Page 2 - Special Economic Zones

WTO meet: India to bargain for 'poor fishermen' in developing countries

The discussion comes against the backdrop of the global trade body trying to build a consensus on an agreement that aims to curb subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing

Govt needs to be transparent, must avoid selective protectionism

One of the major pillars or principles of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was the abolition of quantitative restrictions

Govt eases norms for shifting of used IT hardware goods to tariff areas

The government has relaxed curbs for shifting of used IT hardware goods like laptops and desktops by a company in special economic zones (SEZs) to outside these duty free-enclaves or domestic tariff areas. SEZs are treated as deemed foreign territory for customs laws and bringing goods from these zones into the domestic tariff area (DTA) or domestic market is tantamount to imports. In general, a company from DTA needs a licence for imports of these goods from SEZs. Easing these curbs, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification has said that used IT assets (laptops, desktops, monitors, printers) can be moved from SEZ by a company to DTA without a license for the purposes of further use in their DTA operations "only". However, these equipment should have been used in SEZ units for two years and should not be older than five years from the date of manufacturing. "Import policy of used IT assets (laptops, desktops, monitors, printers) from SEZ to DTA has been ...

Welspun One to invest Rs 700 crore in infra at Jawaharlal Nehru Port's SEZ

Welspun One said on Wednesday said it will develop an industrial and logistics hub at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port's Special Economic Zone with an investment of around Rs 700 crore. This investment is the second deployment from Welspun Ones' latest Fund 2, which is a Rs 2,000-crore Alternative Investment Fund, the company said in a statement. The development of a 1.2-million square feet industrial and logistics hub spread across 55 acres at JNPA SEZ signifies a paradigm shift in India's infrastructure sector, Welspun One said. The total investment of Rs 700 crore includes land as well as construction cost and the project will be financed through a mix of debt and equity, it said. According to the statement, this strategic collaboration is the beginning of a partnership between JNPA (developer) and Welspun One (as co-developer), leveraging synergies to build future-ready industrial and warehousing infrastructure. "We have partnered with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) as ...

Embassy REIT expects SEZ regulation tweak to boost its finances from FY25

Embassy, which has business parks at SEZs in Bengaluru and Noida, saw its consolidated profit fall 46% to 236.8 million rupees ($2.84 million) in the September quarter, while its revenue grew about 4%

Realty boost: IT SEZ developers get flexibility to use vacant space

A notification amending the SEZ Rules, 2006, issued by the ministry, said a part of the SEZ could be declared "non-processing area" where free-zone rules would not apply

Centre to revise SEZ Act, limiting tax sops and enhancing integration

SEZs are areas within the country that have different economic regulations and are considered as a foreign territory, with the primary focus on promoting exports

DESH Bill explained: What it is and why the government may junk it

Discussions are taking place on whether the DESH bill will be passed or the SEZ Act will be amended, officials said

Govt won't curb PC, laptop, and other IT hardware product imports

Puts in place 'contactless' authorisation system

JNPA unveils projects worth Rs 8,363 cr at Global Maritime India Summit

The country's premier container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port on Tuesday unveils four key projects worth Rs 8,363 crore during the third edition of the Global Maritime India Summit, which was virtually addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The four projects are: construction of the fourth container terminal, Phase II at JNPA; upgradation, operation, maintenance, and transfer of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Container Terminal (JNPCT); newly constructed additional liquid berth terminal; and port-based multi-product special economic zone (SEZ). With these projects, the port's container capacity will go up significantly by 35 per cent from 7.7 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units ) to 10.4 million TEUs while the liquid cargo handling capacity is expected to surge by 62.5 per cent, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) said. Of the four projects, foundation stone was laid for the construction of fourth container terminal-phase II on PPP (public-private partnership) basis by Bharat Mumb

Recalibrating SEZs in DESH Bill: Net foreign exchange criterion may return

The announcement of the DESH Bill was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget in February 2022

RoDTEP issues must be addressed quickly

The RoDTEP scheme was introduced in September 2021 for exports made with effect from January 1, 2021

Dell mulls fresh investment in Bengaluru, seeks state govt support

In a bid to further strengthen its presence in Karnataka, Texas-based technology conglomerate Dell is considering a fresh investment in its research and development (R&D) centre in Bengaluru, according to the office of Karnataka Large and Medium Industries & Infrastructure Minister M B Patil. The company already operates a prominent research and development centre in Bengaluru. At the global level, Dell operates around 25 manufacturing facilities with 14 of these facilities dedicated to R&D. On Friday, senior officials from Dell held meetings with Patil at Austin in the USA and sought support from the Karnataka government to overcome import restrictions on Special Economic Zone (SEZ) operations, which would enhance cost sustainability for Dell's expansion in India, his office said in a statement here. A business delegation led by Patil is visiting various states in the US to attract investments into the state. The delegation also met leading semiconductor manufacturing ...

DESH Bill may let companies have obligation of choice: Govt official

This may ensure no single mandatory export commitment

DESH Bill: Commerce dept may scrap concessional corporate tax provision

In July, the commerce department sought inter-ministerial comments on the DESH Bill that aims at replacing the existing special economic zone (SEZ) law

'Proving identity of re-imported goods essential for claiming exemption'

Funds held in the foreign currency accounts of SEZ units cannot be loaned or made available to any person or entity resident in India, not being a unit in Special Economic Zones

Centre allows 100% WFH for IT units in SEZs till December 31, 2023

The new rule states that a unit will have to only maintain the lists of employees who are allowed to follow WFH or from any place outside SEZs

Rooting for mangroves: Many reasons to expand these carbon sinks in India

The mangrove ecosystem offers economic benefits besides safeguarding the country's vast coastline

FinMin rejects provision for tax benefits to SEZs under DESH Bill

Says proposed incentives would "create havoc" for units outside the zones

Need incentive scheme for data centres, separate economic zones: TRAI

The telecom regulator has also proposed a new data centre readiness survey for states and a new national body for digitisation, sharing and monetisation of data