Delhi law firm brings FDI, overseas investment, ECB and compounding work under one team

New Delhi, September 23, 2026 - A. Agarwalla & Co., a New Delhi law firm with offices across nine states, has set up a dedicated practice for matters under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA). The team will advise Indian companies, foreign investors, NRIs and OCIs on transactions that move money or assets across India's borders.

The practice covers inbound foreign direct investment, overseas direct investment by Indian entities, external commercial borrowings, and compliance reporting such as FC-GPR, FC-TRS, Form ODI and annual FLA returns. It also handles compounding applications before the Reserve Bank of India and represents clients in proceedings before the Enforcement Directorate and adjudicating authorities.

FEMA questions now come up earlier in deals than they used to. Foreign investors entering regulated sectors have to work through sectoral caps, entry routes and pricing guidelines before funds arrive. Indian groups buying businesses abroad face their own set of ODI rules. When reporting deadlines slip, penalties can run up to three times the amount involved, which is why many companies turn to compounding to regularise past lapses.

"Most FEMA problems we see start at the drafting stage, long before anyone files a form," said Anil Agarwalla, Managing Partner. "Our aim is to structure the transaction correctly the first time, so the client isn't asking the RBI for approvals or compounding six months later." [Quote for client approval]

In recent work, the firm advised a foreign investor entering India across two regulated sectors and completed its FC-GPR reporting within deadlines. It also represented an Indian company that had missed inbound investment reporting timelines and secured a compounding settlement well below the maximum penalty, and structured an outbound acquisition for an Indian group under the ODI framework.

"NRIs and OCIs ask us the same questions again and again: can I buy this property, can I send this money back, does this need RBI permission," said Mahesh Agarwalla, Partner. "Clear answers at the start save them a lot of trouble later." [Quote for client approval]

More information on the practice is available at https://aagarwalla.com/practice-areas/fema-lawyers-delhi/.