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in Focus
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nasscom
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AI Policy roundtable |
Over thirty industry leaders participated in
an industry policy roundtable organized at
the nasscom head office on May 17, 2023. The
treatment of AI use cases in the upcoming
digital personal data protection bill was
discussed along with a draft of an Industry
led initiative to develop responsible AI
guidelines. The participants also discussed
the global experiences with regulatory
developments to deal with AI, including
Generative AI. Earlier, the deliberations
focused on the way forward with respect to
the hybrid work model in the SEZs, new
labour codes, the upcoming Digital India Act
and the local content requirements for
software and cloud public in procurement
requirements. For more information or
sending inputs on any of these issues,
please write to policy@nasscom.in.
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REPRESENTATIONS
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UIDAI
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Amendments to Aadhaar authentication for
good governance |
In our feedback on draft amendments to
Aadhaar authentication for good governance
(social welfare, innovation, knowledge)
rules 2000, we suggested a clearer
definition of the 'Purposes for Aadhaar
authentication' and recommended a simplified
process for entities seeking to use Aadhaar
authentication. We also suggested a
streamlined evaluation and approval process
through a single window system, inclusion of
feedback mechanism for rejected proposals
and introduction of new guidelines for
non-governmental entities.
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STPI
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Filing of Annual Performance Report by STPI
Units |
We have requested the STPI authorities to
extend the deadline for filing APR from 90
days to 180 days. Instead of companies
filing APR based on financial provisional
statements and then resubmitting once the
accounts are closed, we have requested the
STPI to provide adequate time so that APR
filing can be done once with final financial
statement. We have highlighted that the
units in SEZ already enjoy the extended
deadline and aligning STPI regulations with
SEZ regulations would promote ease of doing
business in India. |
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CBIC
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Guidelines for special drive against fake
GST registrations |
A special all-India drive was launched by
all Central and State Tax
administrations from May 16 to July 15,
2023 to detect suspicious / fake GSTINs and
to conduct requisite verification and take
remedial action to weed out fake billers
from GST eco-system as well as to safeguard
government revenue. In this context, we have
highlighted industry concerns to the CBIC
regarding the verification process resulting
suspension or cancellation of genuine small
sellers’ registrations. We have recommended
awareness and training for tax officers
about existing business models of e-commerce
sellers. Additionally, a fair and
transparent investigation process and timely
resolution mechanism should be implemented
to protect the interests of genuine
taxpayers and MSMEs.
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DIALOGUE & DISCUSSION
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Haryana Government
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Roundtable on Proposed IT policy |
We, along with our membership team,
organised a roundtable with the Haryana
government and industry to discuss
suggestions for the new IT policy for the
state of Haryana. Senior officials from
department of industries and commerce
participated in the meeting. We
presented an overview of the tech sector
with special focus on Haryana and shared the
best practices being followed by other
states. The government officials also
presented certain proposals to boost IT
infrastructure in the state. For more
information or sharing inputs on this,
please write to policy@nasscom.in.
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Punjab Government
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Awareness Session on e-commerce under GST
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We conducted an awareness session for
officials of Punjab government on the
business models of e-commerce companies in
order to enable greater efficiency in
enforcement of GST provisions with an
understanding of industry working. The focus
of the session was to apprise the officials
about the working of the e-commerce sector
in India, the operational and business
models prevalent and types of services
received
by sellers from an e-commerce operator.
Aspects related to GST refunds, TCS, etc.
were discussed in detail. The session saw
participation from more than 90 officials
from the Punjab government. |
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Industry workshop
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Implementing Decentralised Autonomous
Organisations in India |
We conducted a workshop to discuss the
implementation of DAOs in India from a
technology, legal and tax perspective. The
experts provided insights on how setting up
DAOs as a governance framework could be
explored in India. It was noted that using
DAOs as an entity to receive cross-border
payments in cryptocurrencies would present
complexities with respect to legal and tax
compliance.
