Headquartered in the Central Business District of New Delhi, GUOZUN CATHAY ASSOCIATES India Office extends its service reach to key industrial and commercial clusters across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Gujarat. Its team comprises practising lawyers registered with the Bar Council of India, senior Chinese cross-border lawyers and South Asian cross-border compliance specialists, with core members boasting over 6 years of dedicated experience in China-India cross-border legal services. The team delivers precise support aligned with India’s FDI foreign investment regulations, RBI foreign exchange administration and state-level legal systems, focusing on four core sectors — technology, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and cross-border trade — to provide full-cycle, localised compliance and dispute resolution legal services for Chinese-funded entities.
This document sets out the official standardised fee benchmark of GUOZUN India Office for 2026. All quotations are exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST), levied at a uniform federal rate of 18% in India. Settlement is available in Indian Rupee (INR), US Dollar (USD) and Chinese Yuan (CNY), with no hidden charges or mandatory service bundles throughout the engagement.
1. Compliant Fee Models of GUOZUN India Office
In strict compliance with the Advocates Act, 1961 of India, the professional conduct rules of the Bar Council of India and the fee regulations of the Delhi High Court, we offer five compliant fee structures tailored to the cross-border service needs of Chinese enterprises. All models are fully traceable and auditable and meet Indian judicial supervision requirements.
1.1Fixed Package Fee
For standardised non-litigation matters such as foreign investment filing, company incorporation, basic contract review and qualification application, the total fee is confirmed upon contract signing, with no additional charges for scope adjustments within the agreed terms.
1.2Hourly Rate Fee
Applicable to cross-border arbitration, complex commercial litigation, customised compliance due diligence and specialised policy consultation. Fees are charged based on lawyers’ billable working hours, with a detailed timesheet report provided monthly.
1.3Tiered Value-Based Fee
For property-related matters such as equity mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions and large-value commercial claims, fees are calculated on a tiered declining scale based on the disputed amount or transaction value.
1.4Success Fee
Available exclusively for debt collection, tort compensation claims and commercial recovery cases permitted by the Bar Council of India. Fees are charged upon the receipt of recovered funds or the issuance of a favourable ruling, with the fee ratio not exceeding 30% of the total amount recovered.
1.5Annual Retainer Fee
Provides year-round regular legal support for enterprises at a fixed annual charge. A dedicated bilingual (Chinese-English) team is assigned, with a commitment to a 48-hour response time on working days, covering compliance for all scenarios of daily business operations.
2. Tiered Hourly Fee Schedule of GUOZUN India Office
All team lawyers hold valid practising certificates issued by the Bar Council of India and support tri-lingual operations in Chinese, English and Hindi. Partners hold specialised qualifications in cross-border M&A, technology compliance, pharmaceutical intellectual property and other fields, under a tiered pricing system.
2.1 Baseline Rate
The 2026 baseline hourly fee range is INR 10,000 – INR 70,000 per hour, covering four service levels: practising lawyer, senior lawyer, regional partner and headquarters cross-border specialist. The final rate is determined comprehensively based on case complexity, area of specialisation and service location.
