The government’s plan to create industry clusters or special economic zones (SEZ) across the country has so far not yielded the desired results as global slowdown has also tapered the development of these zones.
Twenty nine
SEZ developers including technology giant Tata Consultancy Services, Parsvnath Infra and Navi Mumbai SEZ Pvt Ltd have asked the government for one more year time to complete their respective SEZs.
However, the slowdown has had a telling effect on the SEZs as till July 31 this year as many as 58 SEZ developers had surrendered their project owing to different economic factors.
An inter ministerial panel or the Board of Approval (BoA) headed by Commerce Secretary S R Rao will consider these requests at its meeting on November 8.
Posco-India Pvt Ltd, Unitech Infracon and Lodha Dwellers have also requested additional time for project implementation from BoA, according to the agenda note of the meeting.
Developers have attributed the delay to global slowdown and fluctuating market conditions for delay in completion of projects.
SEZs, which were once major vehicles for investment and export promotion, started losing sheen after the global meltdown and imposition of minimum alternate tax.
TCS, which is setting up IT/ITES zone in Kolkata has requested for further extension due to problems related to construction. Unitech Infracon Ltd, which is setting up IT/ITES zone in Greater Noida, has “requested for further extension as work started in 2008 and the pace was slow due to global melt down and fluctuating market conditions”, it added.
The validity period of the approvals for most of them has either expired or is on the verge of expiry.
The validity period for Lodha Dwellers and Unitech Infracon expired on May 2 and May 22 respectively. The validity period for Navi Mumbai SEZ will end on November 21.
The SEZ Act allows the units 100 per cent tax exemption on profits earned for the first five years, 50 per cent exemption for the next five years and another 50 per cent exemption on re-invested profits in the following five years.
Exports from SEZs grew by about 31 per cent to `4.76 lakh crore during 2012-13.
Source : newindianexpress.com