Introduction

India was one of the first in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone
(EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965. With a view
to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity of controls and
clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable fiscal regime and with a view
to attract larger foreign investments in India, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy was
announced in April 2000.

This policy intended to make SEZs an engine for economic growth supported by quality
infrastructure complemented by an attractive fiscal package, both at the Centre and the State
level, with the minimum possible regulations. SEZs in India functioned from 1.11.2000 to
09.02.2006 under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy and fiscal incentives were made
effective through the provisions of relevant statutes.

To instill confidence in investors and signal the Government’s commitment to a stable SEZ
policy regime and with a view to impart stability to the SEZ regime thereby generating greater
economic activity and employment through the establishment of SEZs, a comprehensive draft
SEZ Bill prepared after extensive discussions with the stakeholders. A number of meetings were
held in various parts of the country both by the Minister for Commerce and Industry as well as
senior officials for this purpose. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by
Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23rd of June, 2005. The draft
SEZ Rules were widely discussed and put on the website of the Department of Commerce
offering suggestions/comments. Around 800 suggestions were received on the draft rules. After
extensive consultations, the SEZ Act, 2005, supported by SEZ Rules, came into effect on 10th
February, 2006, providing for drastic simplification of procedures and for single window
clearance on matters relating to central as well as state governments. The main objectives of the
SEZ Act are:

(a) generation of additional economic activity

(b) promotion of exports of goods and services;
(c) promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources;
(d) creation of employment opportunities;
(e) development of infrastructure facilities;

It is expected that this will trigger a large flow of foreign and domestic investment in SEZs, in
infrastructure and productive capacity, leading to generation of additional economic activity and
creation of employment opportunities.

The SEZ Act 2005 envisages key role for the State Governments in Export Promotion
and creation of related infrastructure. A Single Window SEZ approval mechanism has been
provided through a 19 member inter-ministerial SEZ Board of Approval (BoA). The applications
duly recommended by the respective State Governments/UT Administration are considered by
this BoA periodically. All decisions of the Board of approvals are with consensus.
 The SEZ Rules provide for different minimum land requirement for different class of
SEZs. Every SEZ is divided into a processing area where alone the SEZ units would come up
and the non-processing area where the supporting infrastructure is to be created.

The SEZ Rules provide for:

• Simplified procedures for development, operation, and maintenance of the Special

Economic Zones and for setting up units and conducting business in SEZs;
• Single window clearance for setting up of an SEZ;
• Single window clearance for setting up a unit in a Special Economic Zone;
• Single Window clearance on matters relating to Central as well as State Governments;
• Simplified compliance procedures and documentation with an emphasis on self
certification.

The term SEZ has acquired a multi-headed persona in a very short time. It has ignited passions
across the country. There are people who are either against SEZs or with SEZs. Very few, mostly
the unaffected and the uninformed, have no opinion about the matter. But, otherwise, it has
people sharply divided across regions, professions, languages and political affiliations.

But the time has probably come to redefine the popular meaning of an SEZ. Over time, the term
has come to denote a special, designated area that’s exempt from the local tax regime and some
economic laws, for attracting foreign investment. SEZs included other designated areas as well,
such as free trade zones or even export processing zones. For instance, the Indian government
has converted some of the existing EPZs in the country into SEZs – such as Falta in West
Bengal, Kandla ands Surat in Gujarat, Santa Cruz in Mumbai, Cochin in Kerala. SEZs are
typically owned by the government, or by the private sector or can even be in the joint sector.

Indian policymakers' ongoing fascination with special economic zones was inspired by China's
roaring success with these enclaves of galvanised production. New Delhi has sanctioned close to
200 SEZs. Guess how many SEZs China has since kicking off the policy in 1979? Exactly six:
Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Xiamen, Hainan and Pudong.

Is India getting something wrong in its SEZ policy, or should we merely conclude that India will
soon be 33 times as successful as China?

China’s success in attracting oodles of foreign direct investment and becoming one of the top
exporting countries of the world hinged on the careful implementation of its SEZ policy. More
than two decades later, India, too, is trying to tread on the same ground.

There are, however, certain fundamental differences in the Indian and Chinese approaches to
SEZs, which make it difficult to say for sure that Indian SEZs will be able to recreate the Chinese
magic. Size, location, flexible labour laws and stable policies are the factors primarily
responsible for making Chinese SEZs attractive to foreign investors.
In India, it is the fiscal sops being offered to developers and units which are the primary driving
force. The Chinese government started building SEZs way back in 1979. The idea behind the
SEZs was to experiment with liberal policies in certain ear-marked regions while insulating the
rest of the economy from their influence. The government identified huge tracts of land, near the
coastal region, and started building mega cities with all required infrastructure.

