SEZ units may permit Hybrid working to employees of IT/ITes as well as those who are temporarily incapacitated, travelling, working offsite till 31.12.2024

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (‘Ministry”) has substituted the provisions w.r.t work from home to insert new requirements permitting *hybrid working to the following **employees:

• employees of Information Technology Units and Information Technology enabled services;
• employees, who are temporarily incapacitated;
• employees, who are travelling; and
• employees, who are working offsite

This change has been introduced by amending the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006 (“Principal Rules”) and notifying the Special Economic Zones (Fourth Amendment) Rules, effective 7th November, 2023.

The permission granted to employees for hybrid working will be applicable till 31st December, 2024.

Key Takeaways:

1. The facility for hybrid work may cover all the employees of the Unit.
2. Where a Unit permits its employees for hybrid work under this rule, it has to intimate the same to the Development Commissioner through an e-mail on or before the date on which the facility for hybrid work is permitted.
3. The Unit will not be required to submit the lists of employees who are allowed hybrid work but shall maintain the lists of employees who have been permitted hybrid work in the Unit and it will be submitted for verification whenever is required by the Development Commissioner.
4. The hybrid work facility will be admissible if the Unit continues to operate from the premises as per their letter of approval.
5. The work to be performed by the employee permitted hybrid work will be as per the services approved for the Unit, and the work is related to a project of the Unit.
6. The Unit has to ensure export revenue of the resultant products or services to be accounted for by the Unit to which the employee is permitted for hybrid work
7. Where an employee ceases to be part of the project of the Unit, the employee shall be relived from the Unit and the Unit shall surrender the identity card.
8. The Unit may provide to an employee duty-free goods, including laptop, desktop, and other electronic equipment needed by the employee for hybrid work and the same should be allowed to be taken outside the Special Economic Zone without payment of duty or integrated goods and services tax on temporary basis.

[Please note, Units while opting for hybrid work facility has to ensure that such duty-free goods are duly accounted for in the appropriate records as per the extant rules and are available for verification, if necessary.]

9. The temporary removal of such duty-free goods will be allowed for a period commensurate with the validity of the facility for hybrid work.

[Please note, if a Unit fails to bring back the duty-free goods into the Special Economic Zone within the specified period, the duty applicable on such goods has to be paid by the Unit.]

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*”Hybrid working” refers to a flexible work model whereby an employer may permit its employees to work from office or from any location outside the employer’s office from time to time.

**“employees” will include all persons employed on the rolls of the Unit or under a direct contract or where the Unit is the principal employer under a contract with another organisation where such persons are expected to report on a day-to-day basis for work to the Unit and the Unit administers the control on their attendance;

Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry