Govt Plans To Amend SEZ Norms In 10 Days

New Delhi: The Government mulls to amend its special economic zones rules within the next 10 days to specify a minimum processing area of 50 per cent for all SEZs and also to limit the size of multi-product SEZs to 5,000 hectares. The decisions to limit the size of multi-product SEZs and also to specify the minimum processing area of 50 per cent were taken at the recent meeting of the Group of Ministers on SEZs. Negotiations are on between the Commerce, Power and Finance Ministries over the issue of taxation of sale of power within and outside the SEZs. While the Commerce Ministry is keen that there should be no taxation on sale of power within the zone, the Finance Ministry is understood to have made a case for taxing the income on power sold in the non-processing area of the SEZs. Meanwhile, the Government''s decision to limit the size of multi-product SEZs to 5,000 hectares has shocked certain developers.