GIFT Legal & Compliance Support setup, licensing, and ongoing IFSCA compliance.

GIFT City IFSC is India's first International Financial Services Centre, located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and regulated by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA). It offers a unified regulatory framework for cross-border banking, capital markets, fund management, insurance, fintech, and bullion services. Entities operating in GIFT IFSC are treated as non-residents for the purposes of the Foreign Exchange Management Act and benefit from a competitive tax regime, including a 100% income tax holiday for any ten consecutive years out of fifteen for eligible units.

Setting up and operating in GIFT IFSC requires careful navigation of IFSCA regulations, including the IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, IFSCA (Banking) Regulations, IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, and a host of conduct, governance, and disclosure norms. Entities such as Fund Management Entities (FMEs), IFSC Banking Units (IBUs), Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), family offices, finance companies, broker-dealers, insurance intermediaries, and fintech entities each face distinct licensing requirements, capital adequacy norms, and ongoing reporting obligations.

Our GIFT legal and compliance support practice acts as the long-term compliance partner for entities in IFSC. We handle initial entity incorporation, IFSCA registration and licensing, drafting of internal policies, KYC and AML programmes, ongoing periodic returns, board governance support, secretarial compliance, audit coordination, and representation in IFSCA inspections. Our team works alongside fund managers, family office principals, treasury teams, and CFOs to keep IFSC operations compliant from day one.