"The 46th meeting of the BoA on SEZs to consider proposals for setting up of SEZs and other miscellaneous requests is scheduled to be held on May 31," it said.
Senior officials from different ministries, including finance, home affairs and defence, would be attending the meeting. The last BOA held on August 11 had allowed Maytas Ventures, promoted by the disgraced former Satyam chairman B Ramalinga Raju's son, to surrender its biotech SEZ and approved three new proposals, including that of Brooke Bond Real Estates IT/ITES tax-free enclave in Karnataka.
The Board of approval had given more time for Raheja's to develop their project in the state. The project is one amongst the three SEZs recommended to be denotified by the state government. Goa's Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik said he would meet new Union Commerce ministry Anand Sharma and brief him on the issue.
Board of Approval has asked the Goa government to compensate the denotified developers over the SEZ issue.
SEZs account for just about a third of India's merchandise exports (and roughly the same proportion of services exports). Yet, the notion of creating global manufacturing centres of the kind that propelled China to superpowerdom retains a durable appeal within the Indian policy-making establishment, notes Kanika Datta.
Four developers, including L&T Chennai Projects and Welspun Anjar, have approached the Commerce Ministry to surrender their IT and textile zones respectively.
At a recent meeting, the Board of Approval headed by Commerce Secretary S R Rao, also allowed three SEZ developers to surrender their project.
The multi-product SEZ will bring in more than Rs 2.11 lakh crore of net foreign exchange in 30 years.
The BoA, a 19-member inter-ministerial body that deals with special economic zone -related matters, is scheduled to meet on September 9.
Development commissioners have been asked to forward proposals regarding SEZs along with their comments at the earliest so that they could be deliberated over at the meeting, it said.
Cabinet nod not required after commerce ministry approval.
The government will next week consider requests from Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Group firms and other companies for extension of validity for their different special economic zones.
Navi Mumbai SEZ Pvt Ltd, promoted by Ambani and his associate Anand Jain, has proposed to split its 1,233-hectare SEZ project into five separate tax-free zones.
This is required after Maharashtra de-notified 16,000 acres of land earmarked for the Maha Mumbai Special Economic Zone in Raigad district.
The government has given more time to 20 SEZ developers, including Tata Consultancy Services and Mahindra World City, to execute their projects. At a meeting on January 14, the Board of Approval (BoA) headed by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar also allowed four SEZ developers to surrender their projects.
According to the revised DTC draft, which will replace the Income Tax Act of 1961, tax exemptions for SEZs will be confined to the existing units.
SEZs promoted by Reliance, Raheja, IFFCO may benefit.
The second campus would have the potential to create around 18,000 jobs
The government has failed to reach a consensus on the issue of setting up plastic reprocessing units in special economic zones and is likely to defer its decision once again in the meeting of the Board of Approval on October 21.
The BoA also allowed three developers, including Unitech Infopark, to surrender their SEZs, he said, adding they would have to pay back the tax concessions availed while executing the projects and other pending dues.
The government would consider fresh applications for SEZs on December 15.
It is also stipulated that these units cannot under any circumstances source items locally for export purpose.
Mahindra Satyam has approached the Commerce Ministry for more time to develop the three IT Special Economic Zones in Andhra Pradesh as it has decided to go slow on its expansion plans due to the slowdown.
Scores of leading SEZ promoters, including Infosys Technologies, CMC Ltd, Hindalco Industries, NIIT Technologies, HCL Technologies, Orient Craft Infrastructure, L&T Phoenix Infoparks and K Raheja Corp, have sought more time from the Board of Approval, which is meeting in New Delhi on June 2.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Board of Approvals held at New Delhi.
SEZ developers have been facing problems in setting up their projects as they have to take permissions from state authorities for master plan and environment at different levels.
The Board of approval in the commerce ministry took these decisions along with approving two fresh proposals of Shyam Steel Industries and Limitless Properties in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, respectively. The BoA also ratified extension of time to 23 developers, including Satyam Computer Services, for implementing tax-free enclaves in the wake of economic slowdown.
While no reason has been given for postponement of the BoA meeting, commerce secretary Rahul Khullar is indisposed, an official said.
The decision was taken by an inter-ministerial Board of Approval.
The applications for seeking withdrawal of approvals and extension of validity of clearances will be considered by the board of approvals in the commerce ministry in its meeting on October 5. Those seeking extension of time include Mumbai SEZ, promoted by Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani and his close aide Anand Jain, Gitanjali Gems, Jubliant Infrastructure and L&T Hitech City, an official said.
Sectors that attracted maximum FDI include services, trading, automobile and power.
Real estate developer K Raheja Universal Private Ltd wants to scrap one of their notified special economic zones and also surrender a part of another zone, citing lack of demand from the information technology sector.
However, the ministry of law opined that though there is no specific provision in the SEZ Act and Rules, the power to notify includes power to de-notify also, sources said. Industry experts said that the SEZs which are finding it difficult to continue should be allowed to quit.
The government on Tuesday cleared nine fresh proposals for setting up special economic zones, most of which are related to IT and ITES, followed by the bio-technology sector.
The board of approval, headed by commerce secretary G K Pillai, will also consider requests from realty major DLF for de-notification of its IT-ITeS SEZs in Gujarat, Haryana, West Bengal and Orissa. Larsen and Toubro has proposed to set up an IT SEZ in Mumbai, while Gulf Oil Corporation has moved application for a similar tax-free zone in Bangalore.
Raheja's IT SEZ planned at Verna industrial estate had faced stern opposition from the locals and the state government even after it was notified by the Union commerce ministry's board of approval. The state government has written to the Union commerce ministry seeking to denotify Raheja's SEZ along with two others.
Even in the midst of a liquidity crunch, Special Economic Zones still remain a lucrative investment option among developers. The government on Monday cleared 22 of these tax-free industrial enclaves.
The Board of Approval (BoA) on Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the apex decision-making body for such tax-free industrial enclaves, today approved a proposal to amalgamate three separate zones, effectively lifting the 5,000-hectare limit on such zones that the government imposed in 2007.
However, the board of approval in the commerce ministry asked the DLF to return all the tax sops it had taken from the Centre before its SEZs in Gujarat, West Bengal, Orissa and Haryana could be denotified. The BoA, headed by commerce secretary G K Pillai, also allowed more time to the K Raheja group to build its tax-free zones in Goa, Hyderabad and Navi Mumbai, an official said.
For the first time since its inception in 2006, the Board of Approval on special economic zones in its next meeting in March will take up a proposal from a developer to merge these tax-free industrial enclaves for exports.
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