How to Register a Subsidiary Company in Hyderabad in 2026 — Step-by-Step
In Short
A foreign company can register a private limited subsidiary in Hyderabad fully remotely — no India visit required. Incorporation takes 10–15 working days after your apostilled documents arrive, and first-year setup costs $1,700 all-inclusive (plus ~$600 for a virtual office if needed). Profits are taxed at about 25% — well below the ~35% a branch office pays.
This guide is for founders and finance teams outside India — most often US, UK and Australian companies — who want a wholly-owned Hyderabad entity to run an engineering team, a GCC (Global Capability Centre — a captive back office), or local operations in Telangana.
It covers the exact requirements, costs, timeline and Telangana-specific compliance for a 2026 Hyderabad setup, with the real numbers we use on live engagements.
One thing catches almost everyone off guard: you never need to visit India. The entire process — signing, filing, even opening the bank account — runs online from wherever you are.
What is a subsidiary company in Hyderabad?
A Hyderabad subsidiary is a private limited company incorporated in Telangana, India, whose shares are owned by your foreign parent company or its founders.
It is a separate Indian legal entity. It signs its own contracts, employs its own staff, pays Indian tax on its own profits, and limits the parent's liability for what happens in India.
For a tech or engineering team you want on proper Indian payroll, a trading operation, or any function that needs a real Indian legal presence — the private limited subsidiary is the structure almost every foreign founder uses.
| Structure | Best for | Why founders skip it |
|---|---|---|
| Private Limited (subsidiary) | IT/engineering, GCCs, trading, hiring, local sales | — the default choice for foreign companies |
| LLP | Professional services partnerships | Staff prefer Pvt Ltd; harder to raise capital |
| Branch office | Banks and a few regulated firms | Taxed as foreign company at ~35% base |
| Liaison office | Airlines, shipping representation only | Cannot earn any revenue in India |
What do you need to register a subsidiary in Hyderabad?
You need at least 2 directors (one resident in India for 182+ days), at least 2 shareholders, a registered Hyderabad address, and apostilled identity documents.
- 2 directors minimum — at least one must be an Indian resident, meaning someone who stayed in India 182 days or more in the previous financial year. You need not give this director any equity. If you do not have one, we provide a nominee resident director service.
- 2 shareholders minimum — these can be foreign individuals, your foreign parent company, or a combination. In most sectors, 100% foreign ownership is allowed under the automatic FDI route — no prior government approval needed.
- A Hyderabad registered address — required for incorporation, GST and the Certificate of Incorporation. A virtual office in Hyderabad satisfies this requirement, starting around $50/month.
- DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) for each director — India's legally binding electronic signature, used to sign all incorporation forms.
- Apostilled documents — passports and address proofs notarised and apostilled in your home country (or consularised if your country is not in the Hague Apostille Convention).
- Board resolution from the parent company — formally authorising the incorporation of an Indian subsidiary. We draft this for you.
How do you register a subsidiary in Hyderabad step by step?
Once your apostilled documents reach us, incorporation takes 10–15 working days across seven online steps filed with RoC Hyderabad.
- Reserve the company name (2–3 days). We file two name options on the MCA portal under RoC Hyderabad's jurisdiction. Filing two names at once avoids the 2–3 day delay a rejection causes — see the insider section below for why first-time names often get rejected.
- Obtain DSCs for all directors (2 days). Each director gets a Digital Signature Certificate.
- Notarise and apostille documents (about 7 days, in your home country). This is the step you control — and the one most likely to add delay. Start it before name approval is confirmed, not after.
- File SPICe+ (3 days). We submit the incorporation forms with your MOA (Memorandum of Association), AOA (Articles of Association), and the parent's board resolution.
- Receive Certificate of Incorporation (about 5 days). The MCA issues it digitally, along with your PAN and TAN.
- Open the bank account (1–3 weeks). Done remotely through a global bank such as HSBC, DBS, or a major Indian bank such as HDFC or ICICI.
- Complete Telangana-specific registrations (about 7 days). GST, Provident Fund, ESIC, Telangana Professional Tax, and Shops & Establishments registration — the set of local filings that make you fully operational in Hyderabad.
What does it cost to set up a subsidiary in Hyderabad?
The incorporation package is $1,700 all-inclusive. Adding a first-year Hyderabad virtual office (~$600) brings the first-year total to $1,700–2,100.
