Industry

IT, ITES & SaaS.

Name: Anil Arora & Co.
Address: First Floor, K-359, opp. Water Tank, near Emerald Mall, Ashiyana Colony, Sector K, LDA Colony, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, 226012, IN
Telephone: +91 522 407 1089

STPI and SEZ benefits, software export realisation, equalisation levy, ESOP design and valuation, and transfer pricing for SaaS and IT services businesses.

Sector context

The regulatory landscape, the compliance rhythm, and the questions that come up at audit.

Anil Arora & Co. works with product, services, and platform businesses across the IT and ITES landscape — from early-stage SaaS to outsourced engineering centres serving overseas parents — which carry a tax and FEMA profile that very few other sectors do. The day-to-day questions are about export realisation timelines under FEMA (and the related FIRC / eBRC paperwork), STPI or SEZ unit-level compliance and the soft-export reporting at SOFTEX, the equalisation levy on certain non-resident e-commerce transactions, withholding-tax obligations on payments to overseas SaaS and cloud providers (with the Section 9(1)(vi) "royalty" question and the relevant DTAA article almost always in play), and transfer pricing — both domestic specified-domestic-transactions and cross-border — for groups that have a sister entity offshore.

On the people side, ESOP design and valuation under Rule 11UA, the perquisite-tax timing under Section 17(2), and the founder-friendly Section 80-IAC tax holiday for DPIIT-recognised startups are recurring engagements. So is the cap-table conversation: SAFE and CCPS structures need to survive a Section 56(2)(viib) angel-tax review, and ESOP pools need a defensible 409A-style Indian valuation.

How we help

Specific touch-points for it, ites & saas.

The bullets below describe recurring service touch-points in this sector. An engagement typically draws from a subset; we scope the right combination once we understand the business.

STPI unit registration, monthly SOFTEX filings, and annual performance reports; SEZ unit compliance where applicable
Software export realisation tracking under FEMA — FIRC / eBRC reconciliation and write-off applications for unrealised receivables
Equalisation levy advisory and quarterly Form-1 filings for in-scope non-resident transactions
Withholding tax on payments to overseas SaaS, cloud, and software vendors — Section 195, Section 9(1)(vi) "royalty" analysis, and DTAA application
Transfer pricing studies, Form 3CEB certification, and Master File / CbCR support for groups with offshore affiliates
ESOP design, Rule 11UA valuation, perquisite-tax computation under Section 17(2), and cap-table maintenance
DPIIT recognition, Section 80-IAC tax-holiday applications, and Section 56(2)(viib) angel-tax exemption support
Fundraise readiness — financial models, data rooms, and investor reporting cadence for seed through Series-C rounds