India market entry for Swiss companies
Senior-led structuring support for Swiss companies entering India under the EFTA–India TEPA – for pharma, medtech, precision engineering, machinery, watches, food, finance and technology.
Request a confidential discussion
For Swiss boards, India is now a treaty-backed corridor with stronger implementation architecture – not a speculative emerging-market story – though each route still requires product, tax, regulatory, banking and partner-control review. The EFTA–India TEPA is in force, giving Switzerland a live route into India with improved market access, an investment-facilitation framework and a dedicated India–EFTA Desk – and Swiss companies should not be treated as EU companies here: the route is EFTA–India TEPA, not the EU–India FTA. The case is not theoretical: hundreds of Swiss companies already operate in India through subsidiaries, joint ventures, manufacturing, export operations and R&D centres. For Swiss industrial and life-sciences businesses in particular, India should be assessed as a manufacturing, R&D, service and export platform – not only as a sales market. For most Swiss readers the first decision is what India is to the business – a regulated market-entry for pharma, medtech or life sciences; a precision-engineering, machinery, automation or optical route; a watch / luxury / premium-product route; a food / ingredients route; a financial-services, insurance, fund or wealth platform through GIFT City / IFSC; a cleantech or R&D / innovation partnership; or a manufacturing / export platform. Each carries a different TEPA, FDI, tax, licensing, product-compliance, IP and partner-control analysis. This desk is written for Swiss boards, CFOs, GCs, family offices, private banks, and pharma, medtech, precision-engineering, machinery, food, finance and technology companies – a decision-ready route map, not a company-formation checklist.
What the EFTA–India TEPA means for Swiss companies
For Swiss companies, India is no longer only a long-standing relationship – the EFTA–India TEPA has moved it into an implementation phase. Signed in March 2024 after more than sixteen years of negotiation, the TEPA entered into force on 1 October 2025, improving market access for Swiss goods and services (India improved access for around 94.7% of existing Swiss exports, excluding gold), and adding an investment-facilitation commitment – an EFTA aim of USD 100 billion of FDI into India over fifteen years and one million direct jobs – together with a dedicated India–EFTA Desk. Crucially, Switzerland is not the EU: the relevant route is EFTA–India TEPA, not the EU–India FTA. And the Swiss case is proven – hundreds of Swiss companies already operate in India across manufacturing, export operations and R&D, and India is Switzerland’s largest trading partner in South Asia.
But for a Swiss board the treaty is the framework, not the structuring. Three points must be worded precisely. First, TEPA eligibility is tested, not automatic: tariff benefit turns on product classification, rules of origin and documentation, and the USD 100bn commitment is an investment-facilitation aim, not automatic approval, investment protection or regulatory clearance for individual investments. Second, the India–Switzerland tax treaty is a useful planning input, not an automatic tax solution: Swiss holding, licensing, service-fee and royalty structures should not be treated as automatically tax-efficient – PE, withholding, royalties, fees for technical services, dividends (note the MFN suspension from 2025, reverting dividend withholding to 10%), capital gains, transfer pricing, beneficial ownership, substance and GST must be tested. Third, the India–Switzerland Social Security Agreement is active (postings up to 72 months) – a genuine advantage, but one that still needs a Certificate of Coverage and assignment planning.
So the real work is the route and its consequences. A Swiss company needs to know how the India activity will be owned, approved, taxed, staffed, protected, contracted and – if needed – exited or enforced: the FDI route and sector caps, the TEPA and product position, the treaty and MFN / dividend position, secondment (with the SSA), product registration and importer responsibility, IP and data, partner and distributor control, and dispute forum and enforcement. The entry vehicle, FDI position and exchange-control route are worked through on India company setup, India structuring and FEMA advisory, with the financial-services route on GIFT City & IFSC; this page frames the corridor and links to the pages that carry the mechanics.
What are you trying to structure?
