Govt working on plans to revive SEZs, boost exports

Deepak Kumar | The Dollar Business Bureau 

  As part of efforts to push domestic manufacturing from the special economic zones (SEZs) in India, industry analysts held a meeting with the government last week and proposed steps to revive stalled SEZs to increase exports from the sector. “We have told them that a project, such as an SEZ, where once the land is identified, it takes 7-8 years after getting the approval, to set up and start production at the venue. Because apart from the central government regulations, there are state government approvals, building plan approvals and environment clearances,” P C Nambiar, Chairman, Export Promotion Council for EOUs (export oriented units) & SEZs told the Dollar Business. “Therefore, any project of such magnitude should be given a minimum of ten years of stability.  This hasn’t been offered to the SEZs yet. The government has understood the point, and I think, they will undertake case studies on the highlighted matters,” Nambiar said. Exports from SEZs have been on a declining trend for over two years. Last week, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had told parliament that the government had been periodically reviewing the policy and operational framework of SEZs and it will take necessary measures to facilitate speedy and effective implementation of SEZs. “In order to boost exports from SEZs, the government has notified SEZ rules (amendment), allowing dual utilisation of facilities in Non-Processing Area (NPA) of SEZs by both SEZ and non-SEZ entities. Besides, timelines for disposal of various approvals of developers and units have been introduced in all SEZ zones,” Sitharaman had said. The commerce minister also highlighted the kinds of taxes levied on the goods and said any goods removed from a special economic zone (SEZ) to the domestic tariff area shall be chargeable to duties of customs including anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard duties, where applicable, as leviable on such goods when imported. Nambiar denied a possibility of its early implementation and said the government needs to undergo a lot of consultation with other departments, including the revenue department, before coming up with any concrete announcement. “Commerce Ministry is not the only department which will formulate the policy. It is with the central government. The proposal is underway and they need to have a lot of consultations. So, we can’t expect any commitment from any department any time soon,” Nambiar said.  

December 15, 2015  | 05:00pm IST