Sez work from home

“As per the new notification, WFH may be extended to a maximum 50% of employees including contractual employees of the unit. There is flexibility granted to development commissioners (DC) of SEZs to approve a higher number of employees for any bona-fide reason to be recorded in writing," said the ministry of commerce and industry. A majority of SEZs in India houses information technology (IT) or IT- enabled services firms involved in manufacturing software, electronic items and assembled parts such as printed circuit boards. The department of commerce has notified Rule 43A, the Work from Home in Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, for SEZs. “WFH is now allowed for a maximum period of one year. However, same may further be extended for a period of one year at a time by the DC on the request of units. In respect of SEZ units whose employees are already working from home, the notification provided a 90-day transition period to get approvals." The ministry said SEZ units will provide for both equipment and secured connectivity for WFH so that employees can perform authorized operations of the units. The permission to take out the equipment is co-terminus with the permission given to an employee, the ministry said.

• The new rule allows employees of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) units engaged in Information Technology (IT) or IT enabled services (ITeS) and a few other specified categories to work from home upon meeting certain conditions. • The new rule provides guidance on the procedures for seeking the necessary approvals and other compliance requirements. • IT/ITeS SEZ units will need to carefully review the impact of this Rule and take steps to obtain approvals and maintain prescribed documentation. Executive summary On 14 July 2022, the Indian Government issued a new rule (Rule) 1authorizing SEZ units engaged in the IT or ITeS sectors and a few other specified categories to permit employees to work from home (WFH) upon meeting certain conditions. The new Rule also provides guidance on procedures for seeking approvals and other related compliance requirements. This Alert summarizes the Rule and its implications for Indian entities operating out of such SEZ units. Detailed discussion Background Indian entities with SEZ units are governed by certain operational regulations under SEZ law. These regulations govern, among other matters, the location from which employees can work out of and restrictions on removal of assets outside of the SEZ unit, given that SEZ units are delineated and notified zones. In the current business environment, permitting employees to WFH has emerged as an essential requirement for companies to attract and retain talent. The SEZ law had introduced regulations...

The Union Commerce Ministry on Tuesday came out with a notification allowing work from home for a maximum period of one year in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) unit, which can be extended to 50 per cent of total employees. The notification said that the Department of Commerce has notified a new rule 43A for WFH in Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006. Bhuvnesh Seth, Chairman of Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs said that the amendment in rules gives the provision of the ‘work from home’ concept a more certainty and uniformity across the zones. “Work from home for SEZs was permitted as an exception on a temporary basis. It depended upon the discretion of respective Zonal Development Commissioners. It basically allows companies to have upto 50 per cent of its employees working from home. The Development Commissioner may allow work from home for a period of one year which may be further extended by a maximum of one year at a time,” Seth added. Currently, there are eight functional SEZs in India at the moment including Santa Cruz (Maharashtra), Cochin (Kerala), Kandla and Surat (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Falta (West Bengal) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh). According to the new notification, employees of the IT/ ITeS SEZ units, employees who are temporarily incapacitated, travelling, or working offsite are covered under this. Explaining the rationale behind the decision, he said, “There was a demand from IT/ITES services units to ...

The government is considering the industry's demand to allow work from home for all employees of companies based out of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), commerce minister Piyush Goyal said. Currently, the Centre allows 50% of the overall staff of a company based out of a Special Economic Zones (SEZ) to work from home for a maximum period of one year. "We had permitted work from home in SEZ units during Covid times. It was appreciated by all and it also helped in pushing our services exports. It was $254 billion last year. This year also there will be a jump in that," Goyal said after the Board of Trade meeting on Tuesday. The decision comes in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic which forced several companies to offer work from home to employees, especially those who work in the services sector where most of the work can be done online. The government had notified a new rule in July which allowed 50% of the overall staff of a company based out of a Special Economic Zones (SEZ) to work from home. In July, food delivery platform Swiggy Logistics Policy Goyal, who chaired the first meeting of the newly reconstituted Board of Trade, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release the national logistics policy on September 17. The minister further said that global confidence in India's prospects for growth were truly immense and called on the domestic industry to overcome all weaknesses when it comes to grabbing the plethora of growth opportunities available to the nation. "The ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that flexibility can work for both employees and employers, and flexible working is the new currency for attracting and retaining talent. Employers in the “new” and “next” normal will need to put hybrid working in the front and center of their talent strategy. This Tax Alert summarizes Notification No. G.S.R. 576(E) dated 14 July 2022 issued by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry wherein Rule 43A ‘Work from Home’ has been inserted for SEZ units in the Information Technology (IT)/ IT Enabled Services (ITES) sector. The key clarifications provided include: • Number of employees (including contractual employees) permitted to WFH capped at 50%; ability to take approval beyond 50% on case-to-case basis. • Jurisdictional Development Commissioner to provide approvals based on applications filed. • WFH approval valid for 1 year and extensions to be obtained thereafter. • Compliance aspects to be followed by SEZ Units. • Assets can be moved out of SEZ for a period co-terminus with the validity of the approval for work from home. EY | Assurance | Consulting | Strategy and Transactions | Tax About EY EY is a global leader in assurance, consulting, strategy and transactions, and tax services.The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role i...

1. INTRODUCTION The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, via the notification dated December 08, 2022, (G.S.R. 868 (E)), amended the provisions of the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006 (" SEZ Rules"), thereby providing certain relaxations under the pre-existing work from home guidelines for eligible employees working in SEZ units (" Amendment Rules"). Earlier this year, on July 14, 2022, the Ministry had introduced Rule 43A to the SEZ Rules and provided explicit guidelines on the permissibility of work from home/ remote working arrangements for eligible employees working in SEZ units ("Guidelines"). The Amendment Rules bring in significant amendments to the Guidelines, making it far easier for employers to implement. 2. HIGHLIGHTS • The Amendment Rules have defined 'employees' to include everybody who is employed on the rolls of an SEZ unit, under a direct contract, or where the SEZ unit is the principal employer under a contract with another organization, such individuals who are expected to report daily for work and the SEZ unit exercises control over their attendance. Therefore, the Amendment Rules are applicable to contract workers as well. • The permission granted to SEZ units to allow its employees to work from home has been extended till December 31, 2023. • As per the Amendment Rules, the remote working benefits can be extended to all employees of SEZ units. Previously, an SEZ unit could only allow 50% of its employees to work from home or remotely. • The Amendment ...

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The Department of Commerce has notified an amendment to the 2006 Special Economic Zone (SEZ) rules, allowing up to 50 percent of total employees of Information Technology (IT) and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) to work from home. Experts say that the notification can help employers get employees to return to office, as well as shape a hybrid work model as it gives employees the flexibility they are asking for. Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, a partner at tech advisory firm Catalincs and former Chairman and MD at Cognizant India, said, “One, many companies were struggling to get their employees back in office. This notification is a blessing for them to get them into office citing the government directive. Two, it helps shape a hybrid work model with employees enjoying the flexibility of working from a physical office for two to three days a week or every alternative week, and so on,” he said. A new rule, 43A, has been added that applies to employees of IT/ITeS units, employees who are temporarily incapacitated, those who are travelling and those who are working offsite. The Department of Commerce said the notification was issued “on demand from the industry for making a provision for a country-wide uniform Work From Home (WFH) policy.” Industry bodies such as the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) have demanded such a rule. The Department of Telecom’s Other Service Provider (OSP) guidelines were relaxed when the pandemic began so that employees could work f...