in Focus MEITY Roundtable on Digital India Act On April 28, 2023, nasscom, IT for Change, the ICRIER Prosus Centre for Internet and Digital Economy (IPCIDE) jointly held a public consultation with a diverse set of representatives across industry, civil society, technology policy, and academia to discuss the contours and possible components of the proposed Digital India Act (DIA). The consultation was organised around five sessions on (1) designing the Act (2) user rights, harms and redress (3) intermediary liability & platform regulation (4) digital infrastructure & public services and (5) cybersecurity & law enforcement assistance.

REPRESENTATIONS MOF Timeline for reporting GST invoices to portal We made a representation on the advisory issued on the GST portal specifying timeline for e-invoice generation. We highlighted technical and operational challenges with this timeline and requested for withdrawal of the proposal to restrict generation of e-invoices beyond 7 days from invoice date. We also requested the government to defer implementation of the advisory and implement the same w.e.f from October 1, 2023. This will provide time for industry to effectively comply with these requirements. Read More TRAI Convergence of carriage of broadcasting and telecommunication services In its feedback to the consultation paper, nasscom submitted that the current legislative framework where carriage and content are regulated under two different legislations, is working efficiently and requires no intervention. We also referred to our past submission on the Draft Indian Telecommunications Bill, 2022 to state that it is well-recognised, in existing policy, that different 'layers' of the Internet are construed separately and constituting different markets for physical infrastructure, networks, applications, and content. Given this distinction, digital services require specialised legislation like the IT Act and a separate regulatory framework distinct from the regulatory principles that govern and regulate telecommunication services. Read More EPFO Representation on EPS-95 We made a representation regarding the concerns raised by the industry on EPS-95. We have requested a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to address the commonly raised queries from the industry. We also sought an industry-wide meeting with the EPFO to discuss and address the concerns raised by the industry. Considering the existing operational and procedural concerns with the application process under EPS-95, we have requested a 3 months extension. For more information, please write to policy@nasscom.in.

DIALOGUE & DISCUSSION AI Roundtable on generative AI Models (GAIMs) and the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Nasscom is taking the initiative to reach out to its members and structure a series of roundtables for industry level dialogue and engagement on policy issues concerning GAIMs. The first roundtable in the series was held on April 19, 2023. The objective of the roundtable was to build an industry view on compliances and concerns with respect to the DPDPB considering GAIMs. Tax Laws Roundtable discussions on impact of changes in US tax law We conducted two sessions in Mumbai and Bengaluru on April 26, 2023, and April 27, 2023 respectively. The sessions provided insights on the key US tax changes and the potential challenges. Attendees were also made aware of ongoing issues faced by tech companies in the India HQ group, particularly around R&D expenses and tax credits due to the requirement for mandatory capitalization. DGFT Roundtable on Global Authorisation for Intra Company Transfers (GAICT) We conducted a roundtable discussion with the industry to gather feedback on industry's experience on the bulk-licensing policy - GAICT, which was revised and introduced in July 2022. The discussion provided insights on the limitation of the existing scope of GIACT and the need to include certain other sub-categories from SCOMET Category 8 to the GAICT policy. Industry also highlighted concerns around- delay in responses by the DGFT to industry's queries, the turnaround time of GAICT applications, and clarification on the information sought under post-shipment requirements under SCOMET or GAICT applications. Kindly write to us on the on the need for additional SCOMET Category 8 sub-categories that should be included under the GAICT policy - via mail to policy@nasscom.in.

NEW & UPCOMING MEITY Amendments to the Aadhaar authentication for good governance Rules, 2020 MEITY has released draft amendments to the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020 enabling Aadhaar authentication by entities other than Government Ministries and Departments. The feedback can be submitted through the MyGov platform by May 5, 2023. Kindly share your inputs, and suggestions on use-cases on the proposed amendments via mail to policy@nasscom.in. Read More

OTHER UPDATES MEITY IT Rules Amendment on online gaming, fake news and grievance redressal MEITY has notified amendments to the IT Rules in relation to the regulation of online gaming, fake news and grievance redressal. Several of nasscom's recommendations have been accepted by MEITY, such as, regulating real-money online games differently from other casual online games, narrow-down the definition of online gaming intermediaries, undertaking a risk-based approach towards KYC etc. In a connected development, MEITY also filed an undertaking before the Bombay High Court that a fact-checking unit will not be notified before July 5, 2023. Read More FEDAI Concerns regarding delays by banks in reconciling export documents In response to a request from nasscom, FEDAI has advised banks to acknowledge receipt of export documents submitted by the exporter and establish digital systems for receiving export documents against inwards remittances. This is an important step towards improving the ease of doing business for exporters in India. Read More RBI Master Directions on outsourcing of IT services RBI has notified the master directions for outsourcing of IT services by regulated entities, with the objective of ensuring that outsourcing arrangements neither diminish the ability of regulated entities to fulfil their obligations to customers nor impede effective supervision by RBI. Some suggestions made by nasscom have been accepted by RBI. Read More

List of Acronyms CPCB Central Pollution Control Board DIA Digital India Act DOCA Department of Consumer Affairs DOT Department of Telecommunications DPIIT Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade EPS Employee Pension Scheme FEDAI Foreign Exchange Dealers Association of India GAICT Global Authorisation for Intra Company Transfers GAIM Generative Artificial Intelligence Model GST Goods & Service Tax IT Information Technology MEITY Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology MOF Ministry of Finance MRD Ministry of Rural Development MCA Ministry of Corporate Affairs PAN Permanent Account Number RBI Reserve Bank of India SDG Sustainable Development Growth TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India UN United Nations RBI Reserve Bank of India WA Wassenaar Arrangement KYC Know Your Customer

Find us on twitter. Email us at policy@nasscom.in. Copyright © 2023, nasscom