It is impossible for edtech services to adhere to diverse regulations and registration requirements in different states, as mandated in the Haryana and Rajasthan legislations. Such compliances also impact the ease of doing business in the digital space. A 2022 research paper by CUTS International found that regulatory interventions have increased the compliance of some digital businesses. The researchers cite “duplication of regulation, or inconsistency of regulation” as one of the reasons businesses face more hurdles and costs. By specifying prescriptive compliance after registration, states can start micromanaging edtech, which is an industry transcending geographic boundaries.
In recent years, we have seen how different states’ legislatures as well as their respective High Courts have taken conflicting stances on how to regulate–and tax–online gaming. For example, in November 2023, the Madras High Court only partially upheld the Tamil Nadu assembly’s Online Gaming Act that sought to ban all online games in the state, and said that the prohibition would not apply on games of skill.
In this instance as well, legal commentators have suggested that a nodal stance from the…
