Indian laws require a complete overhaul to attune themselves to the realities of the digital age. As thrown up by the entry of internet based commerce in the area of taxation, Nishith Desai of Nishith Desai and Associates said at a seminar on Electronic Commerce organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). He said there had been no reference to these issues in the working draft of the Income tax bill recently prepared by the Finance Ministry. CII had suggested that the working draft be suitably amended to incorporate the changes necessary for dealing with e-commerce related issues to bring them in line with what is going on elsewhere in the world. India also needs to enact laws that deal with digital signatures, encryption of messages, protection of computer networks and privacy. Nitish Desai and Associates have suggested the adoption of the Model Law drawn up by the United Nations Commission on international trade law as a first step.
