Tomorrow itself, after Infosys meets the West Bengal information technology (IT) department officials including the minister, Partha Chatterjee, the company will decide on the ultimate fate of the Kolkata campus.
“I do not think they have fully understood the nuance of the central government policy. If, they still disagree, we will take a call tomorrow,” said Binod Hampapur, senior vice-president and global head of commercial and corporate relation said.
This means, in essence that the company will take the final decision on the campus’ fate tomorrow itself.
Hampapur incidentally, also told Business Standard that Mamata Banerjee’s statement virtually ruling out the allotment of special economic zone (SEZ) status had almost made the company cancel the meeting.
“But since we have made a commitment, we will go and hear what is being offered. However, we stand by the argument that there can be no way in which a statement government can give us the benefits of a central government scheme,” he further said.
Mamata Banerjee had told a private news channel yesterday in an interview that her administration would never support an SEZ.
The SEZ is a central government scheme meant to encourage export based units. According to the scheme, for units operating in an area designated as an SEZ the first five years are a complete tax holiday. The next five years, the units have to give 50 per cent tax, and the final five years 25 per cent tax. “Without these benefits the campus becomes financially unviable,” Infosys had said earlier.
The company has, in the past weeks cited the clause in the land agreement wherein the government had promised them SEZ support and said that in the absence of the support they would be forced to return the land.
