INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Rishabh Shroff, Kunal Savani and Chirag Shah, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
tance Scheme (LRS). These varied thresholds dictat - ed by residency status must be borne in mind when undertaking cross-border planning of succession and transfer of wealth. Many Indian residents are also exploring structures under the Overseas Direct Investments (ODI) regime introduced in August 2022, in order to make invest - ments in offshore jurisdictions. This regime has paved the way for Indian companies and LLPs to set up cor - responding entities overseas. Many families are exploring the ODI route for struc - turing their offshore wealth, depending on factors including availability of funds under the LRS, strate - gic positioning of a family member or a foreign entity outside India through which investments are routed, or specific regulatory dispensations and approvals to be obtained from the relevant authorities. Typically, an approval for setting up such entity outside India is essential only if required under the host country’s laws, which simplifies the process for setting up a global family office for Indians. Notably, the new generation of wealthy and high-net- worth individuals have been focusing on wealth man - agement and investments through FOs and this surge is attributed to a shift towards a more structured and professional approach to achieve the intended goals. HNWIs are increasingly assessing the permissibility and structuring opportunities of investments routed through Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT City), India’s International Financial Services Cen - tre (IFSC). As a free trade zone exempt from Indian foreign exchange regulations and offering a suite of tax incentives, GIFT City is particularly attractive for cross-border wealth planning. To cater to family offices, the IFSCA introduced the Family Investment Fund (FIF) framework under the IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, 2022, now consolidated under the IFSCA (Fund Management) Regulations, 2025. The FIF framework is aimed at enabling setting up of single-family entities within GIFT City. As per news reports, the first approved FIF (April 2026) was for a non-resident, UK-linked fam - ily office, signalling growing traction among offshore
families seeking India-linked exposure under a global - ly competitive regime. This development reflects GIFT City’s ambition to position itself as a hub for attracting global capital. For Indian resident families, despite the positive reg - ulatory framework, practical challenges continue to subsist for remitting domestic capital into FIF struc - tures. Presently, non-resident Indian families are better positioned to leverage the FIF structure, as contribu - tions from offshore capital are not subject to the same regulatory constraints as residents. 2.3 Forced Heirship Laws There is no forced heirship regime in India except in relation to Muslims, who are governed by Islamic law, and residents of the state of Goa, who are governed by the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inven - tory Proceeding Act, 2012. Under Islamic law, a Muslim cannot by a Will dispose of more than one-third of the surplus of his or her estate after payment of funeral expenses and debts. Testamentary dispositions in excess of such one-third limit cannot take effect unless the heirs consent to them, after the death of the testator. However, since the introduction of the UCC in Utta - rakhand, Gujarat and Assam the principle of fixed shares does not apply to Muslims anymore in these states and general rules of succession regarding the estate of a Muslim dying intestate are now applicable. These rules would apply to relatives (of the deceased) specified in Class I and Class II of Schedule 2 of the UCC. Fathers (regardless of their religion) have been recognised as Class I heirs and are eligible to receive property by way of intestate succession in these states. Goa has its own law influenced by its Portuguese his - tory which governs succession to the estate of an indi - vidual domiciled or born in Goa. Residents of the state of Goa, regardless of their religion, cannot dispose of more than 50% of their estate (which is automatically transferred to that deceased’s surviving parents). Fur - ther, in case the deceased is not survived by his or her parents, the other ascendants of the deceased will be entitled to inherit one-third of the deceased’s estate.
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