Govt. mulls allowing SEZ occupants to sell locally; sales not to be treated as imports

It is also reviewing the exclusion of export-oriented units (EOUs) and SEZs from the recently notified tax refund scheme for exports.

The government is considering a proposal to allow producers in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to sell their output to the domestic market without treating them as imports. It is also reviewing the exclusion of export-oriented units (EOUs) and SEZs from the recently notified tax refund scheme for exports. Commerce Secretary B.V.R. Subrahmanyam has also assured the top brass of the Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs (EPCES) of a resolution of the massive container shortages afflicting exports at a meeting on Monday, EPCES chairman Bhuvnesh Seth told The Hindu. “At the moment, thousands of containers are held up at SEZs for shipments. That is a big issue. The Commerce Secretary said that it will be resolved in a week or so,” Mr. Seth said, adding that freight rates and input costs had gone up, but SEZ and EOU units had not been given any benefits under the Remission of Taxes and Duties on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme.