To understand the concept of a foreign director, it is important first to understand the meaning of a director.
As a company is a separate legal entity, it is also an artificial person and therefore requires an individual who can look after it. An individual who acts on behalf of the company by making major decisions is the one who is known as a Director. There is no such exhaustive list that mainly defines the duties and responsibilities of a director. However, it is important to note that directors are the pillars of a company who participates in the company's day-to-day affairs and its management. Any transaction that takes place and the company's director is personally interested in such a transaction; after that, the director must submit a proper disclosure.
A director of the company acts both as a trustee as well as an agent. They are considered to be the supreme authority.
A company whether public or private can be easily incorporated even if it has a foreign national as a director. A foreign national will have the same duties as an Indian director.
A foreign national can have the following designations as a director:
When a company is registered with one or more of its directors being foreign nationals, the following things need to be checked:
The details of the proposed directors and self-attested documents and passports are required in case of foreign directors duly notarized and apostille in the home country. However, in case of non-availability of notary and apostille in the Home Country, it is important to get it duly notarized in India.
The attestation here could also be done by a Public Notary / Gazetted Officer in India or a PCS / PCA/ PCWA if a foreign director has a valid multiple-entry Indian visa or he is a POI (Person of Indian Origin) card or OCI (Overseas Citizen of India card)
If DIN is already available: When a foreign national has a Director Identification Number (DIN), it needs to be cross-checked whether the DIN was obtained according to the prescribed company laws or not. With this, details of the directorship in other companies need to be checked as well.
If DIN is not available: In such circumstances where the foreign national does not carry a Director Identification Number (DIN), they may get it through India, according to the prescribed laws under the Companies Act, 2013.
If the director also holds shares in the company, its details and specifications are required to be given.
Companies with foreign directors can be easily incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013. Registration of such companies is not restricted under such acts. However, certain compliance needs to be followed for the same. A foreign national can also be an executive director or a non-executive director.
Moreover, the procedure to appoint foreign directors remains the same as the Indian directors with additional compliance and documentation requirements like Notary and Apostille of documents which the Embassy then validates.