The Department of Commerce expects the government to finally allow units located in special economic zones (SEZ) to sell their output in the domestic market without any additional customs duty, people familiar with the matter said.
While the department has been pitching for less stringent norms for SEZ units for some time now, it’s latest push has received in-principle approval from the finance ministry and may be included in the upcoming budget, they said.
The decision stems from the fact that while SEZs have been proliferating rapidly in India, many now operate at sub-par levels and some have even suspended operations.
The rupee appreciated 12 paise to 75.42 against the US dollar in opening trade on Thursday, tracking a positive trend in domestic equities.
Forex traders said firm crude prices and continued foreign fund outflows weighed on the local unit and restricted the up move.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 75.43 and inched further to quote 75.42 against the American dollar in early deals, a rise of 12 paise from the last close.
In the previous session, the rupee had settled at 75.54 against the greenback. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell 0.04 per cent to 96.03.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex was trading 292.41 points or 0.51 per cent higher at 57,222.97, while the broader NSE Nifty advanced 88.80 points or 0.52 per cent to 17,044.25.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.27 per cent to USD 75.49 per barrel. Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 827.26 crore, as per stock exchange data.
Source:moneycontrol.com