The government ease rules and guidelines for facilitating permanent ‘Work from Home’ initiatives concerning the technology industry.
The government has removed registration as well as compliance requirements for firms to operate beyond their traditional office spaces, permitting them to function permanently from any location. This move aims at creating an amicable work environment for both employees as well as companies.
The telecom department has rendered this relaxation after several IT and tech firms sought for permanent relaxation concerning work location especially during the nationwide lockdown period amidst the COVID-19 crisis. The tech industry had raised concerns and demanded the telecom department to ease laws and facilitate not just the ‘Work From Home’ option but also the ‘Work From Anywhere’ option.
As per the government, the new guidelines for Other Service Providers’ (OSPs) comprising KPOs, BPOs, ITES, and call centres among others, would be removing periodic reporting and other obligations.
Also Read: Government Extends Credit Line for MSMEs by a Month
As per the Other Service Provider (OSP) rules of the telecom department, the registration requirement concerning OSPs has been completely removed. Also, the BPO industry which is occupied with work related to data has been removed from the ambit of OSP regulations. Also, as per the revamped guidelines, requirements such as static IPs, the deposit of bank guarantees, penal provisions, and publication of network diagrams have been removed.
Also, various other requirements due to which companies could not adopt ‘Work from Anywhere’ and ‘Work from Home’ policies have been removed.
This move by the government has been applauded by various industry experts. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, mentioned in his tweet that the government is aiming towards transforming India as a tech hub. The government is working towards enhancing the ‘Ease of Doing Business’. With this move, the compliance-related burden of the BPO industry is surely going to reduce to a great extent.
For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at bhavana.pn@cleartax.in
Bhavana is a Senior Content Writer handling the GST vertical. She is committed, professional, and has a flair for writing. When away from work, she enjoys watching movies and playing with her son. One thing she can’t resist is SHOPPING! Her favourite quote is: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”.
