Outsourcing web development to India from Singapore

India time (IST) is 2h30m behind Singapore. Ask the team to confirm its working days and meeting times so you can agree on hours that overlap.

Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (PDPA) restricts transfers of personal data outside Singapore unless prescribed requirements for comparable protection are met. This applies when you send personal data to an overseas data intermediary for processing.

PDPC guidelines say the overseas recipient can be bound by legally enforceable obligations, such as a contract, or hold a specified certification such as Global CBPR or APEC CBPR. A contract used for the transfer must require protection comparable to the PDPA and specify the countries and territories to which the data may be transferred.

India’s cross-border and exemption provisions in sections 16 and 17 of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 come into force on 13 May 2027. Under section 17(1)(d), when a person in India processes personal data of individuals outside India under a contract with a person outside India, most Data Fiduciary obligations, data principal rights and the section 16 transfer rule do not apply. Responsibility for compliance and reasonable security safeguards against personal data breaches still apply.

Since 1 January 2020, Singapore GST-registered businesses that are not entitled to full input tax credit must account for GST under the reverse charge on services bought from overseas suppliers, apart from specifically excluded services. They may claim it back as input tax under the normal rules.

In India, the export of services is a zero-rated supply under section 16(1) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Act, 2017. A service qualifies as an export only if it meets the conditions in section 2(6), including the supplier’s and recipient’s locations, the place of supply, the permitted form of payment and the relationship between the parties.

An Indian export invoice for services must carry the applicable endorsement for supply under a bond or Letter of Undertaking without payment of integrated tax, or the matching endorsement for supply on payment of integrated tax. It must also give the recipient’s name and address, the address of delivery and the country of destination.

Discuss payment timing with your supplier. Under India’s Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) Regulations, 2026, 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.

Discuss dispute terms before signing. India ratified the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards on 13 July 1960, declaring that it applies the Convention only to awards made in another contracting State and to differences considered commercial under its national law.

English is the de facto main language of Singapore’s trade and commercial affairs. Use this checklist when agreeing the work with an Indian supplier.

• Agree on meeting times around the 2h30m time difference.
• Specify the countries and territories covered by any personal data transfer contract.
• Check whether reverse charge applies to your business.
• Ask for an export invoice with the applicable endorsement and destination details.
• Discuss payment timing and the supplier’s export deadlines.
• Set out dispute terms in the contract.
• Agree on communication channels and project responsibilities.