UK–India Legal, Investment & Private-Client Services
London instruction to Indian order.
Candour Legal acts as Indian counsel for UK companies, funds, law firms and the UK’s large Indian diaspora — India entry and investment, CETA-era trade contracts, direct enforcement of UK judgments in India, LCIA and other award enforcement, and property, probate and succession matters handled while clients remain in the UK. We advise on Indian law; English-law questions stay with your UK solicitors, with whom we coordinate.
Why this corridor is different
The UK–India relationship carries two advantages other corridors lack. Legally, the United Kingdom is a reciprocating territory under Section 44A of India’s Civil Procedure Code: a money judgment from a UK superior court can be put into execution in India directly, without a fresh suit — a materially faster road to Indian assets than US or EU judgment-holders face. Commercially, the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement has opened a new phase of tariff and services access, and with it a wave of contracts that need drafting with the Indian end in mind — our analysis of the compliance side is in our CETA playbook.
Alongside the corporate flow runs the private-client one: the UK’s Indian diaspora holds property, inheritances and family interests across Gujarat and India, and much of that work — probate, succession, possession, sale — can be conducted from the UK through counsel and a power of attorney.
India-related matters we handle for UK clients
India entry & investment
Indian subsidiaries and joint ventures for UK companies, FDI-route analysis and FEMA compliance, and legal due diligence on Indian targets — reported to UK board and fund standards, with structure trade-offs in writing first.
CETA-era trade & services contracts
Supply, distribution, services and licensing arrangements between UK and Indian businesses — drafted with the trade-agreement context, Indian enforceability and deliberately chosen dispute clauses.
Financial services & GIFT City
UK financial institutions and fintechs looking at Indian exposure — including through the GIFT City IFSC, where UK-linked funds and service providers can operate under IFSCA regulation. Through our GIFT City practice.
Enforcement — judgments & awards
Direct execution of UK judgments under Section 44A, enforcement of LCIA and other London-seated awards under the New York Convention route, and the asset identification that makes either worth doing — via our cross-border disputes practice.
Probate, property & succession for UK NRIs
Indian probate and letters of administration for UK-resident heirs, ancestral-property protection and partition, sales through power of attorney, and FEMA-compliant repatriation — run through our NRI practice without repeated travel.
Local counsel for UK law firms
Indian-law opinions for English proceedings and transactions, litigation and asset searches, conduct of Indian proceedings, and enforcement instructions — on defined scopes, with the client relationship protected. See our local-counsel page.
Disputes with an Indian end
UK-linked disputes reach us in recognisable shapes: an unpaid Indian counterparty under an English-law contract; an LCIA award that now needs Indian assets; a UK judgment ready for Section 44A execution; a shareholder conflict inside an Indian joint venture; an estate contested in a Gujarat court while the heirs live in Leicester or London. The Indian proceedings — and the interim relief that stops assets moving while they run — are what we conduct, reporting to you or your UK solicitors in the rhythm the file needs. The half-day time-zone overlap means same-day instructions and responses are the norm, not the exception.
Frequently Asked Questions
What UK clients and solicitors ask about the Indian end.
Can a UK judgment be enforced in India?
Yes, directly. The UK is a notified reciprocating territory under Section 44A of the CPC, so a money decree of a UK superior court can be filed for execution in the appropriate Indian court as if it were an Indian decree — subject to the limited defences in Section 13, such as lack of jurisdiction or breach of natural justice. The practical work lies in certified copies, the execution application and locating executable assets, which is where our involvement usually begins.
How is an LCIA award enforced against an Indian company?
Under Part II of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act: the award and arbitration agreement are filed before the relevant High Court, the Indian party may resist only on the narrow Section 48 grounds, and once those objections fail the award is executed as a decree. London-seated awards are among the most commonly enforced foreign awards in India, and the jurisprudence is well developed — which helps predictability.
What does the India–UK CETA mean for our contracts?
Tariff and market-access changes alter the economics of UK–India trade, but the legal risk still lives in the contract: Indian enforceability, incoterms aligned with the tariff position, IP and registration steps on the Indian side, and a dispute clause chosen for enforcement rather than habit. Our CETA compliance playbook sets out the working checklist we apply.
I live in the UK. How do I obtain probate for assets in India?
Indian assets are administered under Indian succession law, separately from your UK grant. Where there is a will covering Indian assets, probate or letters of administration are sought from the appropriate Indian court; where there is none, succession certificates and legal-heirship processes apply depending on the asset type. You appoint us through a power of attorney — notarised and apostilled in the UK — and the proceedings run without you travelling. We map the exact combination in the first consultation.
Can we instruct you the way we instruct counsel in other jurisdictions?
Yes — the working model is deliberately familiar to UK solicitors: conflict check on party names, engagement terms (yours or ours), defined scope and fee per deliverable or stage, and written reporting into your file. Confidentiality undertakings on your template are normal. The detail is on our local-counsel page.
A UK company is buying into an Indian business — what should diligence prioritise?
Share title and capitalisation history, promoter and group-company dealings, material contracts and their change-of-control clauses, borrowings and registered security, litigation and regulatory searches, employment liabilities and — too often missed — whether the IP the deal assumes actually sits in the target. We scope diligence to the transaction’s size and report deal-breakers, price-adjusters and fixable conditions separately.
Discuss a UK–India matter
Send the outline — the deal, the judgment, the estate or the dispute. We will respond with a conflict check and a written view on the Indian end, within your working day.
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