CBIC for extending fiscal incentives based on job creation, committed investments to industry

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has favoured extending incentives based on parameters like job creation and committed investments across the country, sources said.

The CBIC had constituted an internal committee under member (customs) to deliberate upon the recommendations of the Baba Kalyani panel, which was set up by the commerce ministry for revamping the SEZ scheme.

Before discussing the specific recommendations suggested by the Baba Kalyani committee, the new framework of SEZ was examined by the board.

In this new framework of 3Es (employment and economic enclave), incentives are proposed to be based on criteria like investment committed, job creation, value addition, and priority industry.

"CBIC welcomed this novel idea in the context of SEZ. However, it was of the view that such incentives based on investment and employment should not be restricted to SEZs only. Rather they should be the basic governing principle for industrialisation of whole India," a source said.

"Therefore, a policy needs to be formulated that irrespective of whether units are located in SEZ or outside, any investment and fulfilment of criteria suggested by Baba Kalyani committee will be eligible for such incentives," another source said.

It was also discussed that conditions for getting incentives should be relaxed for investments in rural and backward areas.

Further, it was decided that the incentives will be completely disassociated from export and would be contingent upon parameters suggested by Baba Kalyani committee.

"In such a scenario, SEZs would not be treated as a territory outside the customs territory of India. This scenario is distortion free and would not be hit by WTO rules," one of the sources said.