Employer of Record for IT & Tech Companies in India
Hire Developers & Engineers in India Without Setting Up a Local Entity. Manage Payroll, Compliance, IP Protection, Equipment, and HR Operations Through a Fully Compliant EOR Solution.
Build Your India Tech Team Without Setting Up a Local Entity
TankhaPay's Employer of Record (EOR) service for IT and tech companies allows you to hire software developers, engineers, and tech professionals in India without setting up a local entity — with full IP protection, INR payroll, and PF/ESI compliance managed end-to-end. India produces over 2.8 million engineering graduates annually, making it the world's largest developer talent pool. Access to senior software engineers, full-stack developers, DevOps specialists, and data scientists at 40–60% lower cost than Western markets makes India the default expansion destination for global technology companies. But hiring them compliantly is where most organisations stall.
Managing payroll, PF contributions, ESI, TDS, professional tax, and multi-state labor law variations across 28 states requires deep local expertise that most international companies simply do not have in-house.
TankhaPay's EOR service eliminates the compliance hurdle that comes between you and the next recruit for your company. As your employer of record in India, TankhaPay will manage your employment contracts, statutory compliance, employee benefits, and payroll. You keep complete control over operations.
Why IT & Tech Companies Choose TankhaPay EOR
TankhaPay gives tech companies the speed and compliance infrastructure to build Indian teams without the legal overhead.
Who Owns the Code? IP Protection When You Hire Developers in India
Intellectual property ownership is the most critical and most overlooked legal risk when hiring software developers in India. Before a single line of code is written, your employment contracts must be structured correctly. Most global companies discover this gap only after a legal dispute.
Under Section 17 of India's Copyright Act, work created under a contract of service automatically vests in the employer. When you hire through TankhaPay's EOR, TankhaPay is the legal employer, and every contract we issue includes explicit IP assignment clauses that transfer full ownership of all created works, inventions, and proprietary code back to your company. This covers both present and future work product.
When hiring developers in India through an Employer of Record (EOR), intellectual property protection becomes critical. Many global companies work with top EOR service providers in India to reduce compliance risks and secure ownership of their software, codebase, and proprietary technology. Independent contractors in India retain ownership of IP by default unless rights are explicitly assigned through a legally valid agreement. Under Section 19(5) of the Indian Copyright Act, assignments without a defined duration cannot extend beyond five years. TankhaPay’s EOR and IP assignment framework helps global companies maintain compliance while protecting their intellectual property under evolving Indian employment and copyright laws.
What TankhaPay Handles for Your India Tech Team
INR Payroll & Tax Compliance
TankhaPay works with a fixed payroll monthly cycle with automated salary structure optimization, splitting CTC into HRA, special allowances, reimbursements, and basic pay components to maximize employee take-home while remaining fully tax-compliant. Every payslip is generated within the platform and accessible to employees instantly through the self-service portal.
PF, ESI & Labor Compliance
TankhaPay takes care of the entire legal calendar, which includes PF ECR return filing before the 15th of every month, ESI contribution payment on the 21st, quarterly returns for TDS under form 24Q, and issuance of Form 16 annually. The multistate team is offered state-compliance management without any further coordination from your end.
Device & Asset Management
Device availability is key to productivity on day one for your team. TankhaPay sources hardware through certified dealers from India’s leading technology cities, takes care of warranties, insurance, maintenance management, and ensures recovery of your device at the time of exit of an employee.
Benefits & Health Insurance
Competitive benefits play a major role in retaining employees in the Indian information technology industry. At TankhaPay, group health insurance schemes are offered to employees and their families that offer cashless hospitalization from an all-India network of hospitals, based on the best in the IT sector in India
Data Security & ISO Compliance
The technology-based organizations dealing with customer data, source codes, and other intellectual properties require partners in employment for security needs of an organization. ISO 27001 certification provided by TankhaPay will provide information security management in the context of payroll and HR data. The CMMI Level will ensure process maturity. All employee data is stored in compliance with India's data residency restrictions.
Built for Every Stakeholder in Your Tech Organization
TankhaPay's EOR platform gives each team the visibility and control they need, without the compliance burden.
Why Tech Companies Trust TankhaPay to Hire in India
Why Speed Matters in Tech Hiring
In India's technology hiring market, speed is not a competitive advantage; it is the baseline requirement. Senior software engineers, cloud architects, and full-stack developers in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune routinely hold three to five competing offers simultaneously. The average time between a developer accepting an offer and the offer expiring due to a better alternative is measured in days, not weeks. By the time your legal infrastructure is in place, every candidate you shortlisted has joined a competitor.
