Department of Commerce notifies rules for Work from Home for Special Economic Zones
WFH allowed for a maximum period of one-year; may be extended to maximum 50% of total employees including contractual employees
Development Commissioners of SEZs empowered to extend it beyond one-year and for more than 50% of total employees
Notification provides a transition period of 90 days to SEZ units to seek approval, whose employees are already WFH
Notification, a boon to large number of IT/ITES employees working in SEZs; Addresses a long-pending demand of the industry;
The Department of Commerce has notified a new Rule, namely Rule 43A – Work from Home in Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006 across all Special Economic Zones. The notification was issued on demand from the industry for making a provision for a country wide uniform Work From Home (WFH) policy across all Special Economic Zones. The Department of Commerce thereafter held several rounds of discussions with various stakeholders before firming up the notification.
The notification under Rule 43A provides work from home for following category of employees of a unit in SEZ:
i. Employees of IT/ITeS SEZ units
ii. Employees, who are temporarily incapacitated
iii. Employees, who are travelling
iv. Employees, who are working offsite
As per the new notification, WFH may be extended to maximum 50% of total employees including contractual employees of the unit. There is flexibility granted to Development Commissioner (DC) of SEZs to approve a higher number of employees (more than 50%) for any bona-fide reason to be recorded in writing.
Work From Home 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 has provided a transition period of 90 days to seek approval.
SEZ Units will provide equipment and secured connectivity for the purpose of WFH to perform authorized operations of the units and the permission to take out the equipment is co-terminus with the permission granted to an employee.
****
MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(Department of Commerce)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 14th July, 2022
G.S.R. 576(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by section 55 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (28 of 2005), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, namely: –
1. (1) These rules may be called the Special Economic Zones (Third Amendment) Rules, 2022.
(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
2. In the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in rule 43, in clause (d), in the proviso,-
(a) clause (i) shall be omitted;
(b) in clause (ii), for the words “by following the procedure as laid down in (i) above”, the words “subject to the condition that the Special Economic Zone unit shall ensure that the export revenue of the resultant products or services shall be accounted for by the Special Economic Zone unit” shall be substituted.
3. After rule 43 of the said rules, the following rule shall be inserted, namely: –
“43A. Work from Home. – (1) An Unit may permit its employees, including contractual employees, specified in sub-rule (2), to work from home or from any place outside the Special Economic Zone in accordance with this rule.
(2) The following employees of an Unit are covered under sub-rule (1),-
(i) employees of the Information Technology and Information Technology enabled Services Special Economic Zone units;
(ii) employees, who are temporarily incapacitated;
(iii) employees, who are travelling; and
(iv) employees, who are working offsite.
(3) The Unit shall submit its proposal for work from home to the Development Commissioner through email or physical application, which shall contain the terms and conditions of work from home, including the date from which the permission for work from home shall be utilised and the details of the employees to be covered by such permission for work from home.
(4) The Development Commissioner, on receipt of the proposal under sub-rule (3), if satisfied that the proposal complies with this rule, may grant the permission to the proposal of the Unit which shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of such permission.
(5) The Development Commissioner may, on receipt of an application for extension of the permission, if he is satisfied with the proposal and that the Unit and its employees have complied with this rule, extend the permission for such period, not exceeding one year at a time.
(6) Every proposal for permission of work from home or an application for extension of the permission shall be submitted, at least fifteen days in advance, to the Development Commissioner, except in case of the employees who are temporarily incapacitated or travelling.
(7) The proposal for work from home shall cover a maximum fifty per cent of the total employees, including contractual employees, of the Unit and the Unit shall maintain accurate attendance record for the entire period of permission for work from home and shall submit to the Development Commissioner, from time to time.
(8) The Development Commissioner may approve a higher number of employees to work from home for any bona-fide reason to be recorded in writing.
(9) An Unit, where, its employees are working from home or from any place outside the Special Economic Zone on the date of commencement of the Special Economic Zones (Third Amendment) Rules, 2022 shall submit its proposal for permission to the Development Commissioner within ninety days from the date of such commencement.
(10) The work to be performed by the employee permitted to work from home under this rule shall be as per the services approved for the Unit, and the work is related to a project of the Unit.
(11) The Unit shall ensure export revenue of the resultant products or services to be accounted for by the Unit to which the employee is tagged.
(12) Where an employee ceases to be part of the project of the Unit, the employee shall be un-tagged from the Unit and the Unit shall surrender the identity card as per sub-rule (2) of rule 70.
(13) The Unit may provide to an employee such goods, including laptop, computer, video projection system, other electronic0 equipment and secured connectivity (for virtual private network, virtual desktop infrastructure) to establish a connection between the employee and work related to the project of the unit with the prior permission of the Specified Officer to temporarily remove such goods to the Domestic Tariff Area without payment of duty or integrated goods and services tax, subject to the following procedure, namely:-
(i) the unit shall account for the goods removed temporarily;
(ii) the unit shall issue a certificate authorising the employee by name and giving the full specification, namely, serial number and model number and make of the equipment intended to be taken outside the processing area temporarily and a copy of the certificate shall be endorsed to the Specified Officer and acknowledgement received by the Unit; and
(iii) the Unit shall maintain a record of such certificate of authorisation issued under clause (ii) for temporary removal of equipment.
(14) Notwithstanding anything in sub-rule (1) of rule 50, the Specified Officer may approve the removal of goods mentioned in sub-rule (13), required by an employee permitted to work from home and shall be valid up to such period the permission for work from home under this rule is valid.”
[F.No. K-43013(12)/1/2021-SEZ]
VIPUL BANSAL, Jt. Secy.
Note: The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide notification number G.S.R 54(E), dated the 10th February, 2006 and lastly amended vide notification number G.S.R 519 (E), dated the 6th July, 2022.