Your paid-up share capital — typically ₹1 lakh, about $1,200 — is not a cost. It stays in your company's bank account as working capital.
| Setup item | Cost (USD) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Name approval, DSC, DIN | Included | Bundled in the all-in package |
| Incorporation: SPICe+, MOA/AOA, Telangana stamp duty, PAN/TAN | $1,700 all-in | Fixed; includes all government fees |
| Notarisation & apostille (in your country) | $100–400 | Varies by country/state |
| Virtual office, Hyderabad (year 1) | ~$600 | From $50/month; satisfies GST address |
| First-year setup total | $1,700–2,100 | Excludes share capital |
Ongoing monthly compliance costs for a running Hyderabad entity:
| Service | Cost (USD / month) |
|---|---|
| Bookkeeping + GST filing | $150–400 |
| Payroll processing (scales with team) | $50–150 |
| Statutory audit (spread over the year) | $80–200 |
| ROC annual filings (spread over the year) | $40–80 |
| Virtual office | ~$50 |
| Typical monthly total | $500/month onwards |
See our full India subsidiary pricing page for a complete line-by-line breakdown.
What taxes does a Hyderabad subsidiary pay?
A Hyderabad subsidiary is an Indian domestic company, so profits are taxed at about 25.17% effective under Section 115BAA — roughly 10 percentage points below a branch office.
| Structure / regime | Base rate | Effective (surcharge + cess) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subsidiary — Section 115BAA | 22% | ~25.17% | Most profitable subsidiaries |
| Subsidiary — normal regime (≤ ₹400 cr turnover) | 25% | ~26–29% | Before opting in to 115BAA |
| Branch office (foreign company) | 35% | ~36–38% | Banks; regulated entities only |
| Captive back office (cost-plus 15.5% margin) | Tax on 15.5% | ~3.9% of operating cost | GCCs billing only the parent |
If your Hyderabad entity is a GCC — serving only your parent — India's transfer pricing rules apply. Under Budget 2026, the safe-harbour margin for IT and ITeS captives dropped to 15.5% cost-plus (down from 17–24%). That means a unit with $2M in operating costs pays tax on roughly $310K of deemed margin — not on revenue. We cover this in the insider section below.
What happens after the company is registered?
Once incorporated, you open the bank account, hire staff, and run a fixed set of monthly and annual filings under both national and Telangana rules.
Banking: Opened remotely, usually 1–3 weeks after the Certificate of Incorporation. We connect you with a banker and manage the KYC coordination.
Hiring: You can hire the moment the bank account is active. Key Telangana labour rules: 26 weeks of paid maternity leave (central law), a minimum of 12 earned leave days per year under the Telangana Shops Act, and mandatory safe transport for women employees working after 8:30 PM under Telangana Shops and Establishments regulations.
Compliance: Statutory audit every year regardless of turnover, monthly or quarterly GST, annual income tax return, and ROC filings (AOC-4 and MGT-7). Telangana Professional Tax returns are filed annually. Directors file DIR-3 KYC each year. Our India compliance guide lists every deadline.
What the official guides don't tell you about Hyderabad
Five things we have learned from running setups specifically in Hyderabad — most of them invisible until something goes wrong.
1. RoC Hyderabad is a separate jurisdiction — not Bangalore
India's Registrar of Companies is split by state. Hyderabad falls under RoC Hyderabad, which covers Telangana and Andhra Pradesh — a different office, different staff, and occasionally different processing pace from RoC Bangalore or RoC Mumbai. If your incorporation agent is primarily Bangalore-based, their MCA relationships may not extend to Hyderabad's RoC. Confirm that your service provider has active experience with RoC Hyderabad filings specifically.
2. Two Telangana registrations that advisors outside Hyderabad miss
Beyond the national registrations (GST, PAN, TAN, PF, ESIC), a Hyderabad company must register under the Telangana Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 1988 and obtain Telangana Professional Tax registration for both the employer and every employee. The PT slab in Telangana runs from ₹110–208 per employee per month depending on salary bracket. Companies that skip these hit the problem at their first payroll run, not at incorporation — and the fix then requires retroactive filings and late fees.
3. The transfer-pricing safe-harbour margin just fell to 15.5%
Hyderabad is India's second-largest GCC city, and most Hyderabad captives operate on a cost-plus basis. For years, the safe-harbour margin for IT and ITeS captives sat at 17–24%. From 1 April 2026, Budget 2026 unified IT, ITeS, KPO and software R&D into a single category with a 15.5% cost-plus margin. The transaction value ceiling also rose to ₹2,000 crore. Most providers are still quoting the old range. If your captive was structured around 17%+, revisit the number — it may be costing you more tax than necessary.
4. HITEC City address matters more than founders expect
Hyderabad has a clear geographical split: HITEC City and Cyberabad on the west, and the old city further east. A registered office address in HITEC City or Madhapur carries materially better signalling to global banks during account opening KYC, and to prospective engineering hires when reviewing offer letters. Virtual office providers in Cyberabad typically charge a small premium — usually $10–20/month more than a central Hyderabad address — but it is worth it for an IT or services captive.
