The Rajya Sabha on June 27 , 2019 and Lok Sabha on June 26, 2019 passed the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Bill, 2019 Bill to replace the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 (12 of 2019). The Union Cabinet had approved the Bill on June 12, 2019 .
- After the amendment of sub-section (v) of section 2 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, a trust or any entity notified by the Central Government will be eligible to be considered for grant of permission to set up a unit in Special Economic Zones.
- According to the Union Commerce Minister, the government has eight proposals from such trusts. The total investment proposed by these trusts comes to ₹8,000 crore,” Mr. Goyal said. The government expected $3 billion, or ₹20,000 crore, in investments.
About Special Economic Zone
- The Special Economic Zones (SEZs) policy was launched in April, 2000. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005. The SEZs Rules, 2006 came into effect on 10th February, 2006.
- The salient features of the SEZ scheme are:-
- A designated duty free enclave to be treated as a territory outside the customs territory of India for the purpose of authorised operations in the SEZ;
- No licence required for import;
- Manufacturing or service activities allowed;
- The Unit shall achieve Positive Net Foreign Exchange to be calculated cumulatively for a period of five years from the commencement of production;
- Domestic sales subject to full customs duty and import policy in force;
- Full freedom for sub-contracting;
- No routine examination by customs authorities of export or import cargo;
- SEZ developers, co-developers and units enjoy direct tax and indirect tax benefits as prescribed in the SEZs Act.
Objectives of SEZ
The principal objectives behind creating Special Economic Zone (SEZs) in the country include:
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
