Infosys is ready to work with the West Bengal Government and has full faith in the Government, State IT Minister Partha Chatterjee said after meeting the company top-brass in Bangalore on Thursday.
With the fate of its proposed campus in West Bengal under a cloud following the non-availability of special economic zone status, the company has kept its investment plans on hold in the State. Infosys had paid in full for the 50 acres of land at Rajarhat on the eastern fringes of the city.
Chatterjee, it is learnt, met Kris Gopalakrishnan, Infosys’ Executive Chairman, and other senior officials on the proposed campus.
“Infosys has expressed full confidence in the Bengal Government and is ready to work with us. The meeting has been fruitful,” Chatterjee told
Financial Constraints
According to him, Infosys has maintained that non-availability of the SEZ tag would lead to huge financial strain on the company. This apart, tax benefits would be available only if the company is granted SEZ status.
When asked if Infosys had made known their financial constraints, Chatterjee said: “I will have to speak with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee before making an announcement.”
“Other than SEZ status and tax relief that are provided by the Centre, we are ready to help Infosys in all possible ways,” he added.
According to Chatterjee, the State Government might meet the Prime Minister to see that Infosys is granted tax relief accorded to a ‘SEZ unit’. The State Government has already appealed to the Centre for extension of the Software Technology Parks of India scheme (STPI) so that it can provide tax benefit to Infosys.
Discussions on
Meanwhile, Infosys’ CFO V. Balakrishnan claimed that discussions were on with the Bengal government.
“The minister met us and we are trying to find a solution. Discussions are on,” he said.
According to senior officials, without SEZ status, setting up a campus does not look like a feasible option for the company. Interestingly, when the company had signed a MoU with the Left Front-led Government in 2008 it had maintained that the campus would have SEZ status.