Finance Ministry mulling a package of tax and non-tax issues to revive SEZs
A senior Finance Ministry official has revealed that the government is mulling a proposal to revive Special Economic Zones (SEZs); and, towards that end, has efforts underway to come up with a package of tax and non-tax incentives.
The official also disclosed that a final view of the package for reviving SEZs will likely be taken by the Finance Ministry in the near future. The plans to revive SEZs come at a time when the government is apparently looking to give s push to the manufacturing sector.
Revealing that the Finance Ministry is working out an “overall package of tax and non-tax issues” in consultation with the Commerce Ministry, the official said that a decision with regard to the package will probably be taken soon.
The new Union Government’s move to revive SEZs apparently stems from the fact that the SEZ policy initiated by the previous government failed to take shape because the Finance Ministry withdrew the tax incentives available to SEZ developers and the units inside the SEZs.
Drawing attention to the figures which show that only 186 of the formally approved 556 SEZs are currently in operation, the Finance Ministry official said: “Reviving SEZ will give a boost to the manufacturing sector, which has registered near zero growth in last two financial years.”
Source – The Financial Express
