GDPR Compliance for Indian Companies

Overview

If someone offers to sell you a “GDPR certificate,” ask one question: which Article 42 scheme, and which body accredited under Article 43? There is no government-issued GDPR certificate and no general seal a consulting firm can sell retail. Articles 42 and 43 create an optional mechanism: accredited, independent bodies certify specific processing operations against a scheme the European Data Protection Board has approved. That is narrow, not the broad badge most marketing implies.

The scheme that actually exists is Europrivacy. The EDPB approved it on 13 October 2022 — the first, and by the EDPB’s own account still the only, European Data Protection Seal formally approved under Article 42. Certification is carried out by separate bodies accredited under Article 43, and the scheme is still being actively defined: in 2026 the EDPB issued Opinion 14/2026 on the Europrivacy criteria’s approval and confirmed they can also be used for international transfers. It is EU-based, with no certification-body network reaching Indian companies in practice.

What an Indian exporter or SaaS business can honestly buy today is three things: a GDPR compliance and gap assessment against your real data flows, Standard Contractual Clauses for personal data moving between the EU and India, and genuine third-party certification against ISO/IEC 27701, the international privacy information management standard. ISO 27701 is real and accredited, but it is not standalone — it extends ISO/IEC 27001 and 27002, so an ISO 27001-certified management system must already exist or be built alongside it.

CapEasy prepares the gap assessment, builds the data map, drafts the SCCs, and readies your management system for audit. Where a certificate genuinely exists, an accredited body issues it, never us, and we work only toward accreditation that means something, such as a body carrying NABCB accreditation under the IAF framework. If you also serve the Indian market, read this alongside our DPDP Act page: different laws, one coherent privacy programme.

Who it’s for

• Indian SaaS, BPO/KPO and IT-services exporters processing personal data of individuals in the EU under a customer contract or DPA
• Companies that received an RFP, security questionnaire or DPA clause asking for “GDPR certification” and need an accurate way to respond
• Founders approached by a vendor selling a “GDPR certificate” who want to know what is actually on offer before paying
• Businesses that already hold, or are pursuing, ISO 27001 and want to extend that system to cover privacy
• Companies transferring personal data between the EU and India who need SCCs actually in place, not just referenced in a policy

Eligibility & requirements

• A defined scope: which systems, processing activities and data flows actually touch personal data of individuals in the EU
• For ISO 27701: an ISO/IEC 27001-certified management system already in place, or a firm commitment to build one alongside it
• A current inventory of cross-border data flows and the transfer mechanism, or absence of one, each relies on today
• Executive sponsorship, since remediation usually touches legal, information security and product teams together
• Existing privacy policy, DPAs and any SCCs already signed, for review against what is actually happening
• Willingness to engage an accredited certification body for the audit itself — CapEasy prepares the file; the body certifies
• Clarity on what your EU customer is actually asking for, since a “GDPR certification” clause is often shorthand for something narrower

How CapEasy handles it

1. Gap assessment against the GDPR articles your EU customers actually care about, not a generic checklist
2. Data transfer mapping: every flow of personal data between the EU and India and the legal mechanism it needs
3. SCC drafting and execution for transfers that need them, reconciled with your real contracts
4. Target selection: decide, with you, whether ISO 27701 certification fits your customer base and current security posture
5. If ISO 27701 is the target and you don’t hold ISO 27001 yet, we scope the two together rather than as separate projects
6. Remediation: policies, records of processing, subject-request handling and vendor contracts brought in line with the gaps found
7. Audit readiness and handover to an accredited certification body of your choice for the certification audit itself
8. Post-certification support: surveillance audits and updates as EDPB guidance, such as Opinion 14/2026, develops

Documents you’ll typically need

• A record of processing activities or data inventory, if one already exists
• Current privacy policy, external notices and any data processing agreements
• Any Standard Contractual Clauses or other transfer mechanisms already signed
• ISO 27001 certificate and Statement of Applicability, if you hold one
• Contracts or RFPs from EU customers naming a GDPR compliance or certification requirement
• A list of the functions responsible for data protection today: legal, security, product

CapEasy is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government authority. We help you assess eligibility and prepare and file your application; eligibility and approval depend on your specifics and the relevant department’s discretion.