Options are offered as a controlled frame, not a menu: a Swiss pharma or medtech company, a precision-engineering or machinery business, a watch / luxury brand, a private bank or family office, and a cleantech developer will each need a different India route.
Key commercial and structuring points
Entry route and FDI position. A Swiss business may enter through a subsidiary or JV company, an LLP, a branch, project or liaison office, a distributor / agent – or a GIFT City / IFSC entity for financial services. The route should follow the activity, customers, tax and degree of control. Many sectors permit 100% foreign investment under the automatic route, but sectoral caps, approvals and land-border (Press Note 3) beneficial-ownership rules should be confirmed. → India company setup, India structuring, FEMA advisory.
EFTA–India TEPA – eligibility and implementation, not automatic benefit. The TEPA is in force and is a live structuring input, but tariff benefit turns on product classification, rules of origin, tariff schedules and documentation – and Switzerland is not the EU (the route is EFTA–India TEPA, not the EU–India FTA). Treat it as a TEPA eligibility and implementation review. → India structuring.
The investment-facilitation commitment – a basis, not an approval. TEPA’s USD 100bn EFTA-FDI / 1m-jobs aim, its investment-facilitation mechanism and the India–EFTA Desk give Swiss investors a stronger institutional basis and a coordinated government interface – but this is not automatic approval, investment protection or regulatory clearance; company-level structuring, tax, licensing, partner control and contracts still apply. → India inbound transaction advisory.
Tax, treaty, MFN / dividend and permanent establishment. The India–Switzerland DTA is in force, but Swiss India structures should be reviewed on the facts: PE, withholding, royalties, fees for technical services, dividends, capital gains, transfer pricing, beneficial ownership, substance, GST and repatriation. The MFN / dividend position changed from 2025 (Switzerland suspended unilateral MFN application; dividend withholding reverts to 10%) – check it carefully for holding, licensing, service-fee and royalty models, and coordinate with Swiss-side tax. → India tax.
Social security and secondment (SSA active). The India–Switzerland Social Security Agreement is in force (postings up to 72 months) – a practical advantage for Swiss installation engineers, medtech / pharma technical teams, machinery service teams, R&D staff and posted executives – but the Certificate of Coverage, assignment period, visa, payroll, tax residence, employment and PE position should still be checked. → India tax.
Pharma, medtech, biotech and life sciences. A lead sector: product / drug / device registration, importer / distributor responsibility, clinical / hospital contracts, quality and recall, IP and patent strategy (with India generic-medicine sensitivities), patient data and product liability – a regulated market-entry and partner-control exercise, not only a tariff opportunity. → distribution & channels.
Precision engineering, machinery, automation and optical. TEPA classification and rules of origin, distributor / service-partner control, installation and warranty, spare parts, service-level terms, technology licensing, export controls, product liability, local assembly, and the tax / PE position for installation and technical services. → India structuring.
Watches, luxury, premium products – and food / ingredients. For watches / luxury: customs classification, brand / trademark protection, authorised-distributor control, anti-counterfeit strategy, e-commerce and pricing. For food / ingredients: FSSAI / labelling, shelf-life, cold-chain, importer responsibility and origin claims – with dairy handled carefully (a protected Indian sector). → distribution & channels.
Financial services, insurance, funds and GIFT City / IFSC. For Swiss financial, insurance, fund, wealth and family-office businesses, GIFT City / IFSC may be the relevant India-facing route – but TEPA services annexes do not permit free regulated activity in India: test the IFSCA / SEBI / RBI / IRDAI / FEMA / fund-marketing / AML perimeter, tax and substance first. → GIFT City & IFSC.
IP, data, R&D and technology. For technology, engineering, design and R&D: IP ownership and assignment, software / SaaS / AI contracts, data protection (India DPDP alongside Swiss / European-style privacy expectations), cybersecurity, transfer pricing, and research / university collaboration and grant agreements. → software, IT & SaaS.
