Prior to the enactment of the SEZ Act, 2005, there were 7 Central Government Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 12 State/Private Sector SEZs .
In addition, 421 proposals for setting up of SEZs in the country have been accorded formal approval under the SEZ Act, 2005.
Presently, 354 SEZs are notified, out of which 240 SEZs are operational.
De-notified SEZs: Between April 1, 2008 and February 29, 2020, the Board of Approval (BoA) on SEZs on request of SEZ Private Developers, has approved 101 cases of de-notification of SEZs, subject to the refund of all duties and tax benefits availed by the SEZ Private Developer and on receipt of ‘No-objection’ from the concerned State Government. The reasons given for these request for de-notification include poor market response, lack of demand for SEZ space and change in the fiscal incentive regime for SEZs, etc.
Baba Kalyani Committee: The Government had constituted a Group of eminent persons under the Chairmanship of Shri Baba Kalyani, Chairman Bharat Forge to study the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Policy of India on 04.06.2018. One of the terms of reference for the Group was to make the SEZ Policy WTO compatible. The Group submitted its report to the Government on 19.11.2018. A number of recommendations of the Group have already been implemented are as follows:
About SEZ
The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005.
The SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10th February, 2006, providing for drastic simplification of procedures and for single window clearance on matters relating to central as well as state governments.
The main objectives of the SEZ Act are:
generation of additional economic activity
promotion of exports of goods and services
promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources
creation of employment opportunities
development of infrastructure facilities
India was one of the first in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965.
References:
- PIB
- Special Economic Zones of India, Government of India
