Agri-Tech and Forestry (GMC Priority Industry)

Agri-Tech and Forestry is the most immediately exportable of the Gelephu Mindfulness City's eight priority industries. Bhutan's agricultural profile, its forest resource and the Indian market across the border make controlled environment agriculture, high-value processing, certified timber and carbon projects credible, and the Customs Act 2025 matters here more than in any other pillar. There is no sector statute. Basnet Law Pte. Ltd., the first law firm incorporated in the Gelephu Mindfulness City, advises growers, processors, forestry operators and investors under the Companies Act 2025, the Customs Act 2025, the Income Tax Act 2025 and the commercial statutes of 2026. This page explains what the framework provides and how we run a project through it.

Basnet Law Pte. Ltd. advises clients in this pillar on:

• Framing the expression of interest to the Agri-Tech and Forestry pillar, the first gate at which the Authority assesses the business case
• Incorporating the company or registering a branch through the Gelephu Corporate Registration Office with an empanelled corporate service provider and a resident director
• Securing farm, plantation and processing sites through the Economic Development Group's long-term lease arrangements
• Customs structuring under the Customs Act 2025: free trade zones, licensed warehouses, manufacturing licences and drawback
• Supply, offtake and processing contracts under the Sale of Goods Act 2026 and Unfair Contract Terms Act 2026
• Carbon and biodiversity projects, and the line at which a credit becomes a regulated environmental instrument
• Founders company applications before the 31 December 2030 cut-off, and work passes for foreign agronomists and managers

Read the full guide: Legal Services for Agri-Tech and Forestry in GMC.