Outsourcing web development to India from United Kingdom

IST is 5h30m ahead of UK time, or 4h30m during British Summer Time, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Agree call times that suit both sides and revisit them when the UK clocks change.

India is not among the countries or territories covered by UK adequacy regulations. The ICO has issued the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) and the Addendum to the European Commission's standard contractual clauses as UK standard contract wording for international transfers.

When you use standard contractual clauses or other appropriate safeguards for a transfer abroad, the data protection test must be met: protection for the people concerned after the transfer must be “not materially lower” than under UK law. You must act reasonably and proportionately when making that decision.

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 also has provisions relevant to processing data for a person outside India. Sections 16 and 17 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, the data principal rights in Chapter III and the transfer rule in section 16 do not apply. Sections 8(1) and 8(5), covering compliance responsibility and reasonable security safeguards, still apply.

When a UK business receives B2B general rule services from a supplier that belongs outside the UK, the place of supply is the UK and the business must account for VAT under the reverse charge. It records output tax on the full value of the service and, at the same time, the input tax it is entitled to. There is no net cost if it can reclaim the input tax in full; a business that cannot reclaim it in full effectively pays VAT at the UK rate.

Under India’s Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Act, 2017, the export of services is a zero-rated supply. An export of services must meet the conditions in section 2(6), including requirements about the supplier, recipient, place of supply and payment.

An Indian invoice for export of services must carry the applicable export endorsement. It must also give the recipient’s name and address, the address of delivery and the name of the country of destination.

Agree payment timing with the 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.

Check the proposed dispute terms before agreeing them. 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.

For UK data protection advice or complaints, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

• Agree call times and revisit them when the UK clocks change.
• Check the safeguards and data protection test for any personal data transfer.
• Check how the UK reverse charge applies to the services you buy.
• Ask for an invoice with the required Indian export details.
• Agree payment timing with the supplier.
• Review the contract’s dispute terms before agreeing them.
• Agree how you will use calls, messages and a shared project board.