India’s SEZ notifies new hybrid working option : Brings in Fourth Amendment Rules 2023
The consulting industry in India is a rapidly growing sector, with a CAGR of 30%. The industry is worth up to $1.4 billion and is expected to reach $2.1 billion by 2025. The key players in the consulting industry in India include some of the multinationals, however, Karma Global has upped its ante with loads of consulting work carried out in the IT, financial and regulatory services sectors.
Karma Global a leading consulting firm, with operations in U.K, U.S. Canada, Middle East and South East Asia, specialises in areas like staffing, on-boarding, payroll, facility management, curbing regulatory risk, auditing and abiding by all labour law related compliance on PAN basis.
India’s SEZ notifies new hybrid working option: Brings in Fourth Amendment Rules 2023
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce, vide Notification F. No. K-43013(12)/1/2021-SEZ, dated November 7, 2023, notified amendment to the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, made under the authority of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (28 of 2005). The amendment is referred to as the “Special Economic Zones (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2023.” These rules will become effective on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
In the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, for rule 43A, the following rule shall be substituted, namely: –
43A. Hybrid working. –
(1) A Unit may, as per its requirements, permit its employees, specified in sub-rule (2), to work from any place outside the Special Economic Zone in accordance with this rule.
(2) The following employees are covered under sub-rule (1), –
- employees of Information Technology Units and Information Technology enabled services;
- employees, who are temporarily incapacitated;
- employees, who are travelling; and
- employees, who are working offsite.
(3) The permission granted under sub-rule (1) shall be applicable up to the 31st December, 2024.
(4) The facility for hybrid work may cover all the employees of the Unit.
(5) Where a Unit permits its employees for hybrid work under this rule, it shall intimate the same to the Development Commissioner through an e-mail on or before the date on which the facility for hybrid work is permitted.
(6) The Unit shall not be required to submit the lists of employees who are allowed hybrid work but shall maintain the lists of employees who have been permitted hybrid work in the Unit and it shall be submitted for verification whenever is required by the Development Commissioner.
(7) The hybrid work facility shall be admissible if the Unit continues to operate from the premises as per their letter of approval.
(8) The work to be performed by the employee permitted hybrid work under this rule shall be as per the services approved for the Unit, and the work is related to a project of the Unit.
(9) The Unit shall ensure export revenue of the resultant products or services to be accounted for by the Unit to which the employee is permitted for hybrid work.
(10) Where an employee ceases to be part of the project of the Unit, the employee shall be relived from the Unit and the Unit shall surrender the identity card as per the provisions of sub-rule (2) of rule 70.
(11) The Unit may provide to an employee duty-free goods, including laptop, desktop, and other electronic equipment needed by the employee for hybrid work and the same shall be allowed to be taken outside the Special Economic Zone without payment of duty or integrated goods and services tax on temporary basis:
Provided that the Units while opting for hybrid work facility shall ensure that such duty-free goods are duly accounted for in the appropriate records as per the extant rules and are available for verification, if necessary.
(12) Notwithstanding anything in sub-rule (1) of rule 50, the temporary removal of such duty-free goods shall be allowed for a period commensurate with the validity of the facility for hybrid work:
Provided that if a Unit fails to bring back the duty-free goods into the Special Economic Zone within the period specified in this sub-rule, the duty applicable on such goods shall be paid by the Unit.
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Collated and Compiled by the internal staff of Karma Global with the knowledge and expertise that they possess, besides adaptation, illustration, derivation, transformation, collection and auto generation for its monthly newsletter Issue 18 of December 2023 and in case of specific or general information or compliance updates for that matter, kindly reach out to the Marketing Team – kush@karmamgmt.com / yashika@karmamgmt.com