Stringent labour laws applicable in China were relaxed in the regions and foreign investors were
wooed with sops and the promise of stability. Though India had a head-start in the direction by
building its first export processing zone in 1969 with certain minimum infrastructure and fiscal
sops (seven more followed later), it could not muster enough political will to build full-fledged
SEZs with foreign territory status in the matters of international trade till the turn of the century.

In ’00, former trade minister late Murasoli Maran announced that India should try to replicate the
Chinese success story in SEZs and announced an SEZ policy. However, when five years later the
SEZ Act was passed by Parliament and rules were framed, what India had was a policy very
different from China’s.

As opposed to five mega SEZs built by the Chinese government (the largest being Shenzhen
built over 49,500 hectares), India opened its doors to private players and allowed sector-specific
SEZs to develop on just 10 hectares of land. As a result, India has as many as 28 operational
SEZs with about 200 more having received approvals. The economies of scale, which seems to
have worked so well in China by reducing production costs, may not have the same effect in
Indian SEZs.

In China, the government chose the location for SEZs with a lot of thought with all five located
near the coastal region. This makes it easier for SEZ units to export their products and import
inputs. In India, SEZs are being built all over the country, wherever land can be acquired by
developers. This has also led to allegations of land-grabbing and conversion of productive
agricultural land by developers. This had led the Centre to make it mandatory that all proposals
should have a certificate from the state government notifying that the land being used is non-
agricultural for at least 90%.

Flexibility in labour laws, which played an important role in attracting foreign investors, is
absent in Indian SEZs. This is one of the prices India is having to pay for the advantages of a
federal democratic government.

India has, however, tried to make up for all the disadvantages by offering attractive fiscal sops.
Tax holidays for SEZs in India are longer and steeper than those given by China. This had given
rise to some dissent from the finance ministry which had complained that the fiscal loss would be
immense.

However, the commerce ministry’s argument that the gains would be larger than the losses had
prevailed. One has to now wait and see whether the interest shown by Indian companies in
Indian SEZs translates into more jobs, exports and revenue for the country. While some foreign
investment is also flowing in, it is not clear yet whether SEZs will be able to attract large-scale
FDI as in China. It is too early for anyone to pass a judgement on Indian SEZs. One can only
wish India luck.

Approval mechanism and Administrative set up of SEZs

Approval mechanism

The developer submits the proposal for establishment of SEZ to the concerned State
Government. The State Government has to forward the proposal with its recommendation within
45 days from the date of receipt of such proposal to the Board of Approval. The applicant also
has the option to submit the proposal directly to the Board of Approval.

The Board of Approval has been constituted by the Central Government in exercise of the
powers conferred under the SEZ Act. All the decisions are taken in the Board of Approval by
consensus. The Board of Approval has 19 Members. Its constitution is as follows:

(1) Secretary, Department of Commerce Chairman

(2) Member, CBEC Member
(3) Member, IT, CBDT Member
(4) Joint Secretary (Banking Division), Department of
Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance
(5) Joint Secretary (SEZ), Department of Commerce Member
(6) Joint Secretary, DIPP Member
(7) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology Member
(8) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Small Scale Industries and Member
Agro and Rural Industries
(9) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs Member
(10) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence Member
(11) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests Member
(12) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice Member
(13) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs Member
(14) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development Member
(15) A nominee of the State Government concerned Member
(16) Director General of Foreign Trade or his nominee Member
(17) Development Commissioner concerned Member
(18) A professor in the Indian Institute of Management or the Member
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade
(19) Director or Deputy Sectary, Ministry of Commerce and Member Secretary
Industry, Department of Commerce
Administrative set up

The functioning of the SEZs is governed by a three tier administrative set up. The Board of
Approval is the apex body and is headed by the Secretary, Department of Commerce. The
Approval Committee at the Zone level deals with approval of units in the SEZs and other related
issues. Each Zone is headed by a Development Commissioner, who is ex-officio chairperson of
the Approval Committee.

Once an SEZ has been approved by the Board of Approval and Central Government has notified
the area of the SEZ, units are allowed to be set up in the SEZ. All the proposals for setting up of
units in the SEZ are approved at the Zone level by the Approval Committee consisting of
Development Commissioner, Customs Authorities and representatives of State Government. All
post approval clearances including grant of importer-exporter code number, change in the name
of the company or implementing agency, broad banding diversification, etc. are given at the
Zone level by the Development Commissioner. The performance of the SEZ units are
periodically monitored by the Approval Committee and units are liable for penal action under the
provision of Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, in case of violation of the
conditions of the approval.

