The International Financial Services Centres Authority on 10th June 2021 has issued clarification on Framework for enabling Ancillary Services. The framework shall be applicable to ancillary service providers engaged in Legal, Compliance, and Secretarial; Auditing, Accounting, Bookkeeping and Taxation Services; Professional & Management Consulting Services etc.
Under the eligibility conditions, it is clarified the entity may be set up in the IFSC in the form of a company or a limited liability partnership or a registered partnership firm, their branch thereof or any other form as may be approved by the IFSCA.
Service providers can provide permissible services to entities from foreign jurisdictions for various permissible ancillary services in the IFSCs in India or overseas as per clause 1.E.(ii).
The applicant under the framework shall not take client assets (including money), directly or indirectly in its custody and shall only provide permissible services within the prescribed framework. Further, the applicants shall seek IFSCA registration separately under the appropriate framework for undertaking regulated activities such as Debenture Trustee, Investment Advisor, AIF, Fund Management, etc.
