Guozun Law Firm India Office Officially Established, Relevant Information Announced — A Chinese-Invested Law Firm in India

In May 2023, Guozun Law Firm’s India Office was officially inaugurated and commenced operations in New Delhi, the capital of India. This marks a key milestone in Guozun Law Firm’s global strategic layout, aimed at responding to the rapidly growing demand for legal services from Chinese-invested enterprises in the Indian market and providing professional, efficient, and localized cross-border legal support for economic, trade, and investment cooperation between Chinese and Indian enterprises.

I. Basic Overview of the Office

Establishing Entity: Guozun Law Firm

Date of Establishment: May 2023

Office Address: Core business district of New Delhi, India

Official Hotline: 4006661890

Team Professional Qualifications: The core team consists of senior Chinese foreign-related lawyers and locally qualified Indian legal professionals. All members possess bilingual working capabilities in Chinese and Indian languages, have a deep understanding of India’s legal system, regulatory policies, judicial practice, and business customs, and maintain long-term and stable in-depth cooperation with local Indian legal institutions, enabling the integration of legal resources across India to achieve nationwide service coverage.

Core Service Positioning: Focused on the full life-cycle legal needs of Chinese-invested enterprises in India, while also serving Indian enterprises investing in China, and relying on Guozun’s global network to achieve seamless cross-regional coordination, thereby building a standardized and integrated China-India cross-border legal service system.

II. Core Scope of Legal Services

Guozun’s India Office covers the full spectrum of legal matters relating to enterprise investment and operations in India and has formed a clear and standardized business service system. The specific service content is as follows:

(I) Company Establishment and Routine Compliance

1. Establishment of various types of market entities, including private limited companies, public limited companies, branches, representative offices, joint ventures, and limited liability partnerships

2. Changes to core corporate information, including equity, business scope, registered capital, legal representative, and registered address

3. Company deregistration, liquidation, and bankruptcy-related matters

4. Design of corporate governance structures and improvement of internal systems

5. Compliance review under basic laws and regulations such as the Indian Companies Act and the Limited Liability Partnership Act

6. Applications for market entry permits in special sectors such as telecommunications, finance, pharmaceuticals, energy, and manufacturing

7. Annual corporate compliance audits and preparation of statutory reports

(II) Investment and M&A

1. Research on the Indian investment environment and legal due diligence

2. Investment structure design and cross-border tax planning

3. Drafting and negotiation of transaction documents such as joint venture agreements, equity transfer agreements, and asset acquisition agreements

4. Full-process handling of foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals and filings

5. Full-process legal services for equity acquisitions and asset acquisitions

6. Design and implementation of corporate asset divestiture and project exit plans

7. Establishment of cross-border investment risk assessment and prevention systems

(III) Intellectual Property

1. Trademark registration, renewal, transfer, licensing, and opposition matters

2. Patent application, examination, invalidation proceedings, and infringement litigation

3. Copyright registration, protection, and handling of infringement disputes

4. Establishment of corporate trade secret protection systems

5. Investigation of intellectual property infringement, administrative complaints, and judicial litigation representation

6. Drafting of intellectual property licensing, transfer, and pledge agreements

7. Global strategic planning and layout for corporate intellectual property

(IV) Labor and Employment

1. Drafting and review of labor contracts, confidentiality agreements, and non-compete agreements

2. Formulation of internal rules and regulations such as employee handbooks, compensation systems, and attendance systems

3. Compliance management for employee wages, working hours, social insurance, and provident funds

4. Design of employee dismissal, economic layoff, and severance compensation plans

5. Full-process representation in labor dispute mediation, arbitration, and litigation

6. Application for and renewal of work visas and residence permits for Chinese employees

7. Coordination of union relations and prevention of labor-management disputes

(V) Dispute Resolution

1. First-instance, second-instance, and retrial representation in civil and commercial cases before courts at all levels in India

2. Representation in domestic commercial arbitration and international commercial arbitration in India

3. Mediation and settlement negotiation in civil and commercial disputes

4. Recognition and enforcement of China-India cross-border court judgments and arbitral awards

5. Handling of cross-border creditor-debtor disputes and asset preservation measures

6. Resolution of common commercial disputes such as breach of contract and product liability

7. Specialized handling of shareholder rights disputes and corporate control disputes

(VI) Tax and Financial Compliance

1. Tax planning across all major tax categories in India, including corporate income tax, VAT, excise duty, customs duties, and stamp duty

2. Full-process representation in tax registration, tax filing, and withholding obligations

3. Response to tax audits and resolution of tax disputes

4. Transfer pricing compliance for related-party transactions and preparation of contemporaneous documentation

5. Consultation on the application of the China-India tax treaty and applications for treaty benefits

6. Corporate financial compliance review and internal control system construction

(VII) Data Compliance and Cybersecurity

1. Full-process compliance consulting under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of India

2. Compliance solutions for data collection, storage, processing, and cross-border transfer

3. Drafting of privacy policies, user agreements, and data processing agreements

4. Emergency response to and handling of data security incidents

5. Cybersecurity compliance review and risk assessment

(VIII) Cross-Border Trade and Customs

1. Drafting and review of import-export contracts and international freight contracts

2. Compliance consulting on customs classification, valuation, and rules of origin

3. Response to customs audits and handling of tariff disputes

4. Representation in trade remedy cases such as anti-dumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguard measures

5. Legal services relating to international trade settlement instruments such as letters of credit, collections, and guarantees

6. Handling of international cargo transport disputes, insurance disputes, and cargo damage claims

(IX) Real Estate and Construction Projects

1. Acquisition and transfer of industrial, commercial, and residential land use rights

2. Full-process legal services for real estate development, construction, and sales

3. Drafting and review of general contracting and subcontracting agreements for construction projects

4. Resolution of engineering claims, construction delays, and quality disputes

5. Legal services for leasing and property management of offices, factories, and warehouses

(X) Criminal Compliance and Defense

1. Establishment of corporate criminal compliance systems and compliance training

2. Prevention of economic crimes such as commercial bribery, contract fraud, and embezzlement

3. Cooperation with criminal investigations and response to corporate criminal matters

4. Representation in corporate crime cases and individual criminal defense

5. Matters relating to cross-border criminal judicial assistance

(XI) Immigration and Visas

1. Full-process handling of business visas, project visas, and work visas

2. Services for visa extension, conversion, and reissuance

3. Consultation on applications for permanent residency in India

4. Handling of exit-entry restrictions and related legal issues

5. Applications for dependent family visas and residence permits

III. Core Service Advantages

1. Local Implementation Capability: Relying on deep cooperation with local Indian legal institutions, the office is familiar with India’s administrative procedures and judicial practice and is able to respond quickly and implement legal matters across India.

2. Dual-Jurisdiction Adaptation Capability: The team is proficient in both Chinese and Indian legal systems, accurately understands the core needs of Chinese-invested enterprises, and effectively resolves legal coordination issues across different legal systems and cultures.

3. Full-Cycle Coverage Capability: The office provides full-chain legal services from market entry and daily operations to dispute resolution and project exit, without requiring clients to engage multiple service providers.

4. Global Coordination Capability: The office works in real time with Guozun’s China headquarters and more than 20 global branches, providing unified and integrated legal support for enterprises’ global expansion.

The establishment of Guozun’s India Office fills the gap in Guozun Law Firm’s legal services in South Asia and further improves its global legal service network. In the future, it will continue to deepen its presence in the Indian market, provide professional and reliable legal protection for enterprises from both China and India, and support the healthy development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.