Incentives and facilities offered to the SEZs

The incentives and facilities offered to the units in SEZs for attracting investments into the
SEZs, including foreign investment include:-

• Duty free import/domestic procurement of goods for development, operation and

maintenance of SEZ units
• 100% Income Tax exemption on export income for SEZ units under Section 10AA of the
Income Tax Act for first 5 years, 50% for next 5 years thereafter and 50% of the ploughed
back export profit for next 5 years.
• Exemption from minimum alternate tax under section 115JB of the Income Tax Act.
• External commercial borrowing by SEZ units upto US $ 500 million in a year without
any maturity restriction through recognized banking channels.
• Exemption from Central Sales Tax.
• Exemption from Service Tax.
• Single window clearance for Central and State level approvals.
• Exemption from State sales tax and other levies as extended by the respective State
Governments.

The major incentives and facilities available to SEZ developers include:-

• Exemption from customs/excise duties for development of SEZs for authorized

operations approved by the BOA.
• Income Tax exemption on export income for a block of 10 years in 15 years under
Section 80-IAB of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from minimum alternate tax under Section 115 JB of the Income Tax Act.
• Exemption from dividend distribution tax under Section 115O of the Income Tax Act.
 • Exemption from Central Sales Tax (CST).
• Exemption from Service Tax (Section 7, 26 and Second Schedule of the SEZ Act).

Preamble
Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is the latest economic development arena of India. It has been so
for years for many other countries. The Developer of a SEZ as his designation signifies, is
critically linked with the SEZ.
His perspective is based on real developing and operating experience and gives the most correct
vision and assessment of SEZs for the country as a whole.

BIRTH OF SEZs IN INDIA

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been now in India for over four years. SEZs
came into being from 1st November 2000 when four operating Export Processing
Zones (EPZs) were converted into SEZs vide Notification by the Govt. of India. At
present, while 9 SEZs are operating, the total number of SEZs granted approval is
35.
SEZ
A SEZ is defined as a “specifically delineated duty-free enclave and shall deemed to be foreign
territory for the purpose of trade operations and duties and tariffs”.
In other words, though being a geographical part of India, for all economic and other purposes it
is defined as if located outside India and dealings by the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) from and to
are as if import and export.

SEZs IN THE WORLD

While the first SEZ is said to have been set up in the year 1940 or so in Ireland, more than 130
countries now have SEZs / Free Trade Zones or similar Bodies.
The largest and biggest in total land area and volume of production, business and employment
are in China. These numbers are in fact sky-high compared to SEZs elsewhere. It is China which
in 1980 created the present concept of SEZ and the subsequent large number of SEZs coming up
in other countries is the result of lessons learnt from the Chinese great economic success through
SEZs. The gigantic economic growth of China is said to be through these SEZs and thus they are
the best models.

U.A.E. has more than 8 SEZs - some of them big in size and highly successful.
SEZs in India came only recently i.e. in November 2000, as stated earlier.
The benefits including tax benefits, facilities, etc. given to units in a SEZ and the Developer
thereof, are widely known. The structure of a SEZ is also defined in the EXIM Policy.

KEY PLAYERS IN A SEZ

A SEZ is governed by four key parties:

a) The Central and State Govts. with respect to policy formation, rules and regulations, issuance
of approvals, permissions, etc.
b) Development Commissioner (DC) from the Govt. of India for implementation of the policy,
rules and regulations and monitoring of the performance in the Zone.
c) Developer for providing infrastructure, facilities, logistics and all other supports for the unit
holders to enable them to set up and run their units successfully and comfortably.
d) Unit-owners / Unit-holders : The parties who set up their factories / units and operate them in
the Zone.

While all the four have roles in a S EZ, the most critical and important role is of the
Developer. The success of a SEZ is his success and vice-versa. Therefore, his vision and
perspective are the most valuable for the country. Surat Special Economic Zone (SURSEZ), the
first and so far only operating SEZ in private sector in India, is rated highly successful as some
235 parties have obtained Letter of Permission (LoP) and 115 are already operating therein.
Exports this year may cross Rs.1,500 crores. Therefore, the experience of the Developer of this
sole private Zone is the real and highly revealing one and the vision and perspective given by
this Developer should be considered and taken as highly valuable for the country as a whole.

