Industries · Gujarat
Industries We Serve in Gujarat: Legal Counsel for Manufacturing, Pharma, Energy, Ports, Technology and More
Legal work for the industries and industrial corridors that drive Gujarat’s economy: semiconductors and electronics, advanced manufacturing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy, infrastructure, ports and trade, capability centres and data centres, financial services and GIFT City, and the State’s textile, ceramics, diamond and agro clusters.
SectorsCorridorsSEZ, SIR, GIDC & GIFT CityWhere risk sitsFAQs
At a glance
10 sectors
Each with the legal work it needs and the practices that handle it
12 corridors
From Ahmedabad–Gandhinagar–GIFT City and Sanand to Dholera, Dahej and Hazira
Land to disputes
The whole life of a project: site, approvals, contracts, finance, people and disputes
Supreme Court to GIDC
Courts, tribunals and authorities across Gujarat and India where the firm acts
Mahendra Bhavsar & Co. is a Gujarat-focused law firm, headquartered in Ahmedabad since 1982. It acts for businesses in the industries that drive Gujarat’s economy, and for clients across the State. In every sector the legal work follows the same lines: land and approvals, plant and project contracts, imports of plant and machinery, technology and IP, people and expatriate staff, finance, tax, and the disputes that arise. This page shows, sector by sector and corridor by corridor, what that work involves in Gujarat and which of the firm’s practices handle it.
The firm acts for multinational groups and their Indian companies, international banks and financial institutions, Indian companies, promoters and business families, investors, and the contractors and suppliers that serve them. Foreign groups starting out can begin with the firm’s setting up in India work or its international practice. The list of sectors is inclusive: the firm also acts for businesses in other industries.
Who Instructs the Firm on Industry Work
Industry work usually starts with a project, an acquisition or a dispute that puts a large asset or a long contract at stake.
Foreign Manufacturers & Capability Centres
Setting up, building and running in Gujarat.
- Joint ventures and entity set-up
- Industrial land, SIR and GIDC sites
- Plant and machinery imports
- Expatriate teams
- Supply and technology contracts
Indian Groups & Family Businesses
Expansion, succession and exit.
- New plants and expansions
- Bringing in partners and investors
- Group reorganisations
- Separations between family branches
- Sale of a business or a plant
Investors & Acquirers
Buying into Gujarat industry.
- Plant and factory acquisitions
- Diligence on land, approvals and liabilities
- Distressed assets
- Investor protections
- Post-closing integration
Lenders & Institutions
Lending against Gujarat assets.
- Project and industrial finance
- Security over land and plant
- Trade and export finance
- Indian-law opinions
- Finance disputes
EPC Contractors & Suppliers
Building and supplying the plants.
- EPC and construction contracts
- Equipment supply and commissioning
- Claims, variations and delay
- Bank guarantees
- Construction arbitration
Foreign Law Firms
The Gujarat side of an overseas client’s project.
- Indian-law opinions
- Diligence and searches
- Local documents and closing
- Proceedings in Gujarat
- Enforcement
How the Firm Works
The firm’s senior lawyers lead its work. A matter begins with an understanding of the client’s objective and the issues in play, and the firm looks at it as a whole, so each step is taken with the next one in mind.
Where the Commercial Risk Sits in a Gujarat Industrial Project
Across sectors, the same points carry most of the value at risk. The firm’s work is built around them, from the first site visit to the last claim.
Site and Title
Industrial land, GIDC plots and SIR or SEZ allotments with tenure, NA permission, access, charges or old disputes that must be cleared before money moves.
Approvals and Regimes
Allotment, transfer and use conditions of GIDC, SEZ, SIR and GIFT City regimes that bind a sale, a lease, a joint venture or a lender’s security.
Plant, Imports and Commissioning
Imported plant and machinery, EPC packages and performance guarantees that decide whether a plant starts on time and to specification.
Supply Chains and Contracts
Long-term feedstock, supply, offtake, toll and distribution contracts, including price, GST and change-in-law terms, on which the business case rests.
People on the Ground
Expatriate engineers and managers, contract labour and workplace policies under the Labour Codes, set up before production starts.
