Indian companies serve the German and European market in two ways: as direct providers of SaaS products, apps, online education, health and wellness platforms and consumer goods, and as IT and business process service providers for EU clients. English is the language of business in both constellations. Where an Indian company has no establishment in the EU and its processing relates to people in the EU, Art. 27 GDPR requires an EU representative. Kanzlei Matutis, a German data protection law firm in Potsdam, acts as EU representative for Indian companies for 350 EUR per year.
Does a company from India need an EU representative?
Yes, if it has no establishment in the EU and its processing of personal data relates to offering goods or services to people in the EU or to monitoring their behaviour there (Art. 3(2) in conjunction with Art. 27(1) GDPR). Examples: a Bangalore SaaS start-up with EUR pricing and customers in Germany; a Mumbai online education platform marketing courses to learners in the EU; a Delhi direct-to-consumer brand shipping to EU countries. For Indian IT service companies that act purely as processors for EU controllers, the position is less clear-cut: Art. 27(1) GDPR applies to processors as well, and the European Data Protection Board (Guidelines 3/2018) considers that a processor outside the EU can fall within Art. 3(2) GDPR where its processing activities relate to the targeting of people in the EU. Large Indian IT groups usually have EU subsidiaries and therefore do not need a representative; smaller providers without an EU entity should have the question assessed. A Indian company that already has a subsidiary, branch or office in an EU Member State does not need a representative; that EU entity is the point of contact. The exceptions of Art. 27(2) GDPR (occasional, low-risk processing without large-scale sensitive data; public authorities) are narrow and rarely apply to a business that actively markets to the EU. The full criteria are explained on the page What is the legal situation?.
The Indian DPDP Act 2023 and the GDPR
India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), together with the DPDP Rules notified in 2025, establishes a comprehensive data protection regime enforced by the Data Protection Board of India. There is no EU adequacy decision for India under Art. 45 GDPR; transfers of personal data from the EU to India require standard contractual clauses or another safeguard under Art. 46 GDPR, which is why EU clients of Indian processors insist on them. Compliance with the DPDP Act does not satisfy the GDPR, and the absence of an adequacy decision has no bearing on Art. 27 GDPR: an Indian company that offers services to people in the EU needs an EU representative regardless.
What we do as EU representative for Indian companies
Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Matutis is a German law firm in Potsdam, near Berlin, specialised in data protection law. Under a written mandate pursuant to Art. 27(1) GDPR we act as your point of contact in the EU for all supervisory authorities of the Member States and for data subjects. Letters and emails addressed to us are checked, scanned and forwarded to your contact person without undue delay; we point out deadlines, such as the one-month period for data subject requests under Art. 12(3) GDPR. With a time difference of three and a half to four and a half hours, most of our working day overlaps with yours, so forwarded mail can usually be discussed the same day. We communicate in English and German. We do not replace your Data Protection Officer and do not take over your compliance decisions; the difference is explained on the page EU representative vs. Data Protection Officer.
Cost for companies from India
The annual flat fee is 350 EUR. Because the service is provided by a German law firm to a business customer outside Germany, German VAT is not charged (reverse charge), so net equals gross. We invoice in EUR; payment by international transfer or by credit card or PayPal is possible. Please instruct your bank so that the full EUR amount is credited. Forwarding of scanned mail by email is included; postal forwarding of originals is charged at 2 EUR per item plus postage. Full details: What does it cost and what is included?
Next step
Send us your company name, website and a short description of your activities in the EU via the inquiry form. We confirm whether a representative is required in your case and send you the contract and written mandate. The complete process is described on the page How to appoint an EU GDPR representative. Other countries: EU representative by country.