Special economic zones are necessary for stimulating growth and boosting exports, according to Mr M.S Rao, the development commissioner, Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone.

He was speaking here on Thursday after inaugurating a one-day seminar on SEZs organised by the VSEZ and the ASSOCHAM. He said there was a wrong impression that industry was being pampered in these special enclaves, but the incentives given in the SEZs to the industry were necessary to make it internationally competitive.

“The SEZs earn us precious foreign exchange, besides attracting investment and generating employment on a large scale,” he said and added that SEZs in Andhra Pradesh were registering growth of more than 100 per cent in export earnings during the past few years.

Hassle-free operations

He promised entrepreneurs that they could get all clearances through a single window in the SEZs and there would not be any hassles in setting up units. Even though MAT had been introduced on the units in SEZs during the current budget, it was still an attractive proposition to set up units in these zones, he added.

Mr Vinay R. Sharma, of ASSOCHAM, said there was a great opportunity to the trade in and around Visakhapatnam to take up warehousing in SEZs. “As compared to the bonded warehouse where interest becomes payable after 90 days of bonding, warehousing in SEZs has no time limit. There are also add-on facilities.”

Related Topics