Disputes and Exit
Construction claims, supply defaults, partner deadlock, lender enforcement and the sale or restructuring of the business.
Sectors the Firm Serves
Each section sets out what the sector needs in Gujarat, where its commercial risk usually lies, and which of the firm’s practices do the work.
Semiconductors and Electronics
Semiconductor fabrication and assembly projects are coming up at Dholera and Sanand, under national and State incentives, and a base of suppliers, contractors and service providers is growing around each plant. Each of them signs its own land, construction, supply and technology contracts.
Where the commercial risk sits. Cleanroom construction, imported equipment and commissioning schedules carry very large sums, and technology transfer and confidentiality on site decide who owns what the plant learns.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- sites in special investment regions, SEZs and GIDC estates, and the leases, allotments and approvals that go with them;
- EPC and cleanroom construction contracts, equipment supply and commissioning;
- imports of plant, machinery and equipment for new facilities;
- technology transfer, know-how licences and confidentiality on site;
- long-term supply and supplier agreements across the ecosystem;
- visas, FRRO registration and employment terms for expatriate engineers;
- construction, supply and quality disputes, in arbitration and in court.
The firm’s full page on semiconductor and electronics projects in Gujarat covers Dholera SIR land, Sanand, SEZs, incentives, contracts and people. Practices: Corporate and joint ventures · Commercial contracts · Technology and IP · Industrial land · Arbitration
Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Automotive
Engineering, automotive and component manufacturers, and the global groups that own many of them, buy, build and expand plants in GIDC estates, private industrial land and sector parks across Gujarat, from Sanand and the Vadodara–Savli–Halol belt to Rajkot.
Where the commercial risk sits. The value sits in the land, the plant and the supply relationships. Difficult title, existing finance on a factory, or an unclear partner arrangement can stop an acquisition or an expansion late in the day.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- industrial land and GIDC plots, and factory and plant acquisitions with difficult title or existing finance;
- joint ventures with Indian partners, including the partner’s land and approvals;
- imports of plant and machinery for new and expanded facilities;
- supply, manufacturing, distribution and technology licence agreements;
- employment terms, workplace policies and expatriate staff;
- product, warranty, supply and payment disputes, in court and in arbitration.
Practices: Industrial land and property · Corporate · Commercial contracts · Disputes
Chemicals and Petrochemicals
Gujarat’s chemical and petrochemical industry is concentrated in Dahej, including the Dahej Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region, and in Bharuch, Ankleshwar, Vapi and Hazira, with plants of every scale.
Where the commercial risk sits. Process plants depend on long-term land, feedstock, supply and terminal arrangements, and on plants built and commissioned to specification. Past liabilities on an older site can follow a buyer.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- land, long leases, GIDC allotments and plant acquisitions, including diligence on past liabilities;
- joint ventures, business transfers and acquisitions of chemical businesses;
- feedstock, offtake, supply, storage, terminal and toll-manufacturing contracts;
- EPC, equipment supply and O&M contracts, and imports of plant and machinery;
- disputes over commissioning, performance guarantees, supply failure, quality and bank guarantees;
- environmental and safety approvals, handled with the client’s environmental advisers.
Practices: Industrial land · Acquisitions · Supply and toll contracts · Disputes and arbitration
Pharmaceuticals and Life Sciences
Gujarat has a long-established pharmaceutical and API manufacturing base around Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bharuch and Vapi. Manufacturers, contract manufacturers and their overseas partners work through layered supply, licensing and distribution arrangements.
Where the commercial risk sits. Quality, exclusivity and technology transfer terms decide who bears a failed batch, a lost market or a leaked process.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- supply, manufacturing and contract manufacturing agreements;
- distribution, licensing and technology transfer agreements;
- confidentiality of processes and formulations, and disputes over trade marks, trade secrets and other IP;
- plant land, GIDC plots and expansions;
- acquisitions and joint ventures in the sector;
- commercial disputes and arbitration.
Practices: Commercial contracts · Technology and IP · Corporate · Industrial land
Energy, Renewables and Green Hydrogen
Large solar, wind and hybrid parks are being built, including at Khavda, and across North Gujarat, and green hydrogen and green ammonia projects are following, alongside conventional power, gas and transmission.
