India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement
The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement has been generating real momentum across Swiss and Norwegian boardrooms over the past year. ASSOCHAM marked its two-year anniversary in March 2026. Invest India is running sector-specific webinars — Electronics and ESDM was on the calendar for June 24, 2026. Switzerland’s implementation push has noticeably picked up pace.
If you are a company based in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein reading the coverage and asking what TEPA actually means for setting up a business in India, this article gives you the precise picture — including the parts that TEPA does not change, which matter just as much as the parts it does.
What TEPA Is — And What Makes It Different
TEPA was signed on March 10, 2024, and came into force on October 1, 2025. It is India’s first free trade agreement with a bloc of developed European economies, covering all four EFTA states: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.
Investment Commitment
- EFTA states pledged a USD 100 billion investment into India over 15 years.
- USD 50 billion in the first 10 years.
- USD 50 billion in the following five years.
This is the first legally binding investment commitment in any Indian FTA, making it structurally unlike most Indian trade deals.
Investment Language
The broader investment-climate provisions use terms like “endeavour” and “aim to” — closer to objectives than to unconditional guarantees. The pledge itself is binding; the surrounding commitments are aspirational.
Tariffs
| Party | Tariff Lines Opened | Export Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| EFTA | 92.2% | 99.6% of India’s exports |
| India | 82.7% | 95.3% of EFTA’s exports |
Sensitive sectors – dairy, gold, coal, and soya – remain largely untouched.
What TEPA Does Not Change — And Why It Matters
Incorporation Process
TEPA does not create a separate or faster incorporation process for EFTA companies. Swiss companies registering subsidiaries must follow the Companies Act, 2013, using the SPICe+ process and complying with FDI policy, sectoral limits, and RBI reporting requirements.
Document Authentication
All four EFTA states are members of the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Authentication involves notarisation by a local notary public, followed by an apostille from the competent authority under Rule 13 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014. TEPA does not alter this.
Dispute Settlement
TEPA does not create investor-state dispute settlement rights. Unlike bilateral investment treaties, TEPA has no ISDS mechanism. Disputes rely on institutional channels and diplomatic engagement, not binding arbitration.
What TEPA Adds — Genuine Benefits for India Entry
EFTA Desk at Invest India
India established a dedicated desk at Invest India for EFTA companies. This provides sector-specific market-entry facilitation, helping with incorporation decisions, sector approvals, and government incentives.
Sector Access
The services chapter is one of the most open India has committed to in any FTA:
- India opened 105 service sub-sectors.
- Switzerland: 128 sub-sectors.
- Norway: 114 sub-sectors.
- Liechtenstein: 107 sub-sectors.
- Iceland: 110 sub-sectors.
This strengthens the case for incorporating locally in sectors like precision instruments, medical devices, financial services, and engineering goods.
Mutual Recognition Agreements
TEPA includes MRAs in regulated professions such as chartered accountancy, nursing, and architecture. This supports qualification recognition and Mode 4 provisions for intra-company transfers and contractual service suppliers.
Capital Equipment Imports
For manufacturing subsidiaries, TEPA eliminates most industrial tariffs on EFTA-origin goods. Machinery, precision components, and industrial inputs now arrive at lower cost, directly benefiting manufacturing operations.
The Actual Incorporation Process — Unchanged by TEPA
For a Swiss, Norwegian, Icelandic, or Liechtenstein company or individual setting up a private limited company in India, the process is the standard one:
FDI Route
- Most sectors relevant to EFTA companies — manufacturing, IT services, professional services, precision engineering — fall under 100% FDI on the automatic route.
- No prior government approval is needed before making the equity investment.
- Sector-specific caps still apply in certain areas, including defence, insurance, and telecom, and should be confirmed before assuming automatic-route eligibility.
Document Authentication
Because all four EFTA countries are members of the Hague Apostille Convention:
- Individual subscribers to the MOA and AOA sign in their home country.
- Documents are notarised by a local notary.
- An apostille is obtained from the relevant competent authority.
- No additional consular legalisation step is required.
This was the existing fastest route before TEPA — it remains the same route now.
Incorporation Through SPICe+
- Name reservation, DIN and DSC for each director.
- Full SPICe+ Part B filing with MOA, AOA, registered office, and share capital.
- Automatic issue of PAN and TAN.
- Timeline — typically two to four weeks with documents prepared — is the same as for any other foreign-owned company formation in India.
Post-Incorporation Compliance
| Requirement | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Form FC-GPR filing with RBI | Within 30 days of share allotment |
| Annual filings with Ministry of Corporate Affairs | Yearly |
| FLA returns with RBI | Yearly |
| Transfer pricing documentation | As applicable for intercompany transactions |
TEPA creates no exemptions or shortcuts here.
The Honest Summary
TEPA is a genuine and substantive reason for EFTA companies to take Indian market entry seriously in 2026. The binding investment pledge, the newly opened services sectors, the EFTA-Desk at Invest India, and the duty-free capital equipment provisions are real and usable advantages.
But TEPA is a trade and investment-climate framework — not a company law shortcut. The mechanics of actually registering a company in India, the FDI route classification, the apostille authentication, the SPICe+ filing, and the post-incorporation FEMA compliance are exactly what they would be without TEPA.
The agreement strengthens the commercial case for setting up in India. It does not simplify or speed up the process of doing so.
If you are an EFTA company that has decided India entry makes sense and now needs to navigate the actual setup, the process is straightforward once correctly sequenced — the apostille is already the clean route, automatic-route FDI is available in most sectors, and the EFTA Desk can support the sector-facilitation side in parallel with compliance work.
How Accorp Partners Helps
Accorp Partners handles end-to-end India incorporation for companies from Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and across the EFTA region – covering:
- SPICe+ filing
- FDI structuring and FEMA compliance
- Resident director arrangement
- Registered office setup
- Full annual compliance stack including FC-GPR, FLA returns, and transfer pricing documentation
Where sector-specific facilitation through Invest India’s EFTA desk is useful alongside the compliance work, Accorp coordinates that in parallel.
References:
- https://accorppartners.com/services/incorporation/india-incorporation
