🇮🇳 India · reviewed 2026-10-09
Franchise law and registration in India
There is nothing to register and nothing to disclose by law when franchising into India. What decides whether an Indian franchise agreement works is contract law, competition law and a stamp-duty rule that can keep an unstamped agreement out of court.
No franchise statute
- India has no franchise-specific statute, no mandatory pre-sale disclosure document and no franchise registration. Franchising is governed by the Indian Contract Act 1872, the Competition Act 2002, the Trade Marks Act 1999, FEMA 1999, income-tax and GST law, the Specific Relief Act 1963 and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996. Secondary · ICLG Franchise 2025: India (LexOrbis), 2024-10-31
Restraint of trade
- Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act voids agreements in restraint of trade. The Supreme Court has upheld exclusivity covenants that apply only during the contract, but has held restraints that continue after the contract ends to be void, so post-term non-competes against a franchisee are generally unenforceable. Secondary · Percept D'Mark v Zaheer Khan, Supreme Court (2006), 2006-03-22
Competition law
- Vertical agreements, including tie-ins, exclusive supply or distribution, refusal to deal and resale price maintenance, are prohibited under section 3(4) of the Competition Act only if they cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India. Secondary · ICLG Franchise 2025: India (LexOrbis), 2024-10-31
Stamp duty
- Stamp duty on franchise agreements is set by each state. An unstamped or under-stamped agreement is not void, but it cannot be admitted in evidence until the duty and penalty are paid, as a seven-judge Supreme Court bench confirmed on 13 December 2023. Secondary · JSA on the Supreme Court stamp-duty ruling, 2023-12-13
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