THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (INDEPEN- DENT CHARGE) (SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)
(a): The notification of Special Economic Zones
(SEZs) in the country is guided by the following:- i. generation of additional economic activity ii. promotion of exports of goods and services; iii. promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources; iv. creation of employment opportunities; v. development of infrastructure facilities A statement showing the State/UT-wise, list of SEZs is at Annexure-I.
(b): The fiscal concessions and duty benefits allowed to Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are in-built into the SEZs Act, 2005 and Rules thereunder. The incentives and concessions available to SEZ Developers and Units include exemptions from income tax, customs/ excise duties, central sales tax, service tax, VAT, etc. These fiscal concessions and duty benefits allowed to Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are in built into the SEZs Act, 2005 and Rules thereunder and are in the nature of incentives to achieve the SEZ objectives. The revenue foregone on account of concessions availed by the SEZ Developers and Units under the provisions of sections 10AA, 80-IA and 80-IAB of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the last three years is as under:-
Sl. No. Financial year(s) Revenue Foregone (Rs. in crore) 1 2011-12 12117.20 2 2012-13 15066.50 3 2013-14 18872.50
Source: indiabudget.nic.in
(c): Land is a State subject. Land for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) is procured as per the policy and procedures of the respective State Governments. State Governments have been advised that in case of land acquisition for SEZs, first priority should be for acquisition of waste and barren land and if necessary single crop agricultural land could be acquired for the SEZs. If perforce a portion of double cropped agricultural land has to be acquired to meet the minimum area require- ments, especially for multi-product SEZs, the same should not exceed 10% of the total land required for the SEZ. The Board of Approval for SEZs only considers those proposals, which have been duly recommended by the State Government. Further, pursuant to the decision of Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) in its meeting held on 5th April, 2007, the State Governments have been informed on 15th June, 2007 that the Board of Approval will not approve any SEZs where the State Governments have carried out or propose to carry out compulsory acquisition of land for such SEZs after 5th April, 2007. A statement showing the State/UT-wise, total notified land area, area utilized and lying vacant in Processing Area of 365 notified SEZs is at Annexure-II.
(d): As on 28th February, 2015, 37 SEZs have been de-notified. Reasons given by developers for de- notification include economic meltdown, poor market response, non-availability of skilled labour force, lack of demand for space and changes in fiscal concessions regime for Special Economic Zones
(SEZs).
(e): In addition to Seven Central Government Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 11 State/Private Sector SEZs set-up prior to the enactment of the SEZ Act, 2005, approval has been accorded to 436 proposals for setting up of SEZs, out of which 347 SEZs have been notified as on date. Presently, a total of 199 SEZs are exporting. The contribution of SEZ exports, employment generated and investment made in SEZs during the last three years is as under:
Financial Year Exports Employment Investment (Rs. Crore) (Persons) (Rs. Crore) 2011-2012 364478 844916 201875 2012-2013 476159 1074904 236717 2013-2014 494077 1283309 296663
Calculated on cumulative basis. Ongoing review and reform of Government policy and procedure is inherent to Public Policy.
