Setting up your Indian company in Spain

India and Spain in figures

What Spain requires of an Indian company

Of the ten obligations set out on our general page, these are the ones that apply to you:

What changes when you come from India

• ·1993 double taxation treaty: in addition to dividends, interest and royalties, Spain may tax the technical or consultancy services that the subsidiary pays the parent company for, including the provision of staff.
• ·Investment protection: the bilateral agreement terminated on 23 September 2016 and protects only earlier investments, until 2031. The EU-India investment protection agreement is still under negotiation, and the free trade agreement, concluded in January 2026, is awaiting signature. With a Spanish partner, the shareholders' agreement sets out your rights against that partner.
• ·Parent company documents: the Certificate of Incorporation issued by the Registrar of Companies, the constitutional documents (Memorandum and Articles of Association), evidence of the directors' appointment and the board resolution; the power of attorney, before an Indian notary. The Ministry of External Affairs of India apostilles them, following authentication; between Spain and India, the apostille has applied since 2008. Any sworn translation required by the notary or the registry is done in Spain and includes the apostille.
• ·Visa: Indian nationals also need one for short business trips (a Schengen visa, which does not allow them to work). Since 2024, anyone applying in India who has lawfully used two visas within three years can be issued a two-year multiple-entry visa and, after that, a five-year one.
• ·Social Security: there is no agreement between Spain and India, so anyone working here pays contributions in Spain.
• ·Personal data: as there is no European Commission adequacy decision for India, sending customer or employee data to the parent company requires appropriate safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses.
• ·Outflow of capital: before the first remittance, the parent company obtains through its authorised bank, using Form FC, the UIN assigned by the Reserve Bank of India; above US$1,000 million of financial commitments in a financial year, it needs the Reserve Bank's prior approval.

From India to an operating subsidiary, step by step

1. 1

   Preliminary review

   Subsidiary or branch, prior authorisation, withholding taxes and timetable.

2. 2

   Documents in India

   Certificate of Incorporation, constitutional documents, board resolution and power of attorney before an Indian notary, all apostilled.

3. 3

   Sworn translation

   Into Spanish, in Spain, including the apostille.

4. 4

   NIF and NIE

   The parent company's NIF (letter N) and the NIE or NIF of whoever signs or acts as director.

5. 5

   Incorporation or branch

   Incorporation of the SL before a Spanish notary, with a negative company name certificate, or registration of the branch.

6. 6

   Funds and Investment Register

   Transfer once the UIN has been assigned, and Form D-1A within the following month.

7. 7

   Tax registration

   Census registration (Form 036) and electronic power of representation for notifications.

8. 8

   Bank account

   The bank opens it under its own requirements and may require the signatory to appear in person.

9. 9

   Team

   Registration with the Social Security system, employee registrations, authorisations and visas.

10. 10

    Ongoing compliance

    VAT, Corporate Income Tax, withholdings on payments to the parent company, annual accounts with the beneficial owner and corporate books.

Your Indian team in Spain

To work at the subsidiary or the branch, an Indian national needs a residence and work authorisation and a national visa (only EU citizens and those with equivalent free movement rights are exempt). The Large Companies Unit (Unidad de Grandes Empresas) processes the authorisation, which is decided within 20 days (if there is no reply, it is deemed granted); the visa, generally within 10 working days.

• ·Intra-corporate transfer: managers, specialists and trainees of the group, with a higher education degree or three years' experience and three months' prior service in the group; up to three years (one for trainees).
• ·Highly qualified professional or EU Blue Card: a highly qualified position at the subsidiary; the Blue Card requires a contract or binding job offer of six months or more and a salary threshold, and in information and communication technology three years' experience within the last seven can replace the degree.
• ·Entrepreneur: an innovative project or one of special economic interest, with a favourable report from ENISA.

A spouse or partner, minor or dependent children and dependent ascendants can accompany them or join them later (family reunification). A transferred executive can opt for the special regime for inbound workers in the year of the transfer and the following five years, if they have not been resident here in the previous five. For meetings, we prepare the file for the Schengen business visa, which your executive submits in India.

Taxes: the treaty with India and what is paid in Spain

These rates apply only if the parent company is the beneficial owner and obtaining them is not one of the principal purposes of the transaction. The subsidiary keeps the parent company's Indian certificate of tax residence, valid for one year, and reports the withholdings on Forms 216 and 296. If the characterisation of a payment is unclear, a binding ruling can be requested from the Directorate General for Taxation (Dirección General de Tributos).

The subsidiary pays Corporate Income Tax like any Spanish company, at the general rate of 25%; transactions with the parent company are valued at market price and, above certain amounts, are reported on Form 232.

With a branch, profits are taxed at the same rate, a tax representative is mandatory, and the treaty adds two rules: in general, royalties, commissions and interest paid to the head office are not deductible, and Spain may also tax the parent company's direct sales of goods similar to those sold by the branch. When profits are sent to the parent company, a 19% supplementary tax may apply, depending on the treaty and on reciprocity: we analyse this before you choose. An agent or employee who concludes contracts here on behalf of the parent company may create a permanent establishment for it.

What we do for your Indian company

We file and sign on your behalf with the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria), the Social Security system, the immigration authorities (Large Companies Unit, MERCURIO platform) and the Registries. A fixed-fee quote in writing before we start; notary, official fees, apostille and sworn translation are separate and payable by you.

• ·The subsidiary or the branch, with the subsidiary's powers of attorney and the contract for your general manager.
• ·Tax representation, where the case allows it: with a branch, the law would make the representative liable for your debt, so we tell you beforehand and agree the guarantees.
• ·Authorisations and visas for your team, Social Security and the subsidiary's taxes.
• ·The European Union trade mark, valid in all 27 Member States.

By law, we identify the beneficial owner of each client before we start work. We do not provide a registered office or an address for notifications, nor do we act as directors, company secretaries or shareholders of your company (nominee or otherwise), customs representative, IOSS intermediary or the person responsible for your products in the EU; nor do we handle a Spanish-only trade mark applied for by your parent company. We coordinate the apostille and the sworn translation. We work in Spanish and English, in writing and remotely, and we are available at any hour, including during Indian business hours.