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MONTHLY MAILER, SEPTEMBER 2022 | NASSCOM PUBLIC POLICY

Devika Agarwal

@DevikaAgarwal

September 7, 2022

Monthly Newsletters

254

NASSCOM : Public Policy | Volume 3 | Issue 09 | September 2022

Easing hybrid working norms in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for IT-BPM industry

A meeting was called by the Department of Commerce on August 29, 2022 to discuss the challenges in implementing the recently issued hybrid working norms (vide issue of Notification and Standard Operating Procedures). At the meeting, we have requested for flexibility as per industry's requirement for some more time without the need to seek approvals, given the 86-90% level of remote working in the SEZs. The government is considering our request.

Development of Enterprises and Services Hub (DESH) Bill, 2022

The Department of Commerce discussed the draft DESH Bill at a workshop on August 29, 2022 and invited feedback. At the workshop, we welcomed the focus of the Bill on easing the denotification of export zones into domestic tariff area, allowing rupee billing from export zones, and single widow paperless compliance. We flagged industry's concerns on equalisation levy, stressed the need for fiscal incentives for service sector on the lines of the 15 percent tax rate regime for manufacturing sector and the need for a harmonised implementation of the law on a pan India basis with ease of doing business, including a flexible work from home regime, as its integral feature.

MoHFW: Feedback on the draft Drugs, Medical Devices & Cosmetics Bill, 2022

On July 8, 2022, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) released the draft Drugs, Medical Devices & Cosmetics Bill, 2022 (draft Bill) for public consultation. NASSCOM submitted its feedback to MoHFW on the draft Bill on August 22, 2022. Our recommendations include regulating medical devices distinctly from drugs, adapting international best practices to the Indian context and aligning the draft Bill with the existing provisions of the Medical Devices Bill, 2017.

Government of Telangana: Feedback on Agricultural Data Management Policy

We submitted our feedback to the Government of Telangana on the draft Agricultural Data Management Policy (ADMP). Our key suggestions included: (1) the scope of the sector and agricultural data be more precisely defined and (2) the ADMP should outline clear rights to be afforded to data principals related to their personal data, where such data are also regarded as agricultural data.

Government of Delhi: Feedback on the Draft Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregators Scheme, 2022

We submitted feedback to the Transport Department, Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi on the draft Delhi Motor Vehicle Aggregator Scheme 2022. Our key suggestions included: (1) revising the targets for onboarding Electric Vehicles (EVs) considering the availability of EVs and supporting infrastructure (2) bringing licensing fee amount in line with the Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines 2020 and (3) notifying a simple online process for submitting quarterly reports.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Submission on Progress Report on Amount A of Pillar One

We made a detailed submission to the OECD and Ministry of Finance (MoF) on the Progress Report on Amount A of Pillar One. We have recommended OECD inter alia : (1) to provide examples and rationale which will help stakeholders in comprehending and understanding the impact of Pillar One proposals for businesses (2) Pillar One should apply only at the Group level and in case where the Group does not meet the prescribed conditions, Pillar One should not be applicable to the Group (3) Non-customer revenues which are directly identifiable to a particular jurisdiction should be allocated only to that jurisdiction (in which the revenues are earned).

Goods and Services Tax (GST): Request for issuance of instructions to stay recovery proceedings where taxpayer makes requisite part payment

In the absence of a GST Tribunal, a taxpayer aggrieved by the order of Appellate authority is forced to pay entire demand including interest and penalty as no stay of recovery is currently in place. We have made a submission to GST officials requesting them to issue instructions / directions to field officers for not initiating recovery proceeding against taxpayers who are aggrieved by an order passed under S.107 or S. 108 and have made payment of 30% of disputed tax amount.

GST: Issues regarding taxability of gift cards/ vouchers and trade margins vis-à-vis purchase and sale of gift cards/ vouchers

We have made various representations on the need for clarity on taxability of gift cards/ vouchers per se under GST (where the underlying supply is not identifiable at the time of issuance) as well as the trade margins. We have recommended that any decision on the taxability of trade margins, contrary to the industry practice, should only have a prospective effect and taxes on the same should not be levied retrospectively.

MoF: Need for clarifications under S. 194R of Income Tax Act, 1961

The MoF recently issued Circular No. 12 of 2022 (Circular) providing clarifications for implementing provisions prescribed under S. 194R of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (IT Act). We have requested the MoF to clarify that S.194R will apply to non-monetary benefit or perquisite arising from business or profession by the recipient, exclude promotional offers and promotional credits from the ambit of S. 194R, non-applicability of S. 194R in cases where amounts of loan, interest, expenses, or debts have been waived off, since these are taxable inter alia under other provisions of the IT Act.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI): Suggestions on review of disclosure requirements under Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements), 2015

We have recommended to the SEBI that there is no need for introducing threshold limit for disclosure of events specified under Para B of Part A of Schedule III of the LODR Regulations as the need to disclose such events to stock exchange arises only when they are considered material by the company. We have also suggested that there is no need to include any additional material events in Part A of Schedule III as the current list of material events specified is already quite exhaustive.

Roundtable: Policy and regulatory challenges faced by the drone ecosystem in India

To mark one year of liberalised Drone Rules, 2021, we organised a roundtable to assess the policy and regulatory challenges faced by the drone industry. Participants provided their feedback on the draft report prepared by us on assessing the existing concerns such as talent and skill gap, issues with red zones, and export control. We are in the process of finalising the report for submission to the Government. For more information, kindly write to apurva@nasscom.in and garima@nasscom.in.

