SOP for processing FDI proposals at Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal

To seek funds from Foreign Establishments, the Companies or Organizations at home must register and apply for FIFP portal approval. Here, the FIFP portal, or the Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal, is a dedicated website approved by the Government to issue Foreign Investment Approval for getting funds. As easy as it sounds, the application procedure for gaining Foreign Investment Approval in India is complex. Therefore, the FIFP has issued some guidelines in Standard Operating Procedures or the SOPs for filing an online application for FIFP approval in India. This article will specifically explore the SOP to file for Foreign Investment Approval in India.

SOPs for FIFP Registration Application filing

A FIFP approval applicant must submit its proposals for foreign investment for the required Government Approval. This submission must be on the lines of the Consolidated FDI Policy as on October 15, 2020. You can file the online application through the Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal.

However, the current SOP is susceptible to change with time, as per the amendments to the FDI Policy as well as the Foreign Exchange Management Non-Debt Instrument Rules of 2019. The applicant would be required to submit the foreign investment proposal as per the FDI Policy’s guidelines. Such policies detail the Standard Operating Procedure for processing FDI proposals concurrently with the FIFP.

Required Documentation for the FIFP License Application filing

To file the application, the applicant can draft it as per the format and under the FIFP portal while complementing it with the following documents of the Investor and Investee Companies:

• Certificate of Incorporation 
• Memorandum of Association (MoA)
• Board Resolution 
• Audited Financial Statement of Last Financial Year
• Article of Association (AoA)
• List of Names and Addresses of Foreign Collaborators such as:
• • Passport Copy
  • Identification Proof
• Details of Ownership and Control
• Diagrammatic representation of the funds flow from the original investor to the investee company 
• Pre and Post shareholding pattern of the Investee Company
• The affidavit stating the provided information in hard copy and soft copy are the same
• Signed copies of any of the following applicable agreements:
• • Investment Agreement
  • JV Agreement
  • Shareholders Agreement
  • Share Transfer Agreement
  • Technology Transfer
  • Trademark Assignment Agreement, if applicable
• Compliance Reports for Downstream Investment(s)
• Copies of relevant Approvals connected with the current proposal, such as:
• • Government
  • FIPB
  • SIA
  • RBI
• Copies of Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate(s) (FIRCs) 
• Certificate of Statutory Auditors as mandated in the FDI Policy
• Letter of authorization for the person(s) filing the application
• Filled in Security Clearance Form from MHA, if required

Post-Submission Assessment of the FIFP Approval application

After a proposal is filed and submitted online, the DPIIT will identify the concerned Administrative Department to e-transfer the proposal within two working days. Such a transfer will yield the proper processing and disposal of the applied case

Is the filed application digitally signed?

For a digitally-signed application, the applicant must not submit any physical copy to the Competent Authority. If the application is not digitally signed, the DPIIT instructs the applicant to submit a physical copy of the proposal to the Competent Authority through online communication.

Is the submission of a physical copy necessary for the FIFP Approval?

Every applicant must submit a signed physical copy of the FDI application within seven days of such communication from DPIIT. If no physical copy of the application is received within these seven days, the Competent Authority will provide additional seven days to submit its physical copy. If the applicant does not submit the signed physical copy, the Competent Authority will treat the filed proposal as closed.

Grant of FIFP Approval

After successfully verifying the filed application, the FIFP portal will grant the necessary FIFP approval to the applicant. Thereafter, the applicant can receive the decided funds from the Foreign Establishments. 

If you are having issues with filing your FIFP Approval application, then you can apply for expertise with the FIFP consultants at Registrationwala. Our experts are well-versed in the requisite service provision.

Author: Dushyant Sharma

Hey there, I'm Dushyant Sharma. With the extensive knowledge I've gained in past 8 years, I have been creating content on various subjects such as banking, insurance, telecom, and all the important registration and licensing processes for various companies. I'm here to help everyone with my expertise in these areas through my articles.