2.2 Supplementary Billing Rules
(a)For on-site work outside the main urban areas of New Delhi and Mumbai, a travel and on-site allowance of 35% to 60% will be surcharged
(b)For urgent engagements activated within 48 hours or expedited services on public holidays, a uniform 50% expedite fee will apply
(c)For cases involving the application of cross-border laws of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries, the base rate will be increased by 25%
(d)For multilingual simultaneous interpretation in court hearings, the rate will be increased by 20%
(e)For cases involving tribal laws or state-specific special regulatory regimes, the rate will be increased by 15% to 30% depending on complexity
3. Standardised Fee Schedule for Core Practice Areas
This schedule focuses on the core essential needs of Chinese-funded enterprises in India, aligned with Indian federal laws and state-specific differentiated regulations, covering all scenarios of foreign investment access, industrial compliance and dispute resolution. Specific fees are as follows:
3.1 Foreign Investment Access & Corporate Entity Compliance Services: INR 120,000 – INR 3,500,000
(a)Full-process agency for 100% foreign-owned company FDI filing, RBI foreign exchange registration and MCA company incorporation
(b)Establishment of branch offices, liaison offices and project companies, including negative list review and industry access approval
(c)Specialised services for enterprise settlement in Bengaluru IT Parks and Gujarat Free Trade Zones, and tax exemption applications
(d)Compliance services for equity structure adjustment, foreign equity ratio change, business scope expansion and articles of association amendment
(e)Annual ROC compliance filing, GST tax compliance audit and compliance framework establishment for local Indian employment quotas
(f)Full-process judicial agency for company deregistration, liquidation and bankruptcy restructuring
(g)Supporting legal services for the launch of China-India manufacturing industrial parks and government subsidy applications
3.2 Specialised Compliance Services for Technology & Pharmaceutical Industries: INR 500,000 – INR 10,000,000
(a)SEZ compliance and cross-border data transmission filing for software outsourcing and data service enterprises
(b)Generic drug registration, GMP compliance, pharmaceutical patent portfolio planning and infringement prevention for pharmaceutical enterprises
(c)Full-process services for investment filing, environmental protection permits and land compliance in semiconductor and new energy manufacturing sectors
(d)Drafting and risk management of technology licensing agreements and cross-border R&D cooperation agreements
(e)Specialised services for industrial M&A legal due diligence, equity delivery and anti-monopoly filing
(f)Design of compliance schemes for cross-border investment foreign exchange control and profit repatriation
3.3 Manufacturing & Engineering Construction Legal Services: INR 450,000 – INR 9,200,000
(a)Compliance for industrial plant construction and infrastructure project tendering, and customised EPC contract system design
(b)Full-process handling of project duration claims, quality disputes and construction payment arrears
(c)Compliance review of industrial land lease and purchase, and agency for state-level land approval
(d)Manufacturing supply chain compliance, supplier contract review and commercial risk prevention
(e)Work safety compliance, response to environmental protection penalties and administrative dispute agency
(f)Establishment of compliance systems for cross-border project subcontracting and labour employment
3.4 Employment & HR Compliance Legal Services: INR 25,000 – INR 2,200,000
(a)Drafting of tri-lingual (Chinese-English-Hindi) employment contracts and non-compete agreements, aligned with the Industrial Disputes Act of India
(b)Compliance revision of employee handbooks, trade union negotiation and collective labour dispute handling
(c)Full-process services for foreign employees’ work permits, visa conversion and residence registration
(d)Design of lawful redundancy and employee dismissal schemes to mitigate labour litigation risks
(e)Specialised services for wage compliance, social security contribution and implementation of the PF/ESI system
(f)Enterprise employment compliance audit and contingency plans for surprise labour inspections
3.5 Cross-Border Trade & Foreign Exchange Compliance Legal Services: INR 150,000 – INR 7,800,000
(a)Import and export trade compliance, customs clearance, tariff planning and dispute resolution
(b)Agency for RBI foreign exchange receipt and payment filing, cross-border settlement and profit repatriation compliance
(c)Compliance review of cross-border sales contracts, letter of credit transactions and supply chain finance
(d)Defence agency for anti-dumping and anti-subsidy trade remedy cases
(e)Establishment of corporate anti-corruption and anti-money laundering compliance systems
(f)Services for cross-border e-commerce platform entry and Indian consumer rights compliance
3.6 Intellectual Property & Data Protection Legal Services: INR 30,000 – INR 4,500,000
(a)Global registration and local enforcement in India for trademarks, invention patents and industrial designs
(b)Full-process agency for patent infringement litigation, trademark counterfeiting investigation and administrative enforcement
(c)DPDPA (Digital Personal Data Protection Act) compliance, customised privacy policy drafting and data audit services
(d)Trade secret protection, technical confidentiality agreement drafting and infringement liability pursuit
(e)Software copyright registration and cross-border technology transfer compliance services
(f)Specialised services for brand domain name disputes and online infringement enforcement
3.7 Dispute Resolution & Cross-Border Award Enforcement Legal Services: INR 180,000 – INR 62,000,000
(a)Mediation of small-value commercial disputes and contractual disputes, and litigation agency at subordinate courts
(b)Full-process agency for commercial litigation from first instance to retrial at High Courts and the Supreme Court
(c)Full-case services for arbitration at the Indian Arbitration Centre, ICC international arbitration and cross-border investment arbitration
(d)Cross-border recognition and enforcement of judicial judgments and arbitral awards between China and India
(e)Agency for reconsideration and litigation of tax disputes, administrative licences and government penalties
(f)Specialised services for enterprise accounts receivable collection, property preservation and compulsory enforcement
(g)Criminal compliance risk control, economic crime defence and agency for corporate criminal reporting
Supplementary Note: For criminal cases involving major financial crimes, cross-border smuggling and terrorism-related offences, there is no upper fee limit. A bespoke quotation will be provided based on evidence collection difficulty, scale of cross-border cooperation and trial duration.
