Doing business in India and need a PAN or DSC?

India is increasingly the "next China" for Korean manufacturers and exporters, but every step of doing business there online — company incorporation, tax filing, GST returns, government e-tendering — requires a DSC (Digital Signature Certificate) under India's IT Act, and every company or individual transacting with an Indian counterparty needs a PAN (Permanent Account Number), India's tax-identification card. Both are foreign, unfamiliar filing systems for a Korean office, and since April 1, 2026 the rules for foreign entities changed substantially.

What changed on April 1, 2026

1. A dedicated foreign-entity form — foreign companies now file Form 96 instead of the Form 49AA used previously.
2. A mandatory local representative — every foreign applicant must now name a Representative Assessee or Authorized Representative resident in India, and provide that person's PAN and Aadhaar numbers. A Korean company with no India presence still needs to secure a local tax consultant or similar representative for this role.
3. A mandatory home-country tax ID — foreign entities must now list their home tax identification number; for a Korean company, that's the business registration number on the English-language business registration certificate.

Filing Form 96 online and paying the fee doesn't finish the process — the physical acknowledgment and supporting documents must reach India's issuing authority (Protean) by international courier within 15 days, and the Representative Assessee (not the Korean CEO) is the one who signs the physical application.

Required documents

• Power of attorney appointing the India-based representative
• English-language business registration certificate and corporate registry — apostilled, or consular-authenticated at the Indian embassy in Korea, since Indian authorities won't accept these as valid foreign public documents otherwise
• Applicant identification (passport, valid 6+ months) and proof of address for individual applicants

DSC — the "digital seal" for India

A DSC is required for company incorporation and director registration (DIN), income-tax and GST filings, and participation in government e-tendering — think of it as India's equivalent of a Korean corporate seal, but in cryptographic form on a USB security token.

1. Send apostilled/notarized ID and address documents as PDFs
2. Online application and document upload to the Indian certifying authority's (CA) system
3. A video identity-verification interview, conducted in English (we provide the script)
4. USB token issuance and delivery to Korea — roughly 2–3 weeks

Common questions after the company's PAN is already issued

A change in representative director, or a passport renewal, does not require re-issuing the company's PAN — it's a permanent number tied to the legal entity, not the officer. A DSC that has expired, however, cannot be "renewed" — it must be filed as a brand-new application.

Why use a Korea-based agent for a PAN or DSC filing

The paperwork chain — apostille, English translation, appointing a trustworthy India-side representative, matching the physical courier deadline — has several places a single missing step causes a rejection and a full restart. We handle the apostille and translation from the Korean side and coordinate directly with the India-side CA and representative, so a Seoul-based company doesn't have to manage two country's bureaucracies at once.