The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) comes into effect from July 15, 2026, turning the limelight to Indian businesses with operations in Britain.
Notably, the Indian IT sector will also likely reap some relief from the agreement, especially due to one specific provision under the deal: the Double Contributions Convention (DCC)
DCC aims to support business and trade by ensuring that employees moving between the UK and India, and their employers, will only be liable to pay social security contributions in one country at a time.
Moreover employees working in the other country on a temporary basis (up to three years) will be liable to pay social security contributions in their home country only, thereby preventing the fragmentation of their social security record.
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Therefore, IT giants will no longer need to make social security contributions in the UK for up to three years for employees deputed from India. The relaxation is expected to benefit more than 75,000 Indian professionals and over 900 employers, as per the Commerce Ministry.
"Indian employees in the UK spend 25% of their salaries in social security to the UK and that this is like a sunk cost for certain employees. After the FTA comes into effect, employees would be able to pay their social security payments in India and avoid double payments," Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said during a press briefing.
The move will particularly be a tailwind for companies like Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Wipro Ltd., and Infosys Ltd., all of whom have large UK markets.
Britain is the second-largest market for India's $283 billion IT exports and makes up of nearly 17% to the sector's global revenue. TCS also has the second-largest market in the UK with an average of over 22,000 direct employees across more than 60 sites.
In financial year 2026, the company has paid a total of Rs 8,065 crore as provident fund contributions (including both domestic and international employees), according to its full-year growth report.
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The DCC is expected to result in substantial savings by Indian IT firms as they grapple with developments in an increasingly AI-focused market and rapidly evolving expectations.
Additionally, as part of the FTA UK has pledged to open up 137 sub-sectors of services, covering nearly all of India's current services exports to Indian firms.
Key areas of India's interest, such as IT, management consultancy, advisory, accountancy, engineering, telecom, financial services, education and health are covered
India-UK Services Trade
India enjoys a trade surplus with the United Kingdom in terms of services, with an export volume of $3.5 billion with exports of $13.25 billion and imports of $ 9.75 billion. The total services trade between the two countries tallies up to $33 billion
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