ISODA rejects delivery charges imposed by cartel

The first national meeting of Infotech Software Dealers Association (ISODA)
was held in Mumbai. Partners from all over the country attended the meeting.
Partners supporting ISODA contribute to approxi­mately 60 percent of the
packaged software business in the country. The major issues discussed were-the
implication of various taxes applicable on packaged software products viz VAT,
service tax, CVD, withholding tax; the impact of working capital of partners due
to the deduction of TDS by customers where service tax is charged on invoice;
and

the issues of day-to-day transactions with the distri­butors and streamlining of
the same.

It was decided that a task force be formed for each of the above issues and
take up with the respective departments, principals and distributors to arrive
at a quick solution. The task force will be operational with equal
representation from each region.

It was discussed that the sudden imposition of delivery charges by a cartel
of distributors is not acceptable to the ISODA members since delivery is an
integral part of the distribution model; and it's part of the fixed cost and
cannot be charged to the partners. ISODA managing committee informed the members
that representations have been done with the concerned vendors including
Microsoft to implement fixed INR to dollar conversion rate for a minimum period
of one month to bring stability in the purchase price and we expect positive
results in the days to come.