What could possibly go wrong?

Free-speech bans in India can be imposed on the state level, as the state of West Bengal did by a ban against the secular author Taslima Nasrin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taslima_Nasrin). The third part of Taslima’s autobiography was banned there until 2005.

It’s going to be hard to keep track of banned content and links to banned sites. Failure to do so could lead to Outside.in’s domain being suspended. Appeal processes could be lengthy or unavailable.

Then there is the tax issue. India can impose taxes retroactively, making business planning unpredicable. Beginning with Circular 2004-5, India has embarked on a course of attempting to capture income that is not taxed elsewhere (as in the U.S.). Although immediate tax burdens are unlikely, the Finance Ministry in Delhi is likely to look at businesses using Indian domains – as tax authorities in that country did with cell phone ownership.

Doing businesses in India and with Indian vendors can be a rewarding and safe experience, but only if one keeps one’s eyes open and takes appropriate precautions.

I wonder about the choice of .in extension. Usually it is associated with domain names from India. Wonder what’s the relation here.

Akshay

http://www.stevenberlinjohnson.....ssing.html