The Information Technology Act, 2000

This Act seeks to provide legal recognition for transactions carried out through electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication, or ‘electronic commerce’.‘Data’ refers to the representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts or instructions – which are, or have been, prepared in a ‘formalised manner’, and is being, or will be, processed in a computer system or network – which may be in any form or stored internally in the computer’s memory.The Parliament of India passed this Act on June 9, 2000, after the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law adopted the Model Law on Electronic Commerce on January 30, 1997.The Act extends to the whole of India. It also applies to any contravention or offence committed by any person outside India.