Investment protection, contracts and disputes. TEPA supports investment promotion and cooperation, but it is not a complete investor-protection solution – build shareholder rights, reserved matters, exit rights, governing law, arbitration, interim relief and enforcement into the documents, and select the dispute forum by asset location and enforceability rather than defaulting to Swiss arbitration. → India inbound transaction advisory.
- TEPA benefit is assumed without checking product classification, tariff schedule, rules of origin and documentation.
- Switzerland is treated as an EU route rather than an EFTA / Swiss route.
- The USD 100bn TEPA investment commitment is mistaken for automatic approval or investor protection.
- A Swiss holding, licensing or service-fee structure is treated as tax-efficient without testing treaty access, PE, withholding, MFN / dividend, transfer pricing and substance.
- A machinery or medtech distributor controls customers, warranty, service, brand or termination.
- Installation, training or technical support creates PE or GST exposure.
- Swiss employees are seconded without Certificate of Coverage, visa, payroll, tax-residence and PE review (even though the SSA is active).
- GIFT City / IFSC is used without confirming the IFSCA / SEBI / RBI / IRDAI / FEMA / AML perimeter.
- IP, know-how, software, designs or R&D created in India are not assigned or protected.
- DPDP, health data, financial data and cybersecurity obligations are left until contract stage.
- Swiss arbitration / a foreign forum is selected without checking Indian interim relief and enforcement.
Points to confirm before committing the India route
- Route and control – subsidiary, JV, branch / project / liaison office, distributor, GIFT City / IFSC, or a UAE-linked route; FDI route, sector caps, approvals and Press Note 3.
- TEPA and product position – classification, rules of origin, tariff schedule and documentation (EFTA, not EU); the investment commitment is not an approval.
- Tax, treaty and MFN / dividend – PE, withholding, royalties / FTS, dividends (MFN change from 2025), transfer pricing, substance, GST and repatriation; coordinated with Swiss-side tax.
- People (SSA active) – Certificate of Coverage, assignment period (up to 72 months), visa, payroll, tax residence and PE.
- Product, IP and data – product / device / food registration, importer responsibility, IP assignment, India DPDP and cybersecurity.
- Regulated activity and disputes – IFSCA / SEBI / RBI / IRDAI / FEMA perimeter for financial services; governing law, arbitration seat and enforcement.
ATB provides senior-led, corridor-specific structuring support for Swiss companies before capital, contracts, counterparties or regulated activity are committed. We help clients assess TEPA eligibility and implementation, entry route and FDI, the tax treaty and the MFN / dividend position, social security and secondment (SSA active), pharma / medtech and machinery product-compliance and partner control, watches / luxury and food routes, GIFT City / IFSC and the financial-services perimeter, IP and data, and investment-protection and dispute planning – a structure that can be licensed, taxed, banked, contracted, governed and enforced, not merely described. Structures are pressure-tested for the failure scenario: partner / distributor control, warranty and recall, PE exposure, MFN / dividend tax, IP misuse, termination and enforcement. With India execution capability through Bengaluru and cross-border structuring support through Abu Dhabi, the objective is a decision-ready route map – recommended structure, alternatives considered, tax / treaty issues, regulatory perimeter, banking / substance, partner-control risks, implementation steps, timeline and specialist sign-off points.
A defined first step – India Market-Entry and TEPA Structuring Review for Swiss Companies. A focused, senior-led review with a clear scope and a decision-ready output, covering: TEPA eligibility · product classification and rules of origin · entry route and FDI · the India–Switzerland tax treaty and MFN / dividend position · social-security / secondment · GIFT City / IFSC if relevant · regulatory perimeter · product compliance · IP and data · partner / distributor control · banking · implementation · and dispute-risk planning. (Sector modules available – e.g. India medtech / pharma review; India precision-engineering and machinery route review; India financial services / GIFT City review; India distributor and brand-control review for Swiss premium products. Scope confirmable to India, UAE or both at Gate-1.)
