The Commerce Ministry on Thursday allowed IT employees working in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to work completely from home (Work From Home) or from any place outside the Special Economic Zones till December 2023.
The government has amended the rules of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to allow IT employees in SEZs to work from home till December 31, 2023, subject to certain conditions.
According to the amended Rule 43A of the SEZ Act, employees of IT and information technology services, traveling employees as well as employees working offsite will be allowed to work from home i.e. WFH or any place outside the SEZ.
WFH exemption given to 50 percent employees in July Let us tell you, in July, the Center had allowed 50 percent employees, including contract employees in SEZs, to work from home. Till now, work from home was permitted in Special Economic Zones for a maximum period of one year. At the same time, to approve more number of people in WFH, the development commissioners of SEZ were given the freedom to bring flexibility in the rules.
List of employees working in WFH will have to be made The Ministry of Commerce said in a notification issued on Thursday that a unit can allow its employees to work from home or from any place outside the SEZ. The new rule states that a unit will have to maintain a list of only those employees who are permitted to work from any location outside the WFH or SEZ and submit the list to the Development Commissioner, as and when required.
In addition, the new rule states that such employees may be allowed to work from home on a temporary basis without payment of IGST or service tax, or to purchase laptops, desktops, and laptops for work from home or any location outside special economic zones . Other electronic equipment to be provided at no charge.