PICS………………..
Let us see a SEZ from the Developer’s angle.

The perspective of the Developer of a SEZ has broad angles namely:

a) His investments, efforts, stakes, risks, & returns.
b) Maintenance of the Zone.
c) Exemptions & other benefits the SEZ will provide to entrepreneurs, the country, the world and
the satisfaction it should give to him.
d) Attainment of peaceful & totally hassle-free environment in a SEZ.
e) SEZ Development: the best economic happening in the country and the world as a whole.

For some time now, Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been touted across the developing
world as one of the chief instruments through which a country can achieve rapid industrialization
through exports. SEZs differ from the older and more acceptable concept of industrial clusters
that is industrial zones that bring together different productive units, with good infrastructure
facilities and simplified procedures.

This is because they go beyond basic infrastructure provision to what are called “enabling
conditions”, such as tax and duty holidays and/or rebates, highly subsidised or even free land,
little or no compulsory worker protection, and the like.

It is really these provisions, which exist to greater or lesser degree in the regimes governing
SEZs in different countries, which are so potentially problematic and have become so
controversial.

Indeed, it is not clear how much such concessions actually matter in attracting investment.

There is very little conclusive evidence in support of the idea that fiscal concessions are
particularly helpful in ensuring more investment, despite the threats routinely issued by corporate
in this regard.

Major areas of concern

While the gross benefits of SEZs are still open to debate, there is already much concern about the
aggregate social and economic costs of this strategy, making the net benefits even more
uncertain. There are three major areas of concern: the fiscal costs; the issue of workers rights and
net employment generation; and land transfer, dispossession and displacement.
SEZs in India functioned under the provisions of the Foreign Trade Policy from November 2000
to February 2006. But since February 2006, they have come under the Special Economic Zones
Act 2005.

Since then, it is the issue of land acquisition that has become the most controversial and raised
the greatest political response in India. Of course this is an important issue, but it can be argued
that the areas of policy concern relate more to the process of land transfer and the nature of
compensation and rehabilitation of displaced persons, rather than to whether there should be a
change in land use per se.

Some opponents of SEZs have argued that any transfer of agricultural land to non-agricultural
purposes (whether it be for industry, real estate development or other activities) is invalid and
should not occur. However, this is clearly an extreme and unjustifiable position.

Shift in land use

The process of development — even the most equitable, broad-based and democratic sort of
development — will necessarily require that land use be shifted from agricultural to non-
agricultural purposes as economies and societies become more diversified.

This is not only inevitable but even desirable in the long run, as long as food security issues are
adequately taken into account.

However, it is absolutely necessary to ensure that those who are affected by changing land use —
which includes not just those with land property titles but all those who had a source of
livelihood from that land — are adequately compensated and rehabilitated. Since land use is
certainly going to keep changing rapidly, and not necessarily only for SEZ development, this is
one of the central policy questions of our times.

In the specific case of land appropriation for SEZs, the question of ownership and control is also
critical. In India, the current rules require only 25 per cent of the land to be used for industrial
processing purposes, allowing the remaining land to be used for any other purpose. This means
that real-estate developers can engage in major land grab in the guise of SEZs. Clearly, the rules
must be changed to prevent or at least reduce this possibility.

One response to the issue of land grab has been to argue that the state should actually stay out of
this altogether. After all, it is the power of eminent domain of the state that allows land to be
taken over for national development purposes. However, leaving land use to market forces — or
to private developers to engage in transactions with individual landholders — may be even
worse. Firstly, it means that there is no chance of compensation of all the other stakeholders who
have been adversely affected, such as tenants and agricultural labourers on that land.

Secondly, it allows for the possibility of large purchasers using pressure tactics or other methods
to acquire land, in effect making offers that can’t be refused.

In situations of unequal power it also means that small land holders are less likely to receive the
true value of the land.
Therefore the government must be involved in this process, but in a way that ensures that all
those who stand to lose through the land acquisition are properly compensated.

Another important issue is whether SEZs actually generate more employment than would
otherwise have come about, and the whether the terms of this new employment are acceptable
and desirable. A major problem with SEZs in many countries is that they propose to relax or even
do away with many laws relating to labour protection and even crime, for the purpose of
attracting investment into these zones.

The current Indian law does however provide for the same legal structure of labour protection
within SEZs as in the rest of the economy, but of course it is necessary to ensure that these are
implemented.