Why Compliance Cannot Be an Afterthought
One of the most elaborate systems of employment compliance in the world is that of India. There are more than 40 labor laws at the national level, such as the Industrial Disputes Act, the Factories Act, the Payment of Wages Act, and the Maternity Benefit Act, as well as the four Labor Codes that are progressively superseding the old laws. Each of the 28 states in India also has its Shops and Establishments Act, minimum wages, and professional taxes. With TankhaPay, our full-time compliance professionals watch out for all new regulations in all 28 states, ensure timely filing of all statutory forms, and always have up-to-date contracts
Why India Specialization Beats Global EOR Platforms
The number of countries a global EOR can serve is what they use to differentiate themselves from one another. Deel operates in more than 150 countries. Remote operates in over 180 countries. Multiplier operates in over 150 countries as well. All three of them have listed India as their number 47 market and they operate it through an intermediary. If a worldwide EOR uses a local partner in India, then you have no control over, insight into, or knowledge of the company handling the employment affairs of your employees.
Ready to Hire Your India Tech Team?
From first offer to first payroll — onboard developers and engineers in India in 2–3 days. No entity. Full compliance. IP protected.
Schedule a Call
FAQs
01.What is an Employer of Record for IT and tech companies in India?
An Employer of Record (EOR) for IT and tech companies is a legal third-party organization that employs software developers, engineers, and tech professionals on your behalf in India. TankhaPay becomes the legal employer on record — managing employment contracts, INR payroll, PF and ESI compliance, TDS filing, and statutory obligations — while you retain full control of your team's daily work, deliverables, and performance. This allows technology companies to hire in India without registering a local entity, subsidiary, or branch office.
02.How does TankhaPay protect my intellectual property when hiring developers in India?
TankhaPay protects your IP through four contract mechanisms built into every employment agreement. First, under Section 17 of India's Copyright Act, all work created under a contract of service belongs to the employer — TankhaPay ensures this applies to your company through explicit IP assignment clauses covering present and future work product. Second, every contract includes a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) covering source code, trade secrets, and confidential business information. Third, work-for-hire language ensures all deliverables are owned by your organization from Day 1. Fourth, moral-rights waivers prevent developers from claiming authorship rights over code they created during employment.
03.What is the difference between hiring developers as contractors vs through EOR in India?
The three critical differences are IP ownership, compliance risk, and legal classification. Contractors in India retain IP ownership by default unless a written assignment exists — creating a gap that only surfaces during audits or acquisitions. EOR employment transfers IP automatically through the employment contract. Contractors also create misclassification risk — if Indian authorities deem them employees, your company faces retrospective PF, ESI, and TDS liability. EOR eliminates this entirely. Finally, contractors do not receive statutory benefits — Provident Fund, ESI, gratuity — which creates employee satisfaction and retention issues for ongoing tech roles. EOR covers all statutory obligations from Day 1.
04.Can I hire software developers in India without setting up a local entity?
Yes. Using an Employer of Record like TankhaPay, you can legally hire developers and engineers in India without registering a local entity. TankhaPay becomes the legal employer on record, managing employment contracts, INR payroll, and all statutory compliance, while you retain full control of day-to-day work and performance.
05.Why choose TankhaPay over global EOR providers like Deel or Remote for hiring in India?
Global EOR providers cover 150 to 180 countries — India is one market among many, often managed through third-party aggregators rather than an owned local entity. TankhaPay has operated exclusively in India for 26 years under AKAL Information Systems Ltd, a CMMI- appraised, ISO 9001, 27001, 20000, and 14001 certified technology company. We own our India entity, operate our own compliance team, and manage state-level variations as core expertise — not edge cases. When a Karnataka Professional Tax query or a missed ESI filing window arises, TankhaPay resolves it directly with no intermediary delay. For companies where India is the primary hiring market, this depth of specialization cannot be matched by a global generalist platform.
06. Who owns the intellectual property when I hire developers through an EOR?
Under Section 17 of India's Copyright Act, work created under a contract of service belongs to the employer. TankhaPay's EOR contracts include explicit IP assignment clauses transferring all ownership rights, including present and future work to your company. Your codebase, product, and proprietary technology remains fully yours.
07. Is it better to hire Indian developers as contractors or through an EOR?
For ongoing roles, EOR is significantly safer. Contractors retain IP ownership by default under Indian law unless explicitly assigned. They also create misclassification risk and potential permanent establishment exposure. TankhaPay's EOR model gives you full-time employment compliance. statutory benefits and watertight IP protection, without entity setup costs.
08. How long does it take to onboard an engineer in India through EOR?
TankhaPay onboards most employees in 2–3 business days. This includes employment contract generation, document collection, payroll configuration, PF and ESI registration and portal access provisioning. Compared to 2–6 months for entity incorporation, EOR gives you a critical speed advantage, especially important in India's competitive tech hiring market.
09. What does EOR cost for a tech hire in India?
TankhaPay charges a flat per-employee monthly fee calculated on annual salary, no percentage-based markups, no hidden charges. This is significantly more cost-effective than setting up a local entity, hiring a compliance team, and managing payroll independently. Contact us for a custom quote based on your team size and location
10.Does TankhaPay provide laptops and equipment to remote developers?
Yes. TankhaPay manages the complete device lifecycle for EOR-hired Engineers, procurement, delivery, tracking, and recovery on exit. This removes internal coordination overhead and ensures your remote developers in India have the hardware they need from Day 1, fully managed through the EOR platform.