GST will bust the ‘IT Act’ cover up for tech giants like Facebook and Microsoft
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This contradicts the safe-harbour provision of the Information Technology (IT) Act, which has so far exempted these online platforms from being responsible for third-party or user-generated content. Since both acts differ in their definitions, it might cause some confusion when it comes to legal matters.
"The new GST Bill clubs all intermediaries as 'agents' who carry on the 'business of supply or receipt of goods and/or services on behalf of another' (emphasis added) and clubs these entities together with commission agents, brokers, etc," said a statement from the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), the body representing tech giants including Facebook, Google, Flipkart and Microsoft.
The safe-harbour provisions under Section 79 of the
As per the new GST bill, an agent can be identified as "a person who carries on the business of supply or receipt of goods and/or services on behalf of another, whether disclosed or not, and includes a factor, broker, commission agent, ar hatia, del credere agent, intermediary or an auctioneer or any other mercantile agent."
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This means that the websites, termed as agents, would be liable for the content.
As per IAMAI, the government needs to have a certain consistency with the definitions so that confusions in legal matters can be avoided.
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