New Delhi: India and Germany on Wednesday signed a
comprehensive social security agreement that will relieve
their workers from double taxation and provide for cooperation
in areas of labour market expansion and orderly migration.
The pact was signed in Berlin by Overseas Indian Affairs
Minister Vayalar Ravi and Germany`s Federal Minister of Labour
and Social Affairs Ursula von der Leyen.
This agreement subsumes the earlier Indo-German agreement
on Social Security signed in October 2008.
Under the agreement, India workers on short term
contracts of up to five years will not be required to make any
social security contribution in Germany provided they continue
to make social security payments India.
The relief will be available to Indian workers even if an
Indian company sends its employees to Germany from a third
country. Officials said similar relaxation will be provided to
German citizens working in India.
There are about 68,500 Indians in Germany most of whom
are working as professionals and self-employed.
Officials said Indian workers will be entitled to
transfer their social security benefit if they relocate to
India after the completion of their service in Germany.
India has already signed similar agreements with Belgium,
France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary,
Denmark, Czech Republic, South Korea and Norway.
Social security agreements eliminate double payment on
social security contribution, exempt detached workers from
host country legislation and enable portability of pension and
prevent loss of benefits.
In their talks, both Ravi and Leyen expressed
satisfaction over the bilateral ties between the two countries
which entered its 60th year this year.
Earlier this year, India and Germany had set a target of
USD 20 billion for bilateral trade by 2012.
PTI
