 "Uttam Galva Steel surrenders its two SEZs in Maharashtra")
The decision was taken by the 19-member Board of Approval, chaired by Commerce Secretary S R Rao, in its meeting on August 30.
However, the approvals were "subject to the development commissioner furnishing a certificate in the prescribed format certifying that the developer has either not availed any tax/duty benefits under SEZ Act/Rules or has refunded any such benefits availed by it and subject to the state government furnishing it's no objection certificate to the proposal," the minutes of the meeting said.
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The Chairman of the BoA also directed that in all such cases information must invariably be sent to CBDT and CBEC for necessary action, it said.
The developer had proposed two zones - IT and biotechnology - in Raigad, Maharashtra. The zones were notified by the government on March 12, 2009, and June 19, 2009.
For both the de-notifications, the developer had cited the reason of general recession in biotechnology sector and local disadvantage.
SEZs, which were once looked upon as major vehicles for investment and export promotion, started losing sheen after the global meltdown and imposition of minimum alternate tax (MAT) and dividend distribution tax (DDT).
However, the government has recently announced an incentive package including relaxation in minimum land requirement to revive interest of investors in the SEZs.
As many as 58 special economic zone developers have surrendered their projects due to various reasons, including global economic slowdown and changed fiscal incentive regime till 31 July.
During April-June, exports from these zones stood at $Rs 1.13 lakh crore. During the same period, the country''s overall exports aggregated to Rs 4.05 lakh crore.
In 2012-13, exports from SEZs account for 29.12% of the country''s total exports of Rs 16.35 lakh crore.