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SEBI
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Discussion on allowing direct listing of
foreign companies on Indian stock exchanges
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We met with senior officials of SEBI to
discuss the status of the 2018 committee
recommendations on allowing direct listing
of foreign companies on stock exchanges in
India. SEBI has requested us to share more
information on the likely impact of this
recommendation, the number of Indian
start-ups likely to list using direct
listing route, etc. For more information or
sharing inputs on this, please write to policy@nasscom.in.
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Export Controls
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Event on Intangible Transfers of Strategic
Technology and Emerging Technology
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We were invited by the US-Export Control and
Border Security program to present the
booklet on 'Elements of an
Effective
Internal Compliance Programme for Export
of
Dual-Use Items' published by nasscom
in
December 2022. The event covered discussions
on how different countries are managing
export control compliance in intangible
technology transfers, trends in managing
export of emerging technologies and
experience of the industry in complying with
export control obligations.
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NEW & UPCOMING
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CBDT
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Call for Inputs: Proposed changes to income
tax rules in respect of angel tax |
CBDT has proposed changes to
the income tax
rules pertaining to angel tax. Proposed
changes include inclusion of new valuation
methods for start-ups and provision to
exempt angel tax when investment is made at
the same valuation as that done by a VC or
notified entities. We are in discussion with
the industry on the suggestions to be
submitted to the government by June 5, 2023.
To engage with us on this topic kindly write
to policy@nasscom.in by
June 3, 2023.
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OTHER UPDATES
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GSTN
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e-invoicing time limit |
Pursuant to a representation made by
nasscom, GSTN has issued an advisory on the
GST portal to provide that that the proposal
to implement a time limit of 7 days for
generating e-invoice has been deferred by 3
months. In April 2023, GSTN had imposed a
timeline for businesses with turnover of INR
100 crore and above for uploading e-invoices
on the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP)
within 7 days of the issue of such invoices,
beginning May 1, 2023. This resulted in
technological and operational challenges for
the registered taxpayers. |
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EPFO
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Employer’s Contribution to Pension Fund
under COSS Enhanced |
The Government has made effective specific
sections of the COSS related to
provident
fund provisions, increasing the employer's
contribution towards EPS - 1995 from 8.33%
to 9.49% of basic wages. This change is in
line with the Supreme Court's
directions.
The COSS allows the Central Government to
decide the rate of contributions allocated
to the Pension Scheme. This change may lead
to a reduction in the accumulated corpus
under the EPF and subsequently affect the
lump-sum amount available on retirement or
specified events. |
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CERT-In
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Advisory on AI Language Based Applications
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On May 9, 2023, CERT-In issued an advisory
on "Security Implications of AI Language
Based Applications". It discusses Large
Language Models based applications (cites
ChatGPT, Bard, etc.) and ways in which these
can be misused ('threats'), and safety
measures that can be adopted by developers
and users. |
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CBDT
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Amendment in Angel Tax provisions |
The CBDT is considering amending rule 11UA
of the Income Tax rules and
notifying
excluded entities from the applicability of
section 56(2)(viib) on angel tax. This is a
positive development for the start-ups given
that the Finance Act, 2023 had raised
concerns about considering excess
consideration received from non-residents as
angel tax. As noted above in this mailer, we
are now engaged with the industry to make
suggestions on the draft rules. The proposed
changes include the inclusion of additional
valuation methods for non-resident
investors, acceptance of a valuation report
from a merchant banker, and the provision of
a 10% safe harbour for valuation
fluctuations. |
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List of Acronyms
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AI
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Artificial Intelligence
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CBDT
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Central Board of Direct Taxes
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CBIC
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Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
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COSS
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Code on Social Security
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DIA
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Digital India Act
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DAO
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Decentralised Autonomous Organisation
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DPIIT
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Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade
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EPS
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Employee Pension Scheme
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GST
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Goods & Service Tax
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IT
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Information Technology
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MEITY
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Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
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MOF
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Ministry of Finance
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MCA
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Ministry of Corporate Affairs
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SEZ
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Permanent Account Number
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STPI
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Software Technology Parks of India
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TCS
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Tax Collection at Source
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RBI
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Reserve Bank of India
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SEBI
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Securities Exchange Board of India
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Copyright © 2023, nasscom |
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