外国直接投資（FDI）の政府承認取得手続き

Foreign Direct Investment means any investment made by a person resident outside in Indian Companies through equity instruments or in LLPs through capital contribution. When India is in the direction of becoming a developed country, interest of persons resident outside India is increasing substantially in Indian Entities. As the foreign funding is increasing, the regulation by the Central Government is also increasing on FDIs.

As per Schedule I of FEM (Non-Debt) Regulations, Foreign investment in India can be done through following possible routes:

1. Automatic Approval: The automatic approval route is aimed for those sectors where FDI is least restricted and investment can be made without obtaining any prior approval from Reserve Bank of India or Central Government.

2. Government Approval: Under the Government approval route, FDI can be made after obtaining approval from the Central Government of India. Further, Investments shall be subject to conditions specified by the government for granting approval. In most of the sectors, FDI comes under automatic approval route upto a specified percentage. However, beyond such investment, prior approval of the Central Government of India is required.

E.g FDI in the e-commerce sector comes under automatic approval route upto 100%. Whereas, FDI in Insurance sector comes under automatic approval route upto 74%. For FDI beyond 74%, prior approval of the Central Government of India is required. 

However, now the major issue arises is what is the process of obtaining prior approval from the central government of India. This article contains a detailed discussion of how to obtain Central Government approval wherever required.

As per Standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by Government of India on 17th August, 2023, the applicant is required to following procedure for obtaining prior approval of government:

1. Filing of Online Application

• Proposals for government approval are required to be filed online through the National Single Window System (NSWS) with the Department for promotion of Industry and Internal trade (DPIIT). 
• Administrative Ministries/ Departments will examine FDI proposals on Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIF Portal). 
• The applicant shall upload the proposal alongwith digitally signed documents.
• The applicant shall also file the Security Clearance Form wherever applicable.
• The government aims to make the entire process completely online and paperless. Therefore, the applicant is not required to file any physical copy of any documents that are required for processing of FDI proposals. 
• However, concerned Administrative Ministry/ Department may call for physical copy of original documents wherever required to substantiate the authenticity of document with approval of the Secretary concerned. 
• Competent Authorities shall not replicate an inter-Ministerial body in respective Ministries/Departments to grant approval for foreign investment. The regime for disposal of FDI proposals needs to be simpler in execution and expeditious in disposal. 

2. Documents required to be uploaded along with application

The applicant is required to upload following documents, digitally signed by the authorised signatory, alongwith proposal for obtaining prior approval of central government:

1. Letter of authorization by the Applicant in favor of the person(s) filing the Application. 
2. Summary on FDI Proposal 
3. Shareholding pattern of the Investee 
4. Diagrammatic representations
   1. Flow of funds from the investor to the investee 
   2. Group structure / organizational chart of the company clearly indicating inter-se shareholding percentage and respective place of incorporation.

5. Beneficial Ownership Details
   1. Details of Beneficial Ownership from Countries sharing land border with India 
   2. Details of Significant Beneficial Owner (SBO) 

6. Investee documents
   1. Certificate of Incorporation (CoI) of Investee 
   2. Memorandum of Association (MoA) of the Investee 
   3. Memorandum of Association (MoA) of the Investee 
   4. Board Resolution of the Investee for proposed Investment 
   5. Audited Financial Statement of Last Financial Year of the Investee 

7. Investor Documents
   1. Certificate of Incorporation (CoI) of Investor 
   2. Memorandum of Association (MoA) of the Investor 
   3. Article of Association (AoA) of the Investor 
   4. Board Resolution of the Investor for the proposed Investment 
   5. Audited Financial Statement of Last Financial Year of the Investor 
   6. Copy of reporting compliances in respect of Downstream Investment(s), if any 

8. Past Approvals:
   1. Copy of relevant past Approvals.
   2. Reporting Documents in support of past or existing foreign investment in Investee
   3. Signed executed copy of the Investment Agreement, JV Agreement, shareholders agreement, Approval of NCLT or any other competent authority, as required under Companies law.
   4. Valuation certificate as required in the FDI Policy and FEM NonDebt Instrument Rules 2019 and the same should be on arm’s length basis, wherever applicable. 
   5. Provide an undertaking that the Investee and Investors or their respective Promoters are not subject to any negative or caution by following authorities
      1. National Government 
      2. International Organisation 
      3. Statutory or regulatory authorities such as SEBI, RBI, SFIO, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, Income Tax Department etc.
   6. Any other approval / consent / NoC required by Investee or Investor(s) from any shareholder, third party or any other entity in respect of the proposed activity (ies)/ investment(s)/transaction(s). 
   7. Duly notarized Affidavit on stamp paper of ₹100/- only 

Note: In case documents provided by the applicant are in foreign language then the said document/language should be apostilled and translated into English language.

3. Processing of application for seeking approval

3.1 Refering of application to different ministry

1. Referring application to concerned Administrative Ministry or department
   1. After receipt of proposal, DPITT shall identify and assign proposal to the concerned Administrative Ministry or Department for processing and disposal of the proposal.
   2. The Administrative Ministries or Departments shall process the applications seeking post-facto approval in terms of para 4.1.2 of FDI Policy.

