Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said that his ministry will soon begin formal consultations with its finance ministry and other ministries to implement the committee's recommendations on revamping special economic zones (SEZs). The Bharat Forge Chairman Baba Kalyani-led panel, constituted by the Ministry of Commerce to study existing SEZ policy, submitted its report to the commerce and industry minister.
The objectives of the committee were to evaluate the SEZ policy, make it compatible with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) norms, and suggest measures for maximizing utilisation of vacant land in these zones. The committee has suggested that the success seen by services sectors like IT and ITeS has to be promoted in other sectors such as healthcare, financial services, legal, and design services. It has also recommended several measures, including continuation of tax incentives, migration of SEZs to employment and economic enclaves, and creation of link infrastructure and maintenance for enclaves.
According to the draft recommendations of the committee, incentives should be linked with employment, investment, technology/innovation, and infrastructure status for these zones to improve access to financing. The SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ rules, came into effect on February 10, 2006. Exports from SEZs grew by about 15 percent to Rs 5.52 lakh crore in 2017-18.