establishment questions on the tax side — which we flag and route to qualified tax advisers. Once a team is core to the business, an Indian subsidiary or GCC is usually the cleaner structure, and the transition can be done without losing people or IP continuity.
Can we enforce a US court judgment in India?
Not directly. The US is not a reciprocating territory under Section 44A of India’s CPC, so a US judgment is enforced by filing a fresh Indian suit founded on the judgment — with the defendant able to raise the limited Section 13 defences, such as lack of jurisdiction or breach of natural justice. It works, but it is slower than direct execution. This is precisely why we recommend arbitration clauses in most US–India contracts: a US-seated award enforces in India through the New York Convention route, which is considerably more direct.
Does India’s DPDP Act apply to a US company with no Indian entity?
It can. The Act extends to processing of digital personal data outside India where it is connected with offering goods or services to persons in India — so a US SaaS or consumer business serving Indian users can be in scope with no Indian subsidiary at all. We assess applicability against your actual data flows and, where the Act applies, build the notice, consent and grievance framework it requires.
What does diligence on an Indian target look like for a US fund?
Structured and dated: MCA corporate records, capitalisation and share-title history, ESOP and founder-agreement hygiene, material contracts and their change-of-control triggers, borrowings and registered security, litigation and regulatory searches, employment and IP assignment chains. We report red flags, price-adjusters and fixable conditions separately, to your deal timetable, and coordinate with your US counsel on how findings land in the documents.
Our Indian founder team is incorporated in Delaware. What Indian law still applies?
Plenty — the flip does not move the operations. The Indian subsidiary still needs FEMA-compliant capitalisation and intercompany agreements, employees sit under Indian employment law, IP created in India needs assignment up the chain, transfer-pricing coordination sits with tax advisers, and any Indian dispute lands in Indian forums. We act as the Indian end of that stack, alongside your US counsel.
Can you obtain evidence or documents from India for US proceedings?
Yes, within Indian law — collection and certification of documents, coordination of voluntary witness evidence including video testimony, and searches across Indian courts, registries and public records. What we will not do is promise routes Indian law does not permit; where a formal judicial-assistance channel is the correct path, we say so and work it with your US counsel.
Discuss a US–India matter
Send the outline — the entity, the team, the deal or the dispute. We will come back with a conflict check and a written view on the Indian end, in your working day.
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