2. RBIへの意見照会
   1. 提案は、FEMA規則の観点から意見を求めるため、DPIITによってインド準備銀行（RBI）にもオンラインで回付されるものとする。

3. MHAへのセキュリティクリアランス照会

以下の外国投資提案については、セキュリティクリアランスの取得および意見聴取のため、内務省（MHA）に照会するものとする。

1. 放送、電気通信、衛星の設立・運用、民間警備会社、防衛、民間航空、およびチタン含有鉱物・鉱石の採掘・選別、その付加価値活動および統合活動への投資。
2. 2020年4月17日付プレスノート3号、および2020年4月22日付外国為替管理（非負債性金融商品）改正規則に基づき所管される申請。

4. MEAへの意見照会
   1. さらに、すべての提案は情報提供のため外務省（MEA）に送付されるものとする。MEAは必要に応じて、所定の期間内に意見を提出することができる。
   2. すべての意見は、関係する行政省庁へ直接提供されるものとする。

3.2 DPIITおよび他省庁との協議

• FDI政策の観点から明確化が必要な提案については、関係行政省庁の事務次官の事前承認を得た上で、DPIITから明確化を得ることができる。したがって、DPIITとの協議は必要に応じて行われるものであり、定期的または日常的なものではない。
• 他省庁との協議は、十分な正当性があり、かつ関係行政省庁の事務次官の承認がある場合に限り行うことができる。

3.3 RBI、MHA、MEAからの意見

• RBI、MHA、MEAを含むすべての関係省庁は、所定の期限内に意見を提出するものとする。
• ただし、関係省庁および規制機関からの意見が所定の期間内に受領されなかった場合は、意見なしとみなされるものとする。
• MHAは必要に応じて、関係省庁に追加の時間を求めることができる。

3.4 関係当局による申請の審査

• 所管当局は、所定の期間内に申請書および書類を審査し、追加の書類や情報を求めることができる。
• すべての照会はFIFポータルを通じてのみ行われるものとする。
• 所管当局は、すべての照会を最初の連絡でまとめて行うよう努めるものとする。
• 所管当局は、提案に対するセクター別の要件およびセクター別政策を考慮に入れるべきである。

3.5 提案の承認または却下

• 提案の処理後、所管当局は所定の期限内に決定を下し、その決定を申請者に伝達するとともに、FIFポータルを通じて、協議したすべての省庁、規制機関、およびDPIITにその写しを送付するものとする。

3.6 遅延しているFDI提案の処理

• 遅延しているFDI提案や、迅速な処理のために担当省庁がエスカレーションした提案について適切な決定を下すため、省庁間委員会が設置されている。
• 当該委員会は、DPIIT、経済局、企業省、MHA、関係行政省庁の事務次官、およびRBIとNITI Aayogの代表者で構成される。
• この委員会は、関係行政省庁が提案を期限内に処理できるよう審査および指導を行う。

4. 申請処理の期限

DPIITおよび所管当局は、以下の期限に従って申請を処理することが求められる。

注：

1. 却下が提案されている提案、または所管当局によって追加条件が課される提案については、DPIITに2週間の追加期間が与えられるものとする。
2. 割り当てられた期限には、申請者が不備を修正するために要した時間や、追加の情報または書類を提供するために要した時間は含まれないものとする。

5. 不完全な提案の終了

• FDI提案が不完全である場合、すなわち、書類一式が提出されていない、情報が適切な形式で提出されていない、または繰り返し督促したにもかかわらず申請者が照会に応答していない場合、行政省庁は申請者に最終督促を行った上で、提案を終了することができる。
• なお、FDI申請の終了は却下を意味するものではなく、申請者は希望すれば、必要な書類をすべて添えて改めて申請することができる。
• 申請の終了は、関係行政省庁の事務次官によって行われるものとする。

6. Rejection of Proposal or Insertion of Additional Conditions

• In case where the proposal is rejected or where additional conditions are imposed for approval, concurrence of DPIIT shall compulsorily be sought by the Competent Authority, with the approval of the Secretary concerned.
• Secretary, DPIIT is the competent authority for seeking concurrence in such matters.
• It is important to note that concurrence of DPIIT is not required for imposing conditions concerning compounding under FEMA provisions or compliance of laws/ regulations of the land or court orders. 
• Copy of the rejection letter should be marked to all consulted Ministries, Departments and Regulatory agencies.

7. Withdrawal by the Applicant

• An applicant may withdraw its FDI proposal where no final decision is granted.
• Withdrawal can be made subject to submission of a duly authorized letter of withdrawal clearly explaining the reasons for such withdrawal addressed to the Competent Authority with a copy to DPIIT. 
• Such withdrawal request should be acknowledged by the Competent Authority on NSWS Portal, after which the proposal shall be treated as withdrawn. 

8. Surrender of Approval by the Applicant

• An applicant may surrender the approval letter granted after the applicant submits such declaration in original signed by the authorized representative clearly explaining the reasons for such surrender. 
• An acknowledgement will be sent to the applicant clearly indicating the date from which the approval letter stands withdrawn. 
• Copy of the same should be marked to all consulted Ministries, Departments and Regulatory agencies.   

9. Rectification of mistakes in Approval Letter

• The applicant may request for rectification of typographical or grammatical mistakes in the text of Approval Letter as apparent from the records. 
• After necessary verification and due diligence, the Administrative Ministry or Department may issue corrigendum, with approval of the Secretary concerned.