Statutory Audit in India: Cost and Timeline for a Foreign-Owned Subsidiary
Every Indian private company needs an annual statutory audit regardless of size, professional fees scale with transaction volume and complexity, not just revenue.
Unlike some jurisdictions where small companies are exempt, every Indian private limited company must undergo an annual statutory audit by a practicing Chartered Accountant, no revenue or size threshold exemption. The audit covers the standalone Ind AS financial statements and feeds into the annual ROC (Registrar of Companies) filing.
Fees vary by transaction volume, entity complexity, and whether the auditor also handles tax audit and transfer pricing certification (Form 3CEB) as a bundled engagement, a small subsidiary with straightforward operations sits at the lower end of the range; one with cross-border related-party transactions, inventory, or multiple revenue streams costs meaningfully more due to the additional audit procedures required.
Timeline-wise, the statutory audit is typically completed within 2 to 3 months of fiscal year-end (March 31), with the ROC filing deadline following shortly after, planning the audit engagement early in the new fiscal year, rather than scrambling in the final weeks before the filing deadline, keeps both cost and stress lower.