India
Ukraine
Ukrainian law puts no condition on your nationality or your residence. An Indian founder can own 100% of a Ukrainian company, from India, without a permit and without a visit.
What makes this a real corridor rather than a theoretical one is pharmaceuticals. India is the third largest exporter of pharmaceuticals to Ukraine, behind Germany and France. Around fifteen Indian pharmaceutical companies run regional offices there, enough to have formed their own Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association in the country. The route is well travelled, and the friction is entirely on the Indian side.
Key facts for Indian founders
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can an Indian resident own a Ukrainian company? | Yes, 100%, individual or corporate |
| Ukrainian permit needed to own? | No |
| Ukrainian permit needed to be director? | Yes, a work permit |
| Indian route for the investment | ODI, or LRS within the annual limit |
| Ukrainian corporate tax | 18%, or 9% on distributed profit under Diia City |
| Withholding on dividends to India | 15% domestic, 10% under the treaty |
The real reason Indian founders do this: an existing corridor
Not tax. Ukraine's 18% is close to Indian rates and the treaty does not rescue anything.
The reasons that hold up are commercial:
- Pharmaceuticals. Indian generics have held Ukrainian market share for three decades. Kusum Group started as a distribution business in 1994, opened a Ukrainian plant in 2009, and is now among the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country by sales.
- A two way trade flow. Ukraine ships sunflower oil, fertilisers, chemicals, boilers, locomotives and optics to India. A local entity turns a trading relationship into a booked one.
- Registration and distribution. Selling regulated products in Ukraine is materially easier through a Ukrainian entity than through a distributor arrangement.
- Engineering capacity, for Indian IT services groups building delivery centres in the region.
Can an Indian resident legally own a Ukrainian company?
Yes. Ukraine imposes no restriction. India does not prohibit it either, but India regulates how the money leaves, and that is where Indian founders get stuck.
Two routes exist, and they are not interchangeable:
| Route | What it is | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| ODI | Overseas direct investment, the route for taking control of a foreign entity | Any real operating stake |
| LRS | Liberalised Remittance Scheme, the resident individual's annual allowance | Small holdings, within the limit |
Choosing the wrong one is the most expensive mistake on this page. An investment that gives you control of a foreign operating company belongs on the ODI route, with a unique identification number and the required filings through your authorised dealer bank, not squeezed under a personal remittance allowance.
The money rules: LRS, ODI and TCS
- The LRS annual limit applies per resident individual per financial year. Confirm the current figure with your AD bank before remitting, because it moves.
- Tax collected at source applies to remittances under LRS above a threshold, at rates and thresholds that change with each Budget. Treat any figure you read as provisional.
- ODI filings are ongoing, not one off. An annual performance report is part of the deal.
- Repatriation obligations apply to dividends and to any disinvestment proceeds.
The practical point: budget for an Indian adviser and an AD bank conversation before you register anything in Kyiv. The Ukrainian side is faster than the Indian side, always.
The Ukraine-India treaty, in numbers
| Payment from Ukraine to India | Ukrainian domestic rate | Treaty rate |
|---|---|---|
| Dividends, non-portfolio holding | 15% | 10% |
| Dividends, portfolio holding | 15% | 15% |
| Interest | 15% | 10% |
| Royalties | 15% | 10% |
India sits at the less favourable end of Ukraine's treaty network. The 10% non-portfolio rate is double what a US, UK, French or German shareholder gets, and there is no zero rate anywhere in the table.
To obtain even that, three conditions have to hold: an Indian tax residency certificate in the Ukrainian payer's hands before payment, the correct income classification, and a shareholding above the treaty's threshold for the non-portfolio rate.
The remote setup path from India
- Get a Ukrainian tax number (RNOKPP) for every Indian individual who will be founder, director or beneficial owner. Free, three business days, obtainable by proxy.
- Apostille in India and translate into Ukrainian, with the translator's signature notarised. A corporate founder adds an apostilled registry extract and its constitution.
- Complete the Indian side first if you are on the ODI route, because the funds must move under the right head.
- Appoint a director. You cannot hold the role without a Ukrainian work permit, and the permit is applied for by the company after it exists.
- File offline. Diia, the online portal, is closed to foreign founders, so a representative lodges the file.
- Registration inside 24 hours by statute, with no state fee.
- Fund the share capital within six months, unless the charter sets a different period.
Detail in how to register a company in Ukraine.
What KYC actually looks like for an Indian founder
Ukrainian banks apply enhanced due diligence to every foreign owned file, and the questions are the same regardless of passport. What differs is how well the answers are documented.
- Source of funds for the share capital, traceable to the Indian remittance and its route.
- The ownership chain to the individuals, with apostilled documents at every foreign layer.
- A written business description consistent with the activity codes chosen at registration.
- A director the bank can reach, which is where purely nominal arrangements fail.
Full picture in business bank account in Ukraine.
