New Delhi, July 24 (PTI) In a boost to IT majors like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys, Indian companies operating in the UK would not have to make social security contributions for up to three years for employees they move from India to support their operations.

This is estimated to benefit over 75,000 Indian workers and over 900 employers as it exempts Indian professionals and their employers from these contributions in the UK for a stay of up to 36 months, a Commerce Ministry official said.

The move assumes significance since the UK is the second-largest export market for USD 283 billion Indian IT industry, and contributes 17 per cent to its export basket.

Taking to X, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in a post: "The three-year exemption from social security contributions in the UK as part of the Double Contribution Convention is a significant breakthrough for Indian workers and their employers." The Double Contribution Convention (DCC), alongside the just-signed India UK FTA, will enable Indian IT companies and other such service providers to move employees more easily to onsite projects in the UK. Put simply, it means that workers of both countries, while working temporarily in each other’s territory, will not pay double contributions towards their social security.

On May 6 this year, when trade negotiations were concluded, the IT industry had cheered the provision, saying the elimination of the double contribution burden directly addresses a long-standing challenge faced by Indian technology companies and other service providers operating in the UK.

India and the UK on Thursday inked a landmark free trade agreement (FTA) that will cut tariffs on British whisky, cars and an array of items, besides boosting bilateral trade by around USD 34 billion annually. The deal was signed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Jonathan Reynolds in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Keir Starmer.

The FTA is expected to benefit 99 per cent of Indian exports from tariffs and will make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India, besides boosting the overall trade basket, according to Indian officials. PTI MBI ANZ MR

Social security exemption prevents double social contributions for temporarily posted workers, enabling easier cross-border employee mobility under trade deal. A social security exemption under the Double Contribution Convention accompanying the India-UK trade agreement exempts eligible posted employees and their employers from duplicate social security contributions in the host jurisdiction for a specified posting period, treating them as contributors to their home-country regime and thereby facilitating cross-border employee mobility for service providers.