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India reforms tax system to boost investment
While the trade dispute between the US and China continues to weaken the global economy and investors are reluctant to react, India has created facts with the surprising adoption of a comprehensive reform package and plans to boost the country’s economy massively. Analysts and economists even expect India to overtake China in terms of growth rates from 2021. In detail, the reform will reduce VAT retroactively to 1 April 2019 and relieve companies of almost 1.5 trillion Rupees annually. The basic tax rate will be reduced from 30 to 22 percent, and the effective tax rate will fall by around ten percentage points to an average of 25 percent due to local surcharges and industry differences.
In addition, young companies will receive a reduced tax rate of 15 percent for certain investments. There have also been changes on the capital market, with share buybacks now exempt from taxation. Converted to India’s gross domestic product, the package of measures adopted represents around 0.7 percent and 30 percent respectively of total tax revenue.
In the long term, the tax reform should sustainably strengthen the willingness of Indian industry to invest. Although investments grew by an average of 15 percent between 2000 and 2008, the financial and economic crisis caused a slump to 8 percent per year and the past year 2018 saw a low of seven percent. In addition to the hoped-for increase in investments as a result of the reform, further interest rate cuts by the central bank are expected as an incentive. The Indian government under President Modi is continuously working on the country’s competitiveness. India’s numerous and young population offers very good conditions for high growth rates and economic productivity. Products manufactured in India are also subject to approval by Indian certifications such as AIS (ARAI), BIS, WPC, TEC or PESO. Find out in good time whether your product requires certification in India.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details and consultation. You can contact us via e-mail, or call us (UK: +44 2071931135, Rest of Europe: +49 69 2713769150, US: +1 773 654-2673).
You can also download our brochures about the compulsory certifications here.
Indian Ministry of Telecommunications works on permitted frequencies for 5G network
The Ministry of Telecommunications is currently working on the spectrum of permitted frequencies and the corresponding 5G devices will soon be available on the Indian market. The future frequencies will be allocated as a harmonised and coherent spectrum necessary for the deployment of next generation access technologies, the Ministry said. To operate so-called Multi-Gigabit Broadband (MBB) services in a 5G network, operators must be allocated larger and coherent frequency bands. This strategy is supported by a publication of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and endorsed in the Digital Communications Guidelines of the relevant ministry.
For the new 5G network, the Committee of the Ministry of Telecommunications proposes the auctioning of a total of 11 frequency bands, four of which would be immediately available for use. The 700 MHz band was offered at the last auction but not sold. Its 35 MHz spectrum is still available for 4G and 5G services. The 3.5 Ghz band is intended for IMT services in India. The worldwide introduction of 5G networks is expected to be completed by the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020. Successful pilot projects are already in operation and thus the timetable for India in the context of global adaptation is also on schedule.
Companies wishing to market products in the 5G sector must obtain information in good time and apply for the appropriate permission (WPC registration) for their products. In India, the Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) department of the Ministry of Communications is responsible for wireless devices and broadcasting and telecommunications licensing.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information on WPC certification. In addition, we offer you a comprehensive service package within the scope of WPC registration.
A Range of New Products will be BIS Mandatory Soon
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) recently published a notice explaining which products will require a mandatory BIS certification soon. The BIS is responsible for a multitude of voluntary and mandatory certifications for industry products. The most important ones are the BIS CRS Scheme for Electronics & IT Goods (BIS CRS) and the Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme (FMCS).
So far, they have 136 products in their catalogue which require a mandatory certification and 50 products which require a mandatory registration.
The BIS certification provides a third-party guarantee of quality, safety and reliability.
The following products will require a certification in the future:
- Electric cables, plugs, sockets, switchgear
- Air conditioner, compressor, thermostat, heat exchanger
- Domestic cooker, gas stove, rubber hose for liquid petroleum gas (LPG)
- Toys
- Protective helmet
- Butterfly valves
- Transparent float glass, sheet glass and safety glass
- Prepaid energy meter, smart meter
- Chemicals: acetic acid, aniline, methanol, orthophosphoric acid etc.
- Medical devices
- Cranes (electric, overhead, gantry)
- Wheel-loader
- Retroreflector devices for bicycles
- Cotton bales
Up to this point there are few technical regulations compared to that of the EU market requirements. However, India has been in ongoing discussion forums with regulatory experts and are eager to close the gap to be more in line with the EU. It is expected that here will be more regulations published in the near future.
Here you can find more information about the AIS/TAC certification, BIS certification, WPC certification and TEC certification.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details and consultation. You can contact us via e-mail, or call us (UK: +44 2071931135, Rest of Europe: +49 69 2713769150, US: +1 773 654-2673).
You can also download our brochures about the compulsory certifications here.
New product list for mandatory BIS certification
The mandatory BIS certification is now mandatory for a further 13 products. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the equivalent of the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) or the International Standards Organization (ISO). Until now, certification according to the BIS standard was voluntary; with the announcement of the new, third product list, this is now mandatory for other products. The newly announced products include LED lighting, UPS and inverters with less than 10 kVA, televisions and monitors up to 32 inches, surveillance cameras, adapters and sockets for the household, barcode and fingerprint scanners, smartwatches.
Foreign manufacturers wishing to export their products to India require BIS certification. For some product categories this certification is still voluntary, but not for products on the so-called List 1 and 2 and the newly published third list. Foreign manufacturers seeking certification will need an authorised Indian representative to act as an intermediary between BIS and the manufacturer.
For any questions regarding the BIS certification, please contact us.
Here you can find more information about the AIS/TAC certification, BIS certification, WPC certification and TEC certification.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details and consultation. You can contact us via e-mail, or call us (UK: +44 2071931135, Rest of Europe: +49 69 2713769150, US: +1 773 654-2673).
You can also download our brochures about the compulsory certifications here.