Egom On Sezs To Assemble On April 29 Over Taxes, Sops

With the unrest on special economic zones (SEZs) petering out, an empowered Group of Ministers (eGoM) is likely to assemble here on April 29 to solve many of the issues faced by the SEZs, mostly connecting to taxation and export incentives. However, the eGoM, headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is not likely to take up the contentious demand of developers to lift the 5,000 hectare land ceiling. The land issue is not likely to come up, especially because Parliament would be in session. While the commerce ministry officials have called a meeting on April 30 of developers from Goa whose SEZ projects were trashed by the state government, the issue may also be discussed at the eGoM meeting.