Where audited sign-off, formal tax opinions, or locally regulated financial, immigration, medical / pharma or sector advice are required, ATB frames the question precisely and coordinates with the appropriate India and UAE specialists and the client’s Swiss advisers rather than overstating its own remit. Swiss-side tax (treaty access, MFN / dividend, substance), Swiss export-control and any regulated Swiss financial-services considerations should be reviewed with Swiss advisers – and, where preferred, coordinated with German / French / Italian-language advisers on the Swiss side. ATB’s role is to align the India (and, where used, the GIFT City / UAE) side so the structure can be tested properly.
Switzerland–India entry, answered
Yes – the EFTA–India Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (signed March 2024) entered into force on 1 October 2025, and Switzerland is an EFTA member, so the route for Swiss companies is EFTA–India TEPA, not the EU–India FTA. Benefit is not automatic: product classification, rules of origin and documentation still apply.
India improved market access for around 94.7% of existing Swiss exports (excluding gold), including pharmaceuticals, machinery, optical instruments, watches and processed agricultural products – subject to classification, rules of origin and documentation, and with sensitive Indian sectors (such as dairy) protected.
No. TEPA includes an EFTA aim of USD 100 billion of FDI into India over fifteen years and one million jobs, and a dedicated India–EFTA Desk – a stronger institutional basis and government interface, but not automatic approval, investment protection or regulatory clearance for an individual Swiss investment.
No – Switzerland is not an EU member, and the relevant trade architecture is EFTA–India TEPA. Treating a Swiss company as an EU company for India-entry purposes is a common and material error.
The DTA is in force, but it is not an automatic tax solution. Switzerland suspended its unilateral application of the MFN clause for India from 1 January 2025 (following the Indian Supreme Court's Nestlé ruling), so the dividend withholding position reverts to the treaty rate of 10%; PE, royalties, fees for technical services, transfer pricing, beneficial ownership and substance should also be tested.
Yes – it is in force and allows home-country contribution coverage for postings of up to 72 months, a practical advantage for Swiss secondments – but a Certificate of Coverage, visa, payroll, tax-residence, employment and PE review are still required.
It depends on the activity, customers, regulatory perimeter, tax and control – a subsidiary, JV, LLP, branch / project / liaison office, distributor, a technology / R&D centre, or a GIFT City / IFSC entity for financial services. The route should follow the business, not incorporation convenience.
Product / drug / device registration, importer / distributor responsibility, clinical / hospital contracts, quality and recall, IP and patent strategy, patient data and product liability – India is a regulated market-entry and partner-control exercise, not only a tariff-benefit opportunity.
TEPA classification and rules of origin, distributor / service-partner control, installation and warranty, spare parts, technology licensing, export controls, product liability, and the tax / PE position for installation and technical services.
It can be – GIFT City / IFSC is India's IFSCA-regulated international financial centre and may suit Swiss financial, insurance, fund, treasury and wealth businesses – but TEPA does not remove the need for IFSCA, SEBI, RBI, IRDAI, FEMA, fund-marketing, tax and AML analysis.
Planning India entry from Switzerland?
For Swiss companies, India is now a TEPA-backed corridor with stronger implementation architecture – proven by hundreds of Swiss companies already operating there – and the opportunity sits precisely where Switzerland is strongest: pharma, medtech, precision engineering, machinery, watches, food, finance and cleantech. But the route must be usable before it is used: TEPA eligibility (EFTA, not EU; not an automatic benefit), the investment framework (a basis, not an approval), the tax treaty and MFN / dividend position, social security (the SSA is active), product registration and partner control, IP and data, and the dispute and enforcement route, aligned before commitment. Tell us what India is to your business – a regulated pharma / medtech route, a machinery or precision-engineering route, a watch / luxury route, a financial-services platform through GIFT City, a cleantech or R&D partnership, or a manufacturing / export platform – and we can map the route before capital, contracts or counterparties are committed.
Request a confidential discussion