Fiscal losses
But the greatest problem with the SEZ Act in its current form is the huge fiscal losses that will
occur because of the tax incentives and hidden subsidies being provided to SEZ developers and
producers within the zone.

The offer of tax holidays in the SEZs goes beyond generous — providing 100 per cent
exemption from income-tax on profits for the first five years of production and 50 per cent for
the next five years. Even land developers are to be given tax breaks.

These amount to appalling losses in terms of foregone revenue — the Finance Ministry has
estimated that if total investment in SEZs is around Rs 3,60,000 crore, the revenue loss to the
state exchequer would be more than Rs 1,74,000 crore.

To give up such a huge amount of government resources is, of course, a major crime given the
needs of Indian society today and in future. But once again, what is at stake is more than the
revenue losses, enormous as they are. Providing such massive tax giveaways encourages
investors to shift their production from other locations to SEZs, in order to benefit from the tax
holiday. This means NO net benefit to the economy from additional investment, since it is simply
moving from other areas.

Implementation by States.
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra clearly lead the pack in terms of notified and actually
functioning SEZs, and have actually given away very large tracts of land for individual SEZs
unlike most of the other States. This is interesting to note, given the relative lack of public
attention to such land transfer in these States.

It is also worth noting that the compensation given for such acquisition in these States has been
well below that offered in some other States such as West Bengal, where there has been much
greater and more vocal opposition to very small tracts of land being acquired.
In Andhra Pradesh, for example, just two SEZs in Kakinada and Vishakapatnam account for
around 6,500 hectares. In Maharashtra, the Navi Mumbai SEZ alone is spread over an area of
around 5,000 hectares, including 1,850 hectares of regional park zone.

It must be borne in mind that the notified SEZs constitute only a small proportion of the SEZs
that have already been approved and, therefore, are likely to be notified and come into operation
in the near future.

Nearly 400 SEZs have been approved as of October 3, 2007, that would cover well above 50,000
hectares of land. However, further acquisition of land for these has been kept on hold until the
proposed new national compensation and rehabilitation policy is implemented.

It is evident that once again, the same few States are dominant in terms of the approved SEZs.
Only three States — Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh — account for more than 70 per
cent of the land of the approved SEZs, although they account for less than half the number.

DEVELOPER’S PERSPECTIVE WITH RESPECT TO HIS INVESTMENTS, EFFORTS,

STAKES, RISKS & RETURNS.

The Developer has to invest in and put untiring efforts to bring the Zone from green-field stage
to fully operational status. This is mammoth task and has numerous risk elements as below:
i) Long gestation period - 5-7 years.

ii) Relatively high investment towards land acquisition, infrastructure and facilities building, etc.

iii) High uncertainty about enough occupation of the Zone by entrepreneurs. There is no
guarantee that after the Zone has been established and made operational, entrepreneurs even
equivalent to viable level will come therein.

iv) Numerous other uncertainties:

a) Change in inland policies. If more exemptions etc are granted, the unit-holder may like to go
back to DTA.
b) Downward change in SEZ-related policies
c) World scenario with respect to technology and pattern of demand.
d) Competition from other countries.
The above uncertainties would affect the unit holder but do more so, the SEZ Developer

The above factual situation means very high stake and risk level for the Developer. In fact,
a Zone is like “life and death” for the Developer. Failure of the Zone is doomsday for the
Developer.
ZONE MAINTENANCE ROLE OF THE DEVELOPER.
The Developer has equally significant role to maintain and operate the Zone. This is not a small
burden. He has to keep also the infrastructure and facilities updated with respect to growing
technology and systems, logistics and other services matching those in other SEZs in the world
and making them among the best and fastest. These would not only result in increasing cost but
also the Developer has to keep himself abreast with the developments in these areas.
For the Developer, a SEZ is basically a profit-centre Project. Return of his initial capital
investment, has to come from the sale of plots and buildings in the SEZ. He must also get extra
returns matching the very high stake, long gestation period and the risk involved in the Project.
With respect to meeting the operational cost which enhances every year, the Developer has to
charge Service Charges from the users. This is, in fact, operational business of the Developer and
the charges received should be not only to meet running expenses but also to give fair return to
the Developer.

Unfortunately, so far, these factual situations are not visible or seriously seen by Agencies other
than the Developer of Private SEZ. In fact, the unit-holders and entrepreneurs in a private SEZ
have been putting heavy direct and indirect pressure to the extent that if their pressure relating to
such payments is accepted, the Developer would heavily lose - return of capital investment and
meeting running expenses.
There being only one private Developer in the country so far, his voice is not having adequate
weightage before the concerned officials and others. Further, while it is being understood that in
the Proposed SEZ Act the Developer would be given freedom with respect to fixing prices and
service charges, etc. there should be provisions for ensuring no default with respect to these.
In Govt.-owned Zones, there is little chances of investors’ defaulting as they can be legally
removed forthwith.