Call for inputs: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Consultation Paper on Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in the Telecom Sector

The TRAI has released a consultation paper on Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Big Data in the Telecom Sector (CP). The objective behind this CP is to seek inputs on how artificial intelligence (AI) and big data (BD) can be used to improve quality of service, spectrum management, network security and reliability in the context of the telecom sector. The CP also seeks to discuss "where the telecom sector can play an important role to leverage AI and BD in other sectors". The deadline for comments is September 16, 2022. Do share your inputs on the CP by September 9, 2022 by writing to sudipto@nasscom.in and varun@nasscom.in.

Call for inputs: Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) Draft 'Guidelines for Anonymisation of Data for e-Governance'

The CDAC under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has released a set of draft Guidelines for Anonymisation of Data for e-Governance. This is an advisory document aimed at providing guidelines on the use of anonymisation techniques to all entities involved in the processing of personal information in e-governance projects. The deadline for providing suggestions on the draft guidelines is September 21, 2022. Do share your inputs on the guidelines by September 16, 2022 by writing to varun@nasscom.in and apurva@nasscom.in.

Call for inputs: C-DAC Draft Guidelines on Mobile Security

The C-DAC has released a set of draft Guidelines for Mobile Security. This is an advisory document aimed at providing guidelines on the security of mobile networks, services, and devices for entities in the mobile ecosystem. The deadline for providing suggestions on the draft guidelines is September 21, 2022. Do share your inputs on the guidelines by September 16, 2022 by writing to varun@nasscom.in and apurva@nasscom.in.

Call for inputs: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Discussion Paper on 'Charges in Payment Systems'

The RBI has released a discussion paper on "Charges in Payment Systems" for stakeholder consultation (Discussion Paper). The objective of the Discussion Paper is to ensure that charges for payment services are reasonable and determined competitively for users while also providing optimal revenue stream for the intermediaries. Do share your inputs on the Discussion Paper by September 19, 2022 by writing to apurva@nasscom.in.

Call for Inputs: Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) proposes amendments for obtaining licence for exporting drones

The DGFT has proposed amendments to the SCOMET list and proposed a policy for obtaining a general authorisation for export of drones for public consultation. This will impact companies exporting drones and associated software and technology from India. Kindly share your inputs on the proposed amendments by September 8, 2022 by writing to garima@nasscom.in and apurva@nasscom.in.

Request for Inputs on Pre-Budget Memorandum 2023-24

We have started the process of preparing NASSCOM’s Pre-Budget Memorandum 2023-24 (PBM) to be submitted to MoF. We plan to structure this year's PBM to suggest measures to boost Indian economy and sustain the global competitiveness of Indian IT-BPM sector. In this regard, we request you to provide your inputs/ suggestions latest by September 15, 2022 to tejasvi@nasscom.in.

Request for Inputs on GST issues faced by IT-BPM Industry

We periodically submit a consolidated memorandum to GST Council and GST Policy Wing highlighting key GST issues faced by the IT-BPM industry across India. We are in the process of identifying key GST issues that are impacting the industry with considerable financial ramifications or issues that are being interpreted adversely and leading to litigation. In this regard, we request you to send your inputs before September 15, 2022 to tejasvi@nasscom.in.

Start-ups: Policy paper on enabling capital for the start-up ecosystem

We, in partnership with TiE Delhi-NCR and Grant Thornton Bharat, are finalising a policy paper to highlight the concerns faced by start-ups, founders, and investors at various stages of a start-up's growth journey. The paper will also present the findings of the survey conducted by us in August 2021. The aim of this paper is to provide recommendations to the government inter alia on issues such as access to domestic and international capital, and innovative ways of raising capital. For more information, kindly write to garima@nasscom.in.

Export control: Elements of an Internal Compliance Program (ICP)

We are finalising a document outlining the elements of an effective ICP to be adopted by companies engaged in export of dual-use items. This document will be useful for the industry in complying with their export control obligations. For more information, kindly write to garima@nasscom.in.

Standing Committee on Finance: Review of the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022

The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (2022 Bill) was referred to the Standing Committee on Finance for examination and report within three months. A public consultation on the 2022 Bill has not yet been issued by the government. In the meantime, we are engaging with industry to get their feedback. For more information, kindly write to dagarwal@nasscom.in and sudipto@nasscom.in.

GST: Instruction issued for providing relief to taxpayers in respect of issuance of summons

We filed a representation and met with several officials of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and GST Policy Wing to discuss industry concerns. These concerns included inter alia requiring top management of companies (instead of those handling GST compliances within companies) to be mandatorily present in proceedings by GST authorities. Another concern was that GST authorities issued summons at the information gathering stage instead of at an advanced stage of the proceedings. Following our representation, the MoF has issued detailed guidelines on issuance of summons under the GST Law to top senior officials of companies in a routine manner to call for material evidence/ documents. We expected this to address the concerns of the industry.

RBI: Implementation of the recommendations of the working group on digital lending

The RBI has released guidelines for implementation of the recommendations of the working group on digital lending. The guidelines will be applicable to entities regulated by the RBI which are permitted to carry out lending business. Recommendations which have been accepted for immediate implementation include - (1) RBI Regulated Entities (REs) will be required to ensure that any fee etc. to the lending service providers is paid directly by them (2) Cost of digital loans has to be disclosed upfront by the REs etc.

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Devika Agarwal