Every foreign investment into an Indian company triggers a FEMA compliance requirement. The RBI filing window is 30 days from the date of receipt of funds — and the foreign investor's apostilled KYC must be part of that filing. This isn't paperwork. It's a statutory obligation with penalties up to 3x the transaction value.
A US investor sends a notarised copy of their passport and company certificate. Their lawyer says it's fine. It isn't. India requires apostille from the correct state authority — for a Delaware-registered entity, that's the Delaware Secretary of State. A US federal notarisation means nothing to an Indian bank or the RBI.
FEMA Section 13 penalties for contraventions — including late filing or incorrect documentation — can reach three times the transaction value. Your firm is the one managing the compliance. The investor is back in San Francisco. The exposure sits with your client, and indirectly with your practice.
Funding rounds have co-investors, term sheets, and tranches. One investor's documentation delay can hold up the entire FCGPR filing. Which holds up subsequent drawdowns. Which the founders blame on their CA, not on the investor's agent in Dallas.
The CA or CS firm managing the round needs the apostilled documents right, the first time, before the filing window closes. That is the only outcome that matters. We build our service around that constraint — not around what's convenient for us.
| Country | Type | Key watch-out |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Hague member — state-level apostille | Most common error: using federal instead of state Secretary of State |
| UK | Hague member — FCDO apostille | Must use a UK notary, not a solicitor, for apostille eligibility |
| Singapore | Hague member — ICA/MFA apostille | Straightforward; allow 3–5 days |
| UAE | Non-Hague — 3 mandatory steps | MOFA attestation + Indian Embassy stamp. Takes 3 days longer — plan ahead |
Gunjan Sandu, CS, LLB — COO, GetNotary.in
Every FDI mandate is checked against current RBI Master Directions on FEMA before we begin. Your filing deserves that level of review — not a generic apostille service.
Suitable for pre-wire planning or rounds without immediate filing pressure
For live rounds where the wire has already arrived or the FCGPR window is active
Give us the investor's country and the expected wire date. We'll tell you whether standard or express is needed — and confirm pricing before you commit.
