Guide · Canada
Outsourcing web development to India from Canada
You can work with a web development team in India remotely. Agree on meeting times across the time difference, and check how personal information will be protected. Under PIPEDA, a Canadian organisation remains accountable for information transferred for processing. Québec has assessment and contract requirements for information sent outside the province. Canadian tax treatment depends on the circumstances, while Indian export rules set conditions for zero-rated supplies and invoices.
Checked against official sources on 5 November 2026. General information, not legal advice: confirm the rules that apply to your business with an adviser.
How can we coordinate working hours with India?
IST is 9h (Newfoundland) to 12h30m (British Columbia, Yukon) ahead in winter. Newfoundland, Atlantic and Eastern Time move 1 hour closer during daylight saving time, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Manitoba (10h30m), Saskatchewan and Alberta (11h30m), and British Columbia and Yukon (12h30m) no longer change their clocks. Agree on meeting times that work for both sides.
Sohail, the founder of MSH Technologies, replies to every enquiry within 1 working day (Monday to Saturday, India time).
Can we send personal information to a team in India?
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada says PIPEDA does not prohibit a Canadian organisation from transferring personal information to an organisation in another jurisdiction for processing. The Canadian organisation remains accountable for protecting it under each outsourcing arrangement.
Under Principle 4.1.3 of Schedule 1 of PIPEDA, an organisation remains responsible for information transferred to a third party for processing and must use contractual or other means to provide a comparable level of protection during processing.
Organisations must tell people in clear and understandable language that their information may be processed in a foreign country and may be accessible to that country's law enforcement and national security authorities.
Before communicating personal information outside Québec, a business must conduct a privacy impact assessment. The protective measures must include a written contract with the recipient.
India's DPDP Act includes an exemption for certain obligations when a person based in India processes personal data of individuals outside India under a contract with a person outside India. The cross-border and exemption provisions come into force on 13 May 2027.
What tax and invoice rules apply when we buy services from India?
The Canada Revenue Agency says a GST/HST registrant buying services from an unregistered non-resident person outside Canada does not pay GST/HST if it uses them 90% or more in its commercial activities (100% for financial institutions). Otherwise, it generally self-assesses the GST or the federal part of the HST on line 405 of its return.
Income Tax Regulation 105 requires 15% to be withheld from fees paid to non-residents for services rendered in Canada. The Canada Revenue Agency says payments, or the portion of payments, for services performed outside Canada are not subject to Regulation 105 withholding.
India treats exports of services as zero-rated supplies. To qualify as an export of services, the supplier must be in India, the recipient and place of supply must be outside India, payment must meet the specified currency conditions, and the supplier and recipient must not be merely establishments of a distinct person.
An Indian export invoice for services must include the recipient's name and address, the address of delivery and the country of destination. It must also carry the applicable export endorsement: "SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT/SUPPLY TO SEZ UNIT OR SEZ DEVELOPER FOR AUTHORISED OPERATIONS UNDER BOND OR LETTER OF UNDERTAKING WITHOUT PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX" or the matching "ON PAYMENT OF INTEGRATED TAX" endorsement.
What should we know about paying a supplier in India?
An Indian exporter must realise and repatriate the full value of exported services within nine months from the invoice date, or twelve months if the export is invoiced or settled in Indian rupees. Its Authorised Dealer bank may allow more time on request.
An Authorised Dealer bank may permit payment for an export by a third party if it is satisfied that the transaction is bona fide. Check the payment arrangement with the supplier.
What should our contract say about disputes?
Discuss the dispute process before signing. India has ratified the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, declaring that it applies the Convention only to awards made in another contracting State and to differences considered commercial under its national law.
What should you check before outsourcing to India?
Check your website requirements too. Article 52 of Québec's Charter of the French language requires commercial publications, including those published on a website, to be in French.
- Agree on meeting times across the time difference.
- Set out how the supplier will protect personal information.
- For information sent outside Québec, conduct the required privacy impact assessment and arrange a written contract.
- Check the GST/HST treatment of the services you buy.
- Check the export invoice details and endorsement.
- Agree on the payment arrangement with the supplier.
- Discuss the contract's dispute process.
Questions
Do we need additional consent to transfer personal information for processing?
No additional consent is needed if the information is used for the purpose for which it was originally collected. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada treats a transfer for processing as a use of the information.
Do we need to tell people their information may leave Québec?
Yes. Since 22 September 2023, Québec's private-sector privacy act has required organisations to tell people when their personal information is collected, and later on request, that it may be communicated outside Québec.
What must our commercial electronic messages include?
They must identify the sender with a current mailing address and include an unsubscribe mechanism. Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation also requires consent before sending commercial electronic messages, and unsubscribe requests must be actioned within 10 business days.
Does the Indian supplier have to declare the export?
Yes. An Indian exporter of services must declare the full export value in an Export Declaration Form (EDF) to the specified authority, such as its Authorised Dealer bank, within 30 days from the end of the month in which the invoice was raised.