New rules approved for Foreign Technology Collaborations - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Government on Thursday agreed to frame new rules for payments for royalty, lump-sum fee for transfer of technology, payments for use of trademark/brand name on the automatic route without any restrictions, and subject to FEMA (Current Account Transaction) Rules, 2000. A suitable post- reporting requirement would be devised within three months in consultation with Department of Economic Affairs and Reserve Bank of India to get the information about the nature/details of technology and the amount paid for it. Previously, automatic approval was permitted for foreign technology transfers involving payment of lump-sum fee of two million dollars and royalty of 5 percent on domestic sales and 8 percent on exports. Beyond these limits, prior permission of the Government (Project Approval Board) was required. In addition, where there is no technology transfer involved, royalty up to two percent for exports and one percent for domestic sales is allowed under automatic route on use of trademarks and brand names of the foreign collaborator. The decisions were taken at the Union Cabinet at its meeting today. The move is expected to freely promote the transfer of state of art technology into the country.