UP steps up efforts to create 14 SEZs

Lucknow, Aug 14: Uttar Pradesh government has stepped up efforts to set up at least 14 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) after announcement of a new policy earlier this month.

The Centre has already approved four SEZs -- two in the private sector and two in the public sector -- in UP.

There are at least 10 other SEZs in the pipeline in the state, mostly in the private sector which are yet to be sanctioned by the Centre.

Of the four sanctioned, three would be set up at Noida while the remaining one, at Moradabad. Wipro and HCL has been awarded SEZs in the private sector at Noida while another one at Noida and Moradabad would be in the public sector.

Official sources said proposal for the remaining ten would be sent to the Centre for approval shortly.

State Chief Secretary Naveen Chandra Bajpayee had already announced that the Centre had sanctioned four SEZs, three in Noida and one at Moradabad.

The other SEZs to be set up in the state in the private sector have been mooted by NIIT, Xansa, Ose Infrastructure Ltd, RC Info System, ST Micro Electronics, Ripple Infrastructure Ltd, IT Infractructure Ltd and Free Trade Pvt Ltd.

However, as the Centre has put a restriction on setting up only 100 SEZs in the country, it would be a hard task for the UP government to get approval of the remaining 10 SEZs.

It was for the first time that SEZs are being set up in the state in the private sector as in the past, 3 SEZs were identified -- 2 in Noida and Greater Noida and one at Bhadoi -- in the public sector.

Under the new SEZ policy, 2006 announced by the state government, any company whose net worth is over Rs 300 crore can propose for the SEZ in compliance with the approval of the state and Centre.

The policy said no stamp duty or registration fee would be imposed on the first transaction of lease between the developer and the industrial unit coming up there. The SEZs would be exempted from the purview of any taxes, levies, cess and the tax imposed by the local bodies. No trade tax, turnover tax, development tax, mandi tax, purchase tax, local bodies tax or entry tax would be imposed on the exports made from the SEZs.

However, any sale made in the domestic tariff area would be liable for imposition of normal taxes.

As the SEZs would be declared industrial cities under the provisions of the Article 243Q of the constitution, the taxes imposed by the local bodies would not be applicable there.

State Industrial Development Commissioner (IDC) Atul Gupta said here that each SEZ would be entitled to have its own arrangements for generation, transmission and distribution of power. The state government had made the SEZ policy, 2006 on the basis of recommendations of the international consultant Ernst and Young.

Mr Gupta said as per the policy, the proposed SEZs would be divided into A, B and C categories depending on the area where the SEZs would be development in public-private sector partnership. The Noida and Greater Noida would be nodal agencies for category-A of the SEZs that would bdeveloped in the areas under purview of two development agencies. Other development authorities would act as nodal agencies for the category- B of the SEZs. UPSIDC would work as the nodal agency in category-C for SEZs in the areas where there is no development authority.

The IDC said respective nodal agencies would be responsible for selection of developers for the SEZs on first come first serve basis, Nodal agencies, however, would require prior permission of the state government to develop any SEZs in an area about 1000 acres.

UNI