A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country’s typical or national laws.

The category ‘SEZ’ covers , including Free Trade Zones (FTZ), Export Processing Zones (EPZ), Free Zones (FZ), Industrial parks or Industrial Estates (IE), Free Ports, Urban Enterprise Zones and others.

The main objectives of the SEZ Act are:

1. generation of additional economic activity
2. promotion of exports of goods and services;
3. promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources;
4. creation of employment opportunities;
5. development of infrastructure facilities;

The Incentives And Facilities Offered To The Units In SEZs For Attracting Investments Into The SEZs, Including Foreign Investment Include:-

• Duty free import/domestic procurement of goods for development, operation and maintenance of SEZ units.
• 100% Income Tax exemption on export income for SEZ units under Section 10AA of the Income Tax Act for first 5 years, 50% for next 5 years thereafter and 50% of the ploughed back export profit for next 5 years.
• Exemption from minimum alternate tax under section 115JB of the Income Tax Act.
• External commercial borrowing by SEZ units upto US $ 500 million in a year without any maturity restriction through recognized banking channels.
• Exemption from Central Sales Tax.
• Exemption from Service Tax.
• Single window clearance for Central and State level approvals.
• Exemption from State sales tax and other levies as extended by the respective State Governments.

The Major Incentives And Facilities Available To SEZ Developers Include:-

• Exemption from customs/excise duties for development of SEZs for authorized operations approved by the BOA.
• Income Tax exemption on income derived from the business of development of the SEZ in a block of 10 years in 15 years under Section 80-IAB of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from minimum alternate tax under Section 115 JB of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from dividend distribution tax under Section 115O of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from Central Sales Tax (CST).
• Exemption from Service Tax (Section 7, 26 and Second Schedule of the SEZ Act).

Areas, In Which We Can Assist:

• Advisory services related to setting up or transfer of existing unit to SEZ.
• Obtaining necessary approvals under SEZ.
• Managing compliance requirements under SEZ Act and related rules.
• Handling all statutory and legal requirements related to SEZ schemes.