A Bengaluru-based entrepreneur, Rohit Shroff, is in the spotlight after he raised concerns about India’s taxation and compliance system. He stated it places heavy pressure even on law-abiding businesses. While expressing his frustrations, Shroff, founder of the Aflog company revealed that he plans to leave India in 2026, as he finds business environment in the country “flawed.”
Shroff highlighted that even those who honestly pay their taxes are subjected to repeated audits and intense scrutiny in India. In a post on LinkedIn, he stated that over the last 12-18 months, he has paid around Rs 4 crore in GST and income tax combined. Despite this, he feels the government treats even compliant business owners with suspicion. He added that in India, only a small percentage of the population (less than 5%) pays taxes. Yet, unfortunately, the system repeatedly targets this small segment, which is already complying with the rules.
Who is Rohit Shroff?
Rohit Shroff, is the founder and partner of Aflog group based in Bengaluru. The company, started in 2018 is a content marketing platform driven by creators. Before starting his own company, he worked as brand consultant for Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik. He was also a member of the founding team of VIR INDIA and even interned with The New Indian Express’s city branch in 2016. Shroff holds a Bachelor’s degree, BA Triple major in Media, Psychology and English literature from Christ University, Bangalore, according to his LinkedIn bio.
Rohit Shroff journey
Rohit grew up watching his father build a business from scratch, which inspired him to become self-made. He was part of a founding team that got acquired, worked at India’s first unicorn, raised capital at 21, faced setbacks, and gradually recovered by building a profitable marketing services company. Over the next decade, he built five businesses under Aflog, leading the group for seven years before stepping aside in December 2025. Today, Aflog is run by his wife and co-founder, Sanya. He consults selectively with high-profile leaders, including Indian cricketers, a $10B PE fund CEO in Abu Dhabi, and public market CEOs across the Middle East.
Why is Rohit Shroff leaving India?
Sharing his personal experience, Shroff wrote, “In the last 12-18 months, across my businesses, in GST and income tax, I’ve paid over $500,000- roughly 4 crore to a country that looks at its most compliant contributors with suspicion by default. In India, barely 4-5% of the population pays income tax. And yet, when notices are sent, clarifications raised, and scrutiny intensified, the same small group keeps getting targeted. The compliant. The ones already inside the system.
He further highlighted taxpayers are subjected to constant scrutiny. Shroff stressed that people who go through these choose to stay silent as fighting the system costs more than what they are submitting it. “This scrutiny is constant and layered. Local GST teams. National income-tax clarifications. Zero acknowledgement, zero tangible benefits. Still, businesses comply. They hire teams to file GST every month, TDS every quarter, and income tax every year. Fighting the system costs more than submitting to it. so most don’t resist. They pay, respond, and move on,” he added in his post.
Announcing his plans to leave India next year, he emphasised that when people like him leave the country, it is not because they dislike it. According to him, the system discourages growth instead of supporting it that is why they leave. “Indians don’t lack capability. They run large businesses across the UAE, the US, and much of the world. When they leave, it isn’t because they hate the country. It’s because the system doesn’t reward growth. It penalises it. It slows it down,” he stated.