Where the commercial risk sits. Land, right-of-way and offtake terms decide whether a project can be built and financed; EPC delay and grid or tariff questions decide whether it earns what it was meant to.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- land for solar and wind projects: title, leases, NA permission and right-of-way;
- EPC, O&M and equipment supply contracts;
- power purchase and offtake agreements, and how they fit the project contracts;
- green hydrogen and green ammonia project documents;
- lender requirements, security and finance documents;
- project disputes, and challenges before the High Court of Gujarat;
- tariff and electricity-regulatory questions, handled with the client’s regulatory advisers.
Practices: Project land · Project contracts · Project finance · Disputes
Infrastructure and Construction
Gujarat’s industrial cities and corridors run on large infrastructure programmes: the Dholera Special Investment Region, industrial parks, roads, utilities, ports and urban projects. Contractors, developers and public bodies build what the plants need.
Where the commercial risk sits. Delay, variations, liquidated damages and bank guarantees move large sums between owner and contractor, and a tender condition or a termination can decide a whole project.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- EPC, EPCM and construction contracts, and tender and consortium documents;
- concession and PPP agreements, and contracts with public authorities;
- risk allocation: delay, liquidated damages, variations, force majeure and guarantees;
- land, right-of-way and utility interfaces;
- claims, bank guarantee disputes and construction arbitration.
Practices: Construction and project contracts · Construction arbitration · Land and development · Finance
Ports, Logistics, Trade and Exporters
Gujarat’s ports at Mundra, Kandla, Hazira, Pipavav, Dahej and elsewhere handle a large share of India’s sea trade, and the State’s exporters, importers, traders and logistics businesses carry the commercial risk of that trade.
Where the commercial risk sits. Payment default by an overseas buyer, a failed shipment or a letter of credit that does not pay can wipe out a year’s margin; the contract and the dispute clause decide what can be recovered and where.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- export, import, distribution and agency contracts, and cross-border sale and supply terms;
- price, GST and input tax credit terms in supply contracts, and trade terms on imported plant;
- trade payments under FEMA: export proceeds and import payments;
- letters of credit, bank guarantees and trade and export finance;
- high-value export and import payment disputes, including interim relief and arbitration;
- port, terminal, warehousing and logistics contracts.
Practices: Commercial and trade contracts · Trade finance · Cross-border disputes · International
Global Capability Centres, IT and Data Centres
Gujarat is courting global capability centres and data-centre investment under dedicated State policies, with GIFT City, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar as the main locations.
Where the commercial risk sits. The value of a capability centre is its people and the IP they create; for a data centre it is power, land and long-term customer contracts.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- office, campus and data-centre land and leases, including in IT parks and SEZs;
- entity set-up, group services and cost-sharing agreements;
- IP created by the Indian team, assigned or licensed to the group;
- employment terms, expatriate visas and FRRO registration;
- technology, SaaS and outsourcing contracts, and the data clauses within them;
- power, construction and equipment contracts for data centres;
- inbound tax and permanent-establishment questions on the structure.
Practices: Technology and IP · Setting up in India · Leases and land · International
Financial Services and GIFT City
GIFT City, at Gandhinagar, is India’s international financial services centre. Banks, fund managers, fintechs, leasing businesses and other companies there need the same Indian-law support as any other business, alongside their regulatory advisers.
Where the commercial risk sits. Cross-border lending and security must be enforceable against Gujarat assets; premises, people and contracts must be set up before operations start.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- Indian-law opinions and documents for cross-border lending, security and external commercial borrowing;
- premises, leases, entity set-up and group arrangements;
- employment terms and expatriate visas;
- commercial and technology contracts;
- disputes and arbitration;
- the tax position of IFSC units (tax only);
- IFSCA regulatory questions, handled with the client’s IFSCA counsel.
Practices: Banking and finance · Corporate · International · Disputes
Textiles, Ceramics, Diamonds, Food and Agro
Gujarat’s long-established clusters, including textiles in Surat and Ahmedabad and the PM MITRA park at Navsari, ceramics in Morbi, diamonds in Surat, and food processing and agro-industry across the State, are often run by business families and sell across India and abroad.
