SEZ Developers Seek Partial Cancellation - Tata Steel, Infosys

New Delhi, May 5 (PTI) Four developers, including Tata Steel, Infosys Ltd, and ELCOT Ltd, have approached the government for partial cancellation of their special economic zones (SEZs).

The inter-ministerial board of approval (BoA) chaired by the commerce secretary would take a decision on these applications in its meeting on May 9.

Tata Steel SEZ Ltd (formerly Gopalpur SEZ Ltd) has requested for partial de-notification of 282.73 hectares out of 588.65 hectare of their multi-product special economic zone at Gopalpur, Odisha.

The development commissioner of the Falta SEZ has recommended in favour of Tata's proposal. It has stated that as investments are coming in the domestic tariff area, the developer has sought cancellation of certain area.

According to the BoA agenda, Infosys Ltd IT SEZ has sought approval for partial denotification of 20.23 hectare out of 52.64 hectare of their IT/ITES zone in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

"...we are contemplating optimization of allotted land to us to create a conducive IT eco-system for other prospective companies. Hence, we have surrendered the portion of unutilized land," Infosys has said in its application.

Similarly, ELCOT Ltd has also requested for partial cancellation of 2.4 hectares out of 80.88 hectare of their IT/ITES zone at Gangaikondan village in Tamil Nadu.

As per SEZ rules, on the recommendation of the BoA, the government can approve the application of a developer seeking to modify, withdraw or rescind the notification of an SEZ.

Exports from special economic zones grew over 8 per cent to USD 143.34 billion during April-January 2024-25.

SEZs are key export hubs, which contributed over one-third of the country's total outbound shipments in the last fiscal year.

SEZs are enclosures that are treated as foreign territories for trade and customs duties, with restrictions on duty-free sales outside these zones in the domestic market.

As many as 416 such zones have been approved by the government, of which 276 are operational as of March 18 this year. As many as 6,279 units are approved in these zones till March 31, 2024.

The maximum number of operational SEZs are in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, and Uttar Pradesh.