It is expected that the new guidelines will provide clarity and ease of doing business in India, and facilitate investments which can contribute towards greater foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, access to new technologies, domestic value addition, expansion of domestic firms and integration with global supply chain, an official statement said.
This would help in leveraging and enhancing India’s competitiveness as a preferred investment and manufacturing destination. Increased FDI inflows would supplement domestic capital, support the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat, and accelerate overall economic growth, it added.
The amendment provides for a definition and criteria for determination of Beneficial Ownership that is widely used by investing community, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules, 2005.
The Beneficial Ownership test shall be applied at the level of the investor entity. Investors with non-controlling LBC Beneficial Ownership of up to 10 per cent shall be permitted under the automatic route as per the applicable sectoral caps, entry routes, attendant conditions. Such investments shall be subject to the reporting of relevant information/details by the investee entity to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Proposals for LBC investments in specified sectors/activities of manufacturing in capital goods, electronic capital goods, electronic components, polysilicon and ingot-wafer, shall be processed and decided within 60 days, as per the amendments.
Committee of Secretaries (CoS), chaired by the Cabinet Secretary may also revise the list of specified sectors.
In these cases, the majority shareholding and control of the Investee entity will be with resident Indian citizen(s) and/or resident Indian entity(ies) owned and controlled by resident Indian citizen(s), at all times.
Earlier, in order to curb opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government had amended the extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy vide Press Note 3(2020) dated 17.04.2020 (PN3).
Pursuant to PN3, an entity of a country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, can invest only under the Government route.
Additionally, any transfer of ownership of any existing or future FDI in an entity in India resulting in the beneficial ownership falling within the aforesaid jurisdiction(s) also require Government approval.
“This is a pragmatic and long-awaited pivot in our investment policy. By introducing a 10% automatic threshold, the government is effectively unblocking the ‘middle-market’ of technology and capital that has been in stasis since 2020,” Saurabh Agarwal, Tax Partner, EY India, said.
For global boards, the 60-day approval cap replaces ‘indefinite uncertainty’ with a predictable timeline—which is the ultimate currency for investment. While national security remain paramount, this move recognizes that building high-tech supplier ecosystems requires calibrated openness. It’s a clear signal that India is ready to shift from defensive posturing to a more aggressive, scale-driven manufacturing strategy, he said.