Where the commercial risk sits. Family ownership, export receivables and brand value are where the risk sits: a family separation, an unpaid export or a copied design can decide the business’s future.
The firm’s work in this sector covers:
- family business succession, shareholder and partner disputes, and reorganisations;
- contract manufacturing, export and distribution agreements;
- disputes over trade marks, designs and copyright;
- employment terms and workplace policies;
- export payment disputes, letters of credit and bank guarantees;
- industrial land, factory purchases and leases.
Practices: Family business and succession · Corporate · Commercial contracts · IP disputes
Gujarat's Industrial Corridors: Where the Legal Work Arises
Gujarat’s industry is concentrated in corridors and clusters, each with its own sectors, authorities and legal questions. The firm acts for clients across all of them.
Ahmedabad–Gandhinagar–GIFT City
Head offices, pharma, technology and capability centres, financial services and property: corporate work, transactions, disputes and GIFT City business needs. Corporate
Sanand
Automotive, electronics and semiconductor suppliers: industrial land and factory diligence, OEM and supply contracts, equipment and technology. Industrial land
Dholera Special Investment Region
Semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure: SIR land and leases, EPC, equipment, foreign technology and joint ventures. Joint ventures
Bharuch–Ankleshwar
Chemicals, pharma and engineering: plant acquisitions, industrial land, technology and supply, and disputes. Supply contracts
Dahej–Saykha–Jambusar
Petrochemicals, chemicals, bulk drugs and port-linked energy: PCPIR land, projects, terminals and cross-border contracts. Project contracts
Vadodara–Savli–Halol
Engineering, electrical equipment, automotive and pharma: plant transactions, supply and technology, and industrial property. Property
Surat–Hazira–Navsari
Textiles, diamonds, steel, chemicals, LNG and ports: export and trade contracts, finance, logistics and disputes. Trade finance
Rajkot–Morbi
Engineering, machine tools, components and ceramics: export contracts, machinery, family business and disputes. Family business
Jamnagar
Refining, petrochemicals and brass engineering: industrial supply, export, property and family-business matters. Commercial
Mundra–Kandla
Ports, SEZs, logistics and renewables, including green hydrogen: port and terminal contracts, land, EPC, offtake and arbitration. Arbitration
Vapi–Valsad–Umbergaon
Chemicals, pharma, plastics and packaging: plant acquisitions, legacy diligence, supply and shareholder disputes. Company disputes
Bhavnagar–Alang–Pipavav
Ship recycling, steel, ports and logistics: asset purchases, port and logistics contracts, and disputes. Disputes
SEZs, SIRs, GIDC Estates, PCPIR and GIFT City: Why the Regime Matters
Much of Gujarat’s industrial land sits inside a special regime, and each regime has its own rules on allotment, lease, transfer, use and security. Those rules bind a sale, a lease, a contribution of land to a joint venture, a lender’s security and a reorganisation, so the firm reads them with the transaction documents from the start.
- GIDC estates. Allotment, transfer and change-of-use permissions, payment conditions and the corporation’s powers to resume a plot; the plot is usually leasehold, so a buyer and a lender take the lease, not freehold title.
- Special Investment Regions, including Dholera. Land within planned town-planning schemes, on long-term lease, under the regional development authority’s rules on allotment, use and transfer.
- Special economic zones. Unit approvals, the developer’s lease and the conditions on transfer and exit, with the unit’s SEZ duty compliance handled by its own advisers.
- Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region at Dahej. Industrial land and project approvals for process plants, with environmental and safety approvals handled alongside the client’s advisers.
- GIFT City. Premises, entity set-up, contracts, people and disputes for businesses in India’s international financial services centre, with IFSCA regulatory questions handled by the client’s IFSCA counsel.
- Private industrial land. Title through the 7/12 and 8A extracts and mutation entries, NA permission, tenure and access, where many expansions and acquisitions sit outside any estate.
The firm’s real estate lawyers carry this work through title and diligence, its corporate lawyers through the transaction, and its litigation lawyers through any dispute with an authority or a counterparty.