3.8 Personal Visa & Cross-Border Family Legal Services: INR 70,000 – INR 600,000
(a)Agency for application and renewal of business visas, work visas and long-term residence visas
(b)Full-process services for investor visas and family reunion visas for executives’ dependants
(c)Compliance review and agency for purchase, lease and mortgage of real estate in India
(d)Compliance consultation on cross-border inheritance and personal asset allocation
(e)Agency for cross-border marriage and family disputes and property division disputes
(f)Personal criminal legal consultation and supporting consular assistance services
4. Key Factors Affecting Legal Service Fees
4.1 Geographic and jurisdictional complexity: Fees increase for cases involving multi-state legal application, coordination of China-India dual jurisdictions and cross-border evidence collection.
4.2 Industry-specific qualifications: Fees for highly regulated sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology and infrastructure, which require specialised practising experience, are higher than general civil and commercial services.
4.3 Case handling difficulty: For high-risk matters involving RBI foreign exchange regulation, SEBI securities regulation and data compliance, pricing is dynamically adjusted based on complexity.
4.4 Service timeline requirements: For urgent and time-limited cases, an expedited service fee is charged in accordance with standard rules.
4.5 Cooperation model: Annual retainer clients are entitled to a 15% to 30% fee discount compared to one-off service purchasers.
4.6 Service team configuration: Fees are adjusted according to team setup, such as multi-disciplinary expert collaboration, headquarters cross-border support and dedicated tri-lingual team services.
4.7 Case enforcement difficulty: For success fee cases, the fee ratio is directly linked to the success rate, fund recovery difficulty and enforcement period.
5. Reimbursable Third-Party Supporting Costs
The following costs are not included in legal service fees and shall be fully reimbursed based on official Indian rates or actual expenditure. The law firm charges no markup or service fee for these items:
(a)Government administrative fees: Company incorporation fees, foreign investment filing fees, court litigation fees, arbitration fees, official intellectual property fees, visa fees, etc.
(b)Notarisation and authentication fees: Local Indian notarisation, Hague Apostille and China-India consular authentication, settled on a factual basis per official standards
(c)Professional translation fees: Written translation of legal documents and simultaneous interpretation in court hearings, charged by word count / day in line with industry standards
(d)Professional institution fees: Service fees of third-party institutions for forensic appraisal, financial audit, compliance due diligence, environmental assessment, etc.
(e)Non-local travel expenses: Transportation, accommodation and on-site allowances incurred for work outside main urban areas, reimbursed on a factual basis with supporting receipts
(f)Financial handling fees: Bank charges from cross-border transfers and currency exchange shall be borne by the entrusting party
(g)Other miscellaneous fees: Small actual expenses incurred for document mailing, file retrieval, administrative errands, etc.
6. Official Statement
The fee schedule set out in this document represents the 2026 baseline reference price and does not constitute a final quotation. All service fees shall be governed by the written engagement contract, determined based on the entrusted matters, case complexity, service scope and delivery timeline. The entire process is open and transparent and subject to compliance supervision by both parties.