Changes in SEZ will fail to boost export: PHDCCI

New Delhi, May 14: The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) today said the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Act will fail to boost exports and attract FDI if frequent changes are made in the Rules.

The PHDCCI statement came after the Group of Minsiters (GOM) in its meeting earlier this week, decided to make some changes in the SEZ Rules for some sectors with regard to minimum processing area norms, as a proportion of the built-up area and said they will be deliberating on changes for some other sectors in the near future.

''If the government decides to examine the issue in more detail, then those applications of SEZ developers which were submitted within the stipulated time before the Board of Approval (BOA) meeting in March and were granted the in- principle approval at the meeting should be given the green signal to go ahead with the implementation of the projects without any further delay,'' the industry chamber said.

''Some of the developers who submitted their applications before the BOA before their meeting, have gone ahead with acquisition of land, given orders for plants and machinery and have also arranged for finance for the projects,'' it added.

It also stressed that the other objectives of setting up of SEZs which include employment generation and infrastructure development will also suffer a set back if the rules are chaged frequently.

The SEZ Rules have come into force after considerable deliberations, and the government received numerous proposals for setting up SEZs in various parts of the country after the announcement of the rules. Hence changing them now will send wrong signals to the investors, a chamber release said.

UNI