India, Japan ink Social Security Agreement

India and Japan have signed a Social Security Agreement (SSA) and will come into force on 1 October 2016.
The SSA will benefit Indian and Japanese professionals and skilled workers working in each other’s country and will also boost bilateral business linkages.
Key Facts

• The SSA will help avoid double social security contributions i.e. Indian worker on a short-term contract in Japan will be exempt from making a social security contribution there vice versa.
• This exemption will be provided to Indian worker, only if he is covered under the social security system of India and continues to pay his contribution during period of overseas contract.
• Benefits: It will help for easy remittance of benefits in case of relocation. It will favourably impact the competitive position and profitability of Indian and Japanese companies with foreign operations in either country by reducing their cost of doing business abroad.

So far, India has so far signed similar comprehensive social security agreements with 15 countries. They are Canada, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, Hungary, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, South Korea, Switzerland, Austria, and Australia.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2016