SAMACHAR- JANUARY, 2024       IAMAI Submission to CBIC Regarding GST on Place of Supply in Case of Co-locational Services IAMAI wrote to the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in relation to clarifications issued by it on GST regarding the place of supply in case of co-locational services. The circular issued by the CBIC brings out a differentiation between a pure renting arrangement with basic infrastructure vis-à-vis a package of services offered by a data centre service provider under a co-location services arrangement. While the circular mentions firewall services as one of the components of infrastructure support, IAMAI pointed out in its submission that industry players typically did not offer such services under co-location arrangement since it was the responsibility of the customer to manage the network security which was internal to the networking equipment. IAMAI also suggested that an arrangement involving co-location services which was in the nature of infrastructure support should get covered within the scope of the captioned circular, and the place of supply be determined based on the location of the service recipient as provided under the circular.     IAMAI Submission to MeitY on Advisory on Due Diligence by Intermediaries Under IT Rules, 2021 IAMAI made a submission to the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) in response to an advisory dated December 26, 2023, issued to certain intermediaries with respect to ensuring compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules). The advisory highlighted MeitY's concerns around the spread of misinformation powered by AI, such as deepfakes, and general compliance with due diligence obligations under the IT Rules (specifically, Rule 3(1)(b). The Advisory also stated that MeitY would monitor compliance with the IT Rules and may notify incremental amendments to the IT Rules, if required. In its submission, IAMAI emphasised the need for a consultation prior to notifying or amending any laws or regulation. It also highlighted ongoing compliances of intermediaries and reporting obligations under existing laws pertaining to illegal content.     IAMAI Submission to MIB on Draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2023 IAMAI's Digital Entertainment Committee made a submission before the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) in January 2024 pertaining to the MIB's Draft Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2023 (Draft Bill). In its submission IAMAI argued that OTT platforms should be kept outside the purview of the Draft Bill as the same were already covered as OCCPs under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules). The submission also highlighted that existing IT Rules set out standards for content regulation for online curated content and the Code of Ethics should continue, to ease compliance and regulation. Regarding the Draft Bill's proposal to constitute of a Content Evaluation Committee by each broadcaster or broadcasting network operator, IAMAI suggested that this might create an overlap and potential conflict between the procedures set up under the IT Rules and the Draft Bill. The IAMAI submission pointed out that the Draft Bill proposed certain overbroad penalties that could significantly impede creative freedom and harm the growing creative economy.     DPCGC Workshop to Sensitise Law Enforcement Officers on Grievance Redressal Mechanism The Digital Publisher Content Grievance Council (DPCGC) organised the second virtual workshop for creating awareness amongst the law enforcement agencies regarding DPCGC activities on January 12, 2024. The workshop was conducted by Rakshit Tandon, a visiting faculty of the Cyber Crime Investigations at the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) for training law enforcement officers across the country. Senior members of various cyber cells from across the nation participated in the workshop. The focus of the workshop was to create awareness among the officers regarding the grievance redressal mechanism provided under law for consumers who approach them with regards to content related complaints.     HealthTech Committee Meeting with NABL Joint Director The IAMAI HealthTech Committee organized a virtual meeting of its members and some non-member companies with Shri Ramprasath R, Joint Director, National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) on January 17, 2024. Members such as Tata 1mg, Practo, Tatvacare, and Orange Health Labs and non-members such as Medibuddy and Thyrocare participated in the meeting. The members sought guidance from NABL on various issues pertaining to sample collection, NABL logo requirement on test reports, lab audits, platform handling and telepathology reporting.     FCC Submits Feedback on RBI's Draft SRO Framework Following a series of discussions across committees, IAMAI's Fintech Convergence Council (FCC) submitted feedback from the fintech industry to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding the central's bank's 'Draft Omnibus Framework for Recognising Self-Regulatory Organisations (SROs) for Regulated Entities. While the industry has largely welcomed the SRO framework, it has highlighted a few challenges in implementing the framework and sought some clarifications to ensure its effective implementation.     FCC Investment Committee Representation to SEBI The Investment Committee of the Fintech Convergence Council made a representation to the SEBI regarding the Consultation Paper on Introduction of Optional T+0 and Optional Instant Settlement. The representation raised some concerns and put forth certain recommendations around the introduction of the UPI block facility for Phase 1, and the impact of making the early pay-in for T+0 settlement cycle. The representation recommended greater adoption of the optional T+0 settlement cycle, which would enable investors to complete their transaction on the same day. The submission also pointed out that the adoption of T+0 settlement by a substantial number of traders would allow SEBI to consider making T+0 settlement cycle mandatory in the future.