India negotiating with UK to avoid double contribution to social security

India is working on a treaty with the UK under the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to avoid double contribution to social security funds by Indian professionals working for limited time period in Britain, an official said on Thursday.

Indian professionals working for a limited period in Britain contribute to their social security funds but not able to get its benefit as they return once the projects are complete.

"We are negotiating the double contribution treaty with the UK under the FTA. There should not be any double contribution towards social security schemes," the official said.

It is a long-standing demand of Indian businesses operating in Britain to cut down on the additional cost burden associated with bringing in skilled Indian professionals on a short-term basis.

The compulsory National Insurance (NI) contributions of skilled Indian professionals in the UK on temporary visas remains an additional cost burden of about GBP 500 per employee a year, over and above all other taxes and health surcharge paid towards the National Health Service (NHS), as per a 2021 data.

India has Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with countries like Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Denmark, Korea, and the Netherlands.

Thus, Indians going abroad for employment are not required to contribute towards social security schemes in SSA countries.

They and their employers can continue with social security schemes run by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) here in India while serving abroad.

India and the UK are holding their 14 rounds of talks for the proposed agreement here.

The two countries launched talks for an FTA in January 2022 with a view to boost economic ties.

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments, and intellectual property rights.

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22.