In a bid to promote exports from Special Economic Zones, government today extended all the incentives to such units that are available to exporters outside such enclaves.
"Although exports from SEZs had seen phenomenal growth, significantly higher than the overall export growth of the country, in recent times they had been facing several challenges," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while announcing Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20.
"In order to give a boost to exports from SEZs, government has now decided to extend benefits of both the reward schemes (MEIS and SEIS) to units located in SEZs. It is hoped that this measure will give a new impetus to development and growth of SEZs in the country," she said.
Currently, a unit in SEZs have to approach the Board of Approval, chaired by the Commerce Secretary, for small things like constructing additional gates or bringing a new co-developer.
It was pending demand of the industry to extend all the incentives to SEZs which was met in the policy. In 2011, Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) and Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) were imposed on the SEZs, which has severely hampered the progress of the SEZ scheme.
"What has been done is very significant. Number one the duel use of infrastructure has been permitted and it has even been notified," Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das said after the policy.
"Under the reward scheme SEZ exports that is exports from SEZ would also get incentives which is not currently not available to SEZ. They will be eligible for various rewards," he added.
Exports from SEZs have gone up from Rs 22,000 crore in 2005-2006 to Rs 4,94,077 crore in 2013-14; investment in SEZs have gone up from Rs 4035 crore in February 2006 to Rs 3,80,284 crore in September 2014; and direct employment in the SEZs has gone up from 1,34,704 persons in February 2006 to 13,50,071 in September 2014.