Industry Work the Firm Handles
Mahendra Bhavsar & Co. acts across the whole life of industrial matters in Gujarat, from site selection and the first contract to proceedings and enforcement. Its industry work includes:
- property, title, lease and registration work for the Indian companies of global groups in energy, automotive, industrial and technology sectors;
- industrial land, industrial parks and phased plant development for foreign manufacturing groups, including approvals, employment policies and vendor contracts;
- imports of large-scale plant and machinery for joint ventures in Gujarat;
- industrial property acquisitions with lender-consortium consents and the release of existing charges;
- supply, manufacturing and distribution agreements for overseas companies;
- project, construction and power-sector disputes before arbitral tribunals and the High Court of Gujarat;
- trade and export disputes, including interim relief in support of arbitration;
- Indian-law advice to international banks on external commercial borrowing and lending against Gujarat assets.
The same approach serves the larger mandates now arising across Gujarat’s corridors: semiconductor and electronics supply chains at Dholera and Sanand, process-plant acquisitions at Dahej and Bharuch, renewable and green hydrogen projects, capability centres in GIFT City and Ahmedabad, and the joint ventures, EPC contracts, financing and disputes that come with them.
Named a winner at the India Business Law Journal Regional Law Firm Awards 2026 in Arbitration & ADR (Ahmedabad) and Real Estate (Ahmedabad).
Working with Other Advisers
Mahendra Bhavsar & Co. works with a network of affiliated firms of chartered accountants and company secretaries, and with established advocates across Gujarat. Tax-compliance and company-law filing steps are handled with the affiliated firms as one team and one timetable. Environmental, electricity-tariff, SEZ duty, IFSCA, competition and foreign-law questions are taken with the client’s own advisers in those fields, framed by the firm’s lawyers.
Related Insights from the Firm
Articles by the firm on points that arise in industry work.
What You Will Usually Need to Provide
- the business, the sector and the project or transaction, with its location in Gujarat;
- the parties and their countries, and the timetable;
- for land: the survey or plot number, the 7/12 and 8A extracts or the GIDC, SIR or SEZ allotment papers, and any lease;
- for contracts or disputes: the contract, the correspondence and any notice, claim, award or order.
The firm first checks for conflicts of interest. Please do not send confidential papers until the firm confirms it can act.
Questions on Industry Work in Gujarat
Position as at 5 November 2026.
What legal work does a foreign manufacturer need to set up a plant in Gujarat?
Usually, in this order: the structure and any joint venture with an Indian partner, the Indian entity and the foreign-investment route, the land or plot and its approvals, imports of plant and machinery, EPC and supply contracts, the expatriate team, and the tax position of the whole arrangement. The firm runs these steps as one plan.
Which parts of Gujarat are the main semiconductor and electronics locations?
Dholera Special Investment Region and Sanand, near Ahmedabad, are the main locations for semiconductor fabrication and assembly projects, with suppliers spreading across nearby estates.
What is the difference between a GIDC plot and private industrial land?
A GIDC plot is usually held on lease from the corporation, and its transfer, change of use and mortgage need the corporation’s permission. Private industrial land is held on title shown in the revenue records and needs NA permission for industrial use. The diligence and documents differ for each.
What is a Special Investment Region?
A large area notified under Gujarat’s special investment region law for planned industrial and urban development, such as Dholera. Land is developed through town-planning schemes and allotted on the regional authority’s terms.
Does the firm advise on GIFT City?
Yes, on the business side: premises, entity set-up, contracts, people, finance documents and disputes for businesses in GIFT City. IFSCA regulatory questions are handled with the client’s IFSCA counsel.
Does the firm act for EPC contractors as well as project owners?
Yes. The firm acts for owners, developers, contractors and suppliers on construction and EPC contracts, claims, bank guarantees and construction arbitration.
Does the firm act only for businesses in these sectors and corridors?
No. The list is inclusive. The firm acts for businesses in other industries and across Gujarat, including Saurashtra and South Gujarat.
Can the firm work with our overseas lawyers and advisers?
Yes. The firm answers the Indian-law questions and runs the Gujarat work, and coordinates with counsel abroad and with the client’s tax, technical and regulatory advisers.
Discuss a legal matter with the firm
Tell the firm about the business, the project and where in Gujarat it is.