New Delhi · IndiaWONE Global Partner · India
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Business corridor
India ↔ United Arab Emirates
Doing business between India and the United Arab Emirates means getting market access, tax, contracts, people and regulation right on both sides. WONE Global coordinates the work in both countries, so one team keeps it joined up.
Mumbai · Wednesday 4 November
00:22
Local time
Shared working hours
—
Dubai · Tuesday 3 November
22:52
Local time
Worked example
A common move on this corridor, both sides
A step-by-step example of a common project between India and the United Arab Emirates: the rules in each country, the usual structures and the questions to ask your advisers.
How the work runs on both sides
A worked journey for this corridor
What has to happen in each country, in what order, and what one side changes for the other, with the sources for each step.
- An Indian manufacturer sets up a UAE regional hub →An Indian manufacturer sets up a UAE subsidiary to run regional sales and distribution, and possibly to hold other GCC and African group companies. It must comply with India's overseas investment, tax and foreign exchange rules, and with t… 12 steps · 7 workstreams · 44 sourced statements
Key questions
Questions this corridor raises
- 01What is the commercial objective on each side of the corridor?
- 02Which entities, contracts or licences are required?
- 03How will money, people, goods or data move between the markets?
- 04Which capabilities need to be coordinated rather than handled separately?
Typical work
Work that moves along this corridor
Market accessCapital & transactionsTrade & supply chainPeople & operations
Tax, legal, people and money questions on one side change the answer on the other. WONE Global plans the work in both countries together before anything starts.
Partner firms
Who handles each service, in both markets
Named WONE Global leads where they exist; everything else arranged by WONE Global on request, with the name confirmed before work begins.
WONE Global Partners
Professionals on both sides
New Delhi · India
Dubai · United Arab EmiratesWONE Global Partner · United Arab Emirates
Priju Dominic
Armed with two decades of rich experience spanning across diverse industries and verticals, I have garnered the trust and admiration of many valued relationships. Audit & Assurance, Consulting, Risk Advisory and Tax pra…
Dubai · United Arab EmiratesWONE Global Partner · United Arab Emirates
Dr Hajra Nazir
Dr Hajra Nazir is qualified Professional Doctorate (PD) in Business Advisory & Compliance with prestigious organizations in the field of Corporate Advisory, Business Administration, Law, Commerce, Applied Economics etc.…
Cases
Cases across this corridor
Cases whose typical case involves one or both sides of the corridor, each with how WONE Global handles it and who handles it in each market.
Urgent How do we stop the other side moving assets or destroying evidence?Contracts, commercial disputes & collectionsWhy won't any bank open an account for our new foreign company?Banking, lending & secured financeAre our controls abroad strong enough before we grow further?Audit, assurance & financial integrityWill our standard contract hold up with customers in other countries?Contracts, commercial disputes & collectionsOur international payments keep getting delayed or rejected. Why?Payments, FX, digital assets & treasuryShould we move our companies under a new holding company?International tax planning & transfer pricingHow do we prepare our group for a sale or a new investor?Mergers, acquisitions & private equityHow do we register our trade mark in other countries?Trademarks, brands & counterfeitingWhat are our cyber and privacy obligations in each country?Cybercrime, data breaches & AI disputesHow should an athlete's image rights and endorsements be structured?Sports, athletes & sporting institutionsFake merchandise with our club or athlete brand is being sold. What can we do?Sports, athletes & sporting institutionsHow do I protect my brand and channel as a creator earning internationally?Copyright, media & digital content rights
Scenarios
Across this corridor, how it is handled
Worked scenarios involving either side of the corridor: the client, where it comes from, what it ran into and how WONE Global handles it.
Worked scenarios
- Founder-led company · from United Kingdom · in United Arab EmiratesPayments business, Series AIt wants to serve customers in the UAE but cannot tell whether it needs a central bank licence, a free-zone financial licence or both, and investors want a launch date.How WONE Global handles it →
- Mid-sized company · from India · in United Arab EmiratesTrading company, Indian-ownedIts new Dubai company has been refused by two banks because its ownership runs through three countries. Without an account it cannot receive revenue or pay staff.How WONE Global handles it →
- Mid-sized company · from Switzerland · in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, QatarMedical-device makerIt is about to sign a ten-year exclusive distributor for the Gulf. In some Gulf countries a registered agent can be very hard to remove.How WONE Global handles it →
- Mid-sized company · from Sweden · in IndiaEngineering companyIts Indian subsidiary reports late every month and in a format the group cannot consolidate.How WONE Global handles it →
Scenarios are representative of the work WONE Global coordinates, not specific client matters.
