The government has failed to reach a consensus on the issue of setting up plastic reprocessing units in special economic zones (SEZs) and is likely to defer its decision once again in the meeting of the Board of Approval (BoA) on October 21.
“There is no consensus on the issue yet. Some issues have been raised by the departments of chemicals and petrochemicals and revenue. However, there has been no official communication yet. It could well be deferred in the next meeting also,” a senior commerce department official told Business Standard.
BoA is a 19-member inter-ministerial body, headed by commerce secretary Rahul Khullar, with representatives from the finance, home, defence and environment ministries, among others.
On April 9, it decided to formulate a policy permitting plastic reprocessing plants to be set up in tax-free enclaves. The government had also charted a draft policy, which was taken up for an inter-ministerial discussion at a BoA meeting on September 16.
Commerce department officials said the government could not reach a consensus and there had been no official-level talks on the issue. It would be high on the agenda of the next BoA meeting.
At present, India exports hazardous and non-hazardous waste from the domestic tariff area. It is also one of the biggest importers of hazardous waste from the European markets.
The commerce department argues it should be allowed to be exported from SEZs as well. The departments of chemicals and petrochemicals and revenue have objected to this. As a result, the board is not considering any new proposals of SEZs to set up such plants.