Tax: the honest position
Ukraine takes 18% corporate income tax, or 9% on distributed profit under Diia City if you qualify. India then taxes the income in your hands, with credit for Ukrainian tax paid, and Indian rules can attribute foreign company profits to an Indian resident in some circumstances.
End to end, an Indian owner distributing fully keeps roughly 74% of Ukrainian profit before Indian tax: 18% corporate, then 10% treaty withholding on the balance. That is an ordinary outcome, not an advantage, and it is the right expectation to hold.
When Ukraine makes sense from India, and when it does not
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Pharmaceutical registration, manufacturing or distribution | Strong. The corridor exists and the entity is the normal vehicle |
| Booking a real two way trading relationship | Strong |
| An IT delivery centre using Ukrainian engineers | Strong, look at Diia City first |
| Reducing Indian tax | No. The treaty is one of Ukraine's least generous |
| A holding company | No. Ukraine is an operating jurisdiction |
Common mistakes from India
- Using LRS where ODI is required. Control of a foreign operating company is an ODI transaction.
- Registering in Kyiv before clearing the Indian side. The money then has no clean route.
- Assuming the treaty gives 5%. It gives 10%, and only above the shareholding threshold.
- Requesting the residency certificate after the dividend. Ukrainian relief is applied at payment, not reclaimed.
- Naming yourself director on the incorporation documents. Without a work permit the filing fails.
- Treating ODI reporting as a one off. The annual performance report keeps coming.
The bottom line, and how CorpSec helps
Owning a Ukrainian company from India is legally simple and administratively front loaded on the Indian side. Ukraine will register you in a day. The RBI route, the apostilles and the AD bank conversation are what set your real timeline.
Do it for the pharmaceutical corridor, for a trading relationship worth booking locally, or for engineering capacity. Do not do it for the rate, because India has one of the weaker treaties in Ukraine's network.
CorpSec sets up Ukrainian companies for Indian founders end to end, remotely, with the tax number, the charter, an interim director and banking introductions, and points you to the right advisors for the ODI filing.
Frequently asked questions
Can an Indian citizen open a company in Ukraine?
Yes, and own 100% of it, from India, with no Ukrainian permit and no visit. The requirements are a Ukrainian tax number, apostilled and translated documents, and a power of attorney if you are not filing in person.
Do I need RBI approval?
You need to use the correct route. An investment giving you control of a Ukrainian operating company belongs on the overseas direct investment route through your authorised dealer bank, with the associated filings, rather than under the personal remittance scheme.
Can I use LRS to fund my Ukrainian company?
Only for holdings that genuinely fit within the scheme and its annual limit. Control of an operating company is an ODI transaction. Confirm the current limit and the TCS position with your AD bank, because both move with each Budget.
What is the withholding tax on dividends from Ukraine to India?
15% domestically, reduced to 10% under the treaty for a qualifying non-portfolio holding, provided an Indian tax residency certificate is in the Ukrainian payer's hands before the payment.
Can I be the director of my Ukrainian company?
Not without a Ukrainian work permit, and the permit is applied for by the company once it exists. Most foreign founders appoint a resident director at incorporation and replace them three to five months later.
Do I have to travel to Ukraine?
No. A representative under a power of attorney notarised in India and apostilled can complete the process. The power of attorney has to name the specific acts.
Is Ukraine good for reducing Indian tax?
No. Ukraine charges 18% corporate income tax and the India treaty caps dividend withholding at 10%, one of the less generous rates in Ukraine's network. It is an operating jurisdiction, not a planning one.
Which Indian sectors actually operate in Ukraine?
Pharmaceuticals above all. India is the third largest pharmaceutical exporter to Ukraine and around fifteen Indian companies maintain regional offices there. Agri-commodity trade runs the other way, with sunflower oil, fertilisers and chemicals moving from Ukraine to India.
How long does the whole process take?
The Ukrainian registration is a 24 hour statutory decision, but the realistic timeline from an Indian start is four to eight weeks, because apostilles, the tax number and the Indian remittance route all sit in front of it.
What happens if I get the remittance route wrong?
It becomes an exchange control problem rather than a company law problem, and it is far harder to unwind after the funds have moved than to plan before. This is the single point on which to take Indian advice first.
Sources
- Reserve Bank of India: Liberalised Remittance Scheme and the overseas direct investment route
- Embassy of India, Kyiv: India-Ukraine economic and commercial relations
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ukraine withholding taxes and the Ukraine-India treaty rates
The absence of any nationality condition on owning a Ukrainian company, the work permit rule for directors and the Ukrainian withholding rates reflect Ukrainian law as of September 2026. Indian exchange control treatment follows the FEM (Overseas Investment) Rules and the Liberalised Remittance Scheme; the LRS annual limit and the TCS treatment change with each Budget and must be confirmed with an authorised dealer bank before remitting. Ukraine-India treaty rates are drawn from the treaty as amended by the multilateral instrument. Market and sector figures on the pharmaceutical corridor come from Indian mission and industry sources and describe the position before and during the war; they are context, not a forecast. This is not Indian or Ukrainian tax advice.