5. Hyderabad runs 10–15% cheaper than Bangalore for comparable engineering talent
This is the number that drives many GCC location decisions, and it rarely appears in government promotion materials. Based on current hiring data, a mid-level software engineer in Hyderabad costs roughly 10–15% less than an equivalent hire in Bangalore for comparable seniority and stack. At a 20-person captive, that differential typically offsets the entire first-year compliance cost of the Hyderabad entity within the first 3–4 months.
A real Hyderabad setup: a US fintech GCC in HITEC City
Who: A US-based payments fintech, ~120 staff globally, opening a Hyderabad GCC of 14 engineers and a 3-person compliance team to own back-end development and regulatory analytics.
What they needed: A wholly-owned Indian subsidiary registered in HITEC City, structured as a cost-plus captive under transfer pricing safe-harbour rules, ready to hire within 30 days of the decision.
What happened: Name approval took 2 days (first choice accepted — we drafted a name that cleared the RoC Hyderabad naming norms). The apostille in their home state took 9 days. One complication arose: their CFO was a nominee director listed on a US LLC — DIN verification took an extra 4 days to reconcile the entity type. Incorporation closed on day 14 from document receipt. Bank account at HSBC Hyderabad opened remotely 11 days later. Telangana Shops Act and Professional Tax registrations completed on day 28.
Outcome: First hire onboarded on day 31. Entity runs on the new 15.5% cost-plus safe-harbour margin, saving approximately $18,000 per year in effective Indian tax versus the old 17% margin.
Your Hyderabad subsidiary checklist
Seven steps from decision to operational entity. Tick each off as you go.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to register a subsidiary company in Hyderabad?
Once your apostilled documents reach us, incorporation takes 10–15 working days via RoC Hyderabad. End to end, including notarisation and apostille in your home country, plan for 3–4 weeks.
Do I need to visit Hyderabad to register a company?
No. The entire process is online — you sign remotely with a Digital Signature Certificate, and even the bank account is opened without an India visit.
How much does it cost to set up a subsidiary in Hyderabad?
The incorporation package is $1,700 all-inclusive, covering company registration, government fees, PAN, TAN, GST and PF registration, and bank account support. Adding a first-year Hyderabad virtual office (~$600) brings the first-year total to $1,700–2,100. Share capital (~$1,200) stays in your company — it is not a fee.
Do I need an Indian resident director for a Hyderabad subsidiary?
Yes. At least one of the minimum two directors must have stayed in India for 182+ days in the previous financial year. You need not give them any shares. We provide a nominee resident director service if needed.
Can a foreign company own 100% of an Indian subsidiary in Hyderabad?
Yes. In IT, software, back-office services and most trading sectors, 100% foreign ownership is allowed under the automatic FDI route — no prior government approval needed.
What taxes does a Hyderabad subsidiary pay?
Profits are taxed at about 25.17% under Section 115BAA, or 25% base under the normal regime for turnover up to ₹400 crore. A captive GCC billing only its parent pays tax on a 15.5% cost-plus margin under the 2026 safe-harbour rules.
Is a physical office required to register a company in Hyderabad?
A registered address is required — but it can be a virtual office starting around $50/month. A HITEC City or Madhapur address is recommended for IT and services companies.
What is the difference between a subsidiary and a branch office in India?
A subsidiary is a separate Indian domestic company taxed at ~25%. A branch is treated as a foreign company and taxed at ~35% base. Subsidiaries hire freely, hold IP, and limit parent liability — that is why virtually all foreign founders choose them over branches.
What Telangana-specific registrations does a Hyderabad subsidiary need?
Beyond national registrations, you need the Telangana Shops and Commercial Establishments Act 1988 registration and Telangana Professional Tax registration (employer and employee). Missing these creates payroll problems on the first salary run.
How do I open a bank account for a Hyderabad subsidiary remotely?
After incorporation we connect you with a banker — typically HSBC, DBS, HDFC or ICICI in Hyderabad. The account opens remotely within 1–3 weeks of your Certificate of Incorporation, with full online banking access.
What ongoing compliance does a Hyderabad subsidiary have?
Monthly or quarterly GST, annual statutory audit, annual income tax return, ROC filings (AOC-4 and MGT-7), annual DIR-3 KYC for directors, and annual Telangana Professional Tax returns. Budget $500/month onwards.
Why choose Hyderabad over Bangalore for an India subsidiary?
Engineering salaries in Hyderabad run roughly 10–15% lower than Bangalore for comparable seniority levels. The Telangana government's T-Hub and WE Hub ecosystem adds active startup support, and HITEC City is one of India's best-connected tech infrastructure zones.
Ready to set up your Hyderabad subsidiary?
We have incorporated 300+ foreign-owned companies in India — including dozens of GCCs in Hyderabad. Tell us your structure and we'll give you a clear timeline and cost in one call.
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