What the guides say
Both sides: India ↔ United Arab Emirates
The essentials of each market on the topics that decide how work between them is set up.
India
Full guide
- Corporate income tax (domestic company, optional regime)
- 22% plus 10% surcharge and 4% cess
- Corporate income tax (foreign company)
- 35% basic rate, plus surcharge and cess
- Income tax law
- Income-tax Act, 2025 in force from 1 April 2026
- GST rates
- 5% and 18%, with 40% for a select few goods and services (from 22 September 2025)
- Labour law
- Four labour codes in force from 21 November 2025
- FDI entry
- Automatic route (no prior approval) or government route (prior approval)
United Arab Emirates
Full guide
- Corporate tax
- 0% up to AED 375,000; 9% above
- Qualifying Free Zone Person
- 0% on qualifying income; 9% on other income
- Large multinational groups
- 15% domestic minimum top-up tax from 2025
- Withholding tax
- 0%
- VAT
- 5%; mandatory registration above AED 375,000
- Mainland foreign ownership
- Up to 100% outside strategic-impact activities
| Topic | India | United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Establish & Structure | Foreign investors can set up a wholly owned subsidiary, joint venture or LLP, or operate through a branch, liaison or project office. Read more | Foreign investors choose between a mainland company licensed by an emirate, a free zone entity licensed by a free zone authority, or a company in the DIFC or ADGM financial free zones. Read more |
| Tax & Statutory | The Income-tax Act, 2025 has governed income from 1 April 2026, with a single tax year in place of the previous year and assessment year, while the 1961 Act still governs earlier years. Domestic companies can opt for a 22% rate (plus surcharge and cess). Read more | Corporate tax is federal and applies in every emirate at 0% up to AED 375,000 and 9% above, with a 0% rate on qualifying income for Qualifying Free Zone Persons and a 15% top-up tax for multinational groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more. Read more |
| People, Payroll & Mobility | The four labour codes (wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety, health and working conditions) took effect on 21 November 2025 and replaced 29 central labour laws. Read more | Mainland employment is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021, which requires fixed-term contracts, caps probation at six months and sets end-of-service gratuity for foreign staff. Read more |
| Banking, Treasury & Payments | Foreign investment is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and the rules and regulations made under it, with the RBI issuing Master Directions that banks apply day to day. Read more | The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, which the Central Bank of the UAE defends by buying and selling dirhams at 3.673 and 3.672, and keeping that peg is the central bank's main monetary objective. Read more |
| Trade, Customs & Supply Chain | Anyone importing into or exporting from India needs an Importer-Exporter Code from the DGFT, which is the business's PAN. Imports carry basic customs duty, generally 7.5% or 10%, plus a social welfare surcharge and IGST, so landed cost must be modelled by… Read more | The UAE applies the GCC common customs regime. Most imports pay duty of 5% of the CIF value, with 50% on alcohol and 100% on tobacco, and valuation follows the GCC Common Customs Law. Read more |
| Disputes, Enforcement & Exit | Arbitration in India is governed by the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996: awards made in India are enforced as court decrees once the three-month challenge window closes, and foreign awards are enforced under the New York Convention, which India applies… Read more | Onshore, the UAE has federal courts and separate emirate-level judicial bodies such as Dubai Courts and the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, all applying the federal Civil Procedure Code. Read more |
Our full guides are checked against official sources. Guides drafted with AI are marked as such. None of this is legal or tax advice.
WONE Global Intelligence
Ask about the India ↔ United Arab Emirates corridor
Ask in your own words. Answers come from WONE Global's checked records, with every source shown, and end with the named Partner who can act. Go deeper on any point, or build a decision file.
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Work between India and the United Arab Emirates, coordinated on both sides.
UNBOUNDED™ · Global Business Circuit™
Work through India ↔ United Arab Emirates with the leaders doing it.
Bring a live question about this corridor to a small online session of senior business leaders, run by UNBOUNDED™, the ecosystem WONE Global belongs to.
The Global Business Circuit™
One corridor, 60 minutes online, 12 senior business leaders. The leaders' own questions set the agenda; market and professional perspectives join only where the questions call for them.
WONE Global is one of the six institutions of the UNBOUNDED™ Global Ecosystem. Links open unboundedglobal.com. WONE Global in the ecosystem
WONE Global Partners
Professionals for this work
Named professionals connected to this page — each admitted as the specialist for one kind of work in their country, at a firm WONE Global has admitted.
Dubai · United Arab EmiratesWONE Global Partner · United Arab Emirates
Sunil Thomas
Qualified accounts professional with progressive years of experience in the field of accounting, finalization, budgeting, forecasting, business analysis, cash flow management, together good knowledge of auditing and fin…