Update: Issue of notification to allow Work from Home for 50% employees of SEZ units

Terms of use

Terms of Use

The use of this site and the content contained therein is governed by the Terms of Use. When you use this site you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and that you accept and will be bound by the terms hereof and such terms as may be modified from time to time.

All text, graphics, audio, design and other works on the site are the copyrighted works of nasscom unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
Content on the site is for personal use only and may be downloaded provided the material is kept intact and there is no violation of the copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights. Any alteration of the material or use of the material contained in the site for any other purpose is a violation of the copyright of nasscom and / or its affiliates or associates or of its third-party information providers. This material cannot be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted or distributed in any way for non-personal use without obtaining the prior permission from nasscom.
The nasscom Members login is for the reference of only registered nasscom Member Companies.
nasscom reserves the right to modify the terms of use of any service without any liability. nasscom reserves the right to take all measures necessary to prevent access to any service or termination of service if the terms of use are not complied with or are contravened or there is any violation of copyright, trademark or other proprietary right.
From time to time nasscom may supplement these terms of use with additional terms pertaining to specific content (additional terms). Such additional terms are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms of Use.

Disclaimer

The Company information provided on the nasscom web site is as per data collected by companies. nasscom is not liable on the authenticity of such data.
nasscom has exercised due diligence in checking the correctness and authenticity of the information contained in the site, but nasscom or any of its affiliates or associates or employees shall not be in any way responsible for any loss or damage that may arise to any person from any inadvertent error in the information contained in this site. The information from or through this site is provided "as is" and all warranties express or implied of any kind, regarding any matter pertaining to any service or channel, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement are disclaimed. nasscom and its affiliates and associates shall not be liable, at any time, for any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to, alteration of, or use of information contained on the site. No representations, warranties or guarantees whatsoever are made as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, completeness, suitability or applicability of the information to a particular situation.
nasscom or its affiliates or associates or its employees do not provide any judgments or warranty in respect of the authenticity or correctness of the content of other services or sites to which links are provided. A link to another service or site is not an endorsement of any products or services on such site or the site.
The content provided is for information purposes alone and does not substitute for specific advice whether investment, legal, taxation or otherwise. nasscom disclaims all liability for damages caused by use of content on the site.
All responsibility and liability for any damages caused by downloading of any data is disclaimed.
nasscom reserves the right to modify, suspend / cancel, or discontinue any or all sections, or service at any time without notice.

For any grievances under the Information Technology Act 2000, please get in touch with Grievance Officer, Mr. Anirban Mandal at data-query@nasscom.in.

New

See all

No notification found.

Update: Issue of notification to allow Work from Home for 50% employees of SEZ units

Tejasvi

@tejasvi

July 15, 2022

Public Policy

976

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has issued Notification No. G.S.R 576(E) dated July 14, 2022 to notify amendments to SEZ Rules to enable long term hybrid work model or Work from Home (WFH) for units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Summary of the amendments is as follows:

Rule 43A has been introduced to allow IT-ITeS SEZ units to permit its employees (including contractual employees) to work from home or any place outside the SEZ.
50% of total employees of the units, including contractual, are allowed to WFH. Development Commissioner (DC) can allow more than 50% employees to WFH for bonafide reasons.
The Unit is required to submit a proposal for WFH to the DC within 90 days from the date of notification. The proposal shall contain details relating to the terms and conditions of WFH, including the date from which the permission for WFH shall be utilised and detail of employees to be covered by such permission.
The DC may grant the permission to WFH for 1 year, which is extendable for another one year.
The Units can provide laptop, computer, video projection systems, secured connectivity devices to such employees after obtaining permission from Specified Officer to temporarily remove such goods to Domestic Tariff Area without payment of duty or IGST. The duration for movement of assets required for the purpose of WFH will be linked to the WFH duration.

While the amendment to allow WFH for 50% employees in SEZs is a positive move, we believe that the above notification imposes procedural/ administrative compliances which are impractical and burdensome. For example, it is not clear how companies will be able to submit details of employees who are expected to work from home as companies cannot have an inflexible plan in advance as to who will work remotely and who will come to office. These decisions are usually taken based on team specific requirements and suitability and are based on mutual understanding within teams. Second, for even 50% employees to WFH, approval will be required from the DC. It is not clear what criteria would be applied to grant or deny the approval and in what time frame the approval should be expected. As it stands, the procedural aspects in the notification do not reflect an understanding of the WFH/ remote working model in the industry.

During our discussions with Ministry of Commerce, we had highlighted that the Industry needs to be have the flexibility to implement WFH across their employees while ensuring that a certain minimum employees work from the SEZs. We have already communicated our concerns to the Ministry of Commerce and have requested them to clarify them and amend the notification or issue operational directives, which will help the Industry to implement the Notification in the right spirit.

Over the next few days, we will be organising calls to discuss the impact/ implementation challenges this with the Industry. We will continue to engage with Ministry of Commerce to ensure ease of doing business for such units.

Kindly send your feedback/ thoughts on the Notification to tejasvi@nasscom.in

Disclaimer

That the contents of third-party articles/blogs published here on the website, and the interpretation of all information in the article/blogs such as data, maps, numbers, opinions etc. displayed in the article/blogs and views or the opinions expressed within the content are solely of the author's; and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of NASSCOM or its affiliates in any manner. NASSCOM does not take any liability w.r.t. content in any manner and will not be liable in any manner whatsoever for any kind of liability arising out of any act, error or omission. The contents of third-party article/blogs published, are provided solely as convenience; and the presence of these articles/blogs should not, under any circumstances, be considered as an endorsement of the contents by NASSCOM in any manner; and if you chose to access these articles/blogs , you do so at your own risk.

Tejasvi

Call for Inputs: SEBI's consul...

Swapnil