EXEMPTIONS & OTHER ECONOMIC & SOCIAL BENEFITS

APPLICABLE TO A SEZ

Benefits to the Developer and the Unit-Holders through exemptions from all types of taxes and
levies have proved the most conducive and are the force behind setting up and development of
SEZs by private Developers and utilization of these benefits by entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, in
India, grant of these exemption remained in debates and came in trickles and took nearly four
years for all of them to be notified. These exemptions and benefits have served as high attraction
for Indian entrepreneurs to get into Surat Special Economic Zone. As the Developer, we feel that
the longevity of these should be for 20 years. In the U.A.E. it is said to be 50 years.
This would highly incite development of new SEZs and stabilization of running SEZs.
While exemptions and benefits have been announced, investors do not feel fully assured without
an Act containing these exemptions, etc. passed in the Parliament. There is always an
apprehension that the Ministry may be withdrawn or modified; this in fact has been happening.
Of course, even an Act can be amended. But, it gives reasonable assurances.

ATTAINMENT OF PEACEFUL & TOTALLY HASSLE-FREE ENVIRONMENT IN A

SEZ
Attainment of peaceful and totally hassle-free environment in a SEZ is a highly important
perspective for the Developer. While tax exemptions and other benefits are attraction modes for
entrepreneurs and unit-holders, it is the peaceful and hassle-free working environment in the
Zone that makes the entrepreneurs successful and world competitive.

The main activities which provide these are the following:

1) Single-Window Clearance system when setting up the Project and Single-Window co-
ordination for compliance of all rules and regulations.
2) Good infrastructure
3) Efficient logistics
4) Other facilities as needed in a SEZ
By being in a SEZ, an industrialist is able to have fast and feasible world-wide contacts for
obtaining desired technology, sourcing of equipments, machineries and raw materials, financial
sourcing, financial supports including foreign partners and investors, and promote products and
services to all potential markets. The unit-holder immensely saves time and operates peacefully
with respect to production, productivity, quality control and delivery. These factors are highly
conducive and the most sought-after by industrialists,
traders and service providers. Developers’ Perspective is to see that these are provided in a SEZ.
The concept of Single-Window Clearance in India is highly diluted and far from what it needs to
be. Even though the Development Commissioner (DC) has been given this role, he does not have
full jurisdiction, and Authorities like for Sales Tax, Provident Fund, etc. are regularly
intervening. For too long, the officials responsible for day-to-day monitoring
have neglected norms. In fact, both directly and indirectly connected officials operate under their
mind-sets, failing to understand how they affect smooth functioning of the Zone causing physical
and mental trauma. Being a deemed foreign land, it should be treated as one to generate results
and interest of international community, but in real terms it is plagued by same practices, which
are prevalent elsewhere in the country.
As a Developer, we visualize that it may take several years before discipline and real Single-
Window system will be into full being. The Developer and the Unit holders will have to put up
with that and accept the burden of financial and other losses that may accrue on account of that.
Logistics is another area of concern, and particularly when it has port operations on its route
plan. Most of the strategic ports are over-crowded and sometimes, it could take weeks for
consignments to move, while across the world, ports are working
towards storage and logistics solutions that reduce cost and storage complexity. Proper
functioning and logistics systems certainly will go a long way in stabilizing delivery schedule for
the buyers abroad by our unit-holders.

SEZ DEVELOPMENT: THE BEST ECONOMIC HAPPENING IN THE COUNTRY &

WORLD AS A WHOLE

As the Developer of a private SEZ, we visualize a SEZ as a revolutionary global development

for everyone - the Developer, Unit-holders, the country concerned and other countries and to
mankind as a whole. The most glaring example is China. The SEZs there have taken the country
up to unimaginably high economic levels. They have also changed the global happening of price-
rise of commodities every year by supplying materials and commodities at as low as 30 – 40% of
the then prevailing prices.
A SEZ is a center for achievement for best performance with respect to productivity, quality,
delivery and cost control. It is more important for India where, unfortunately, all these elements
have been negatively rising, with the result that export growth has been slow, despite the country
have numerous very strong and plus factors like intelligent, diligent and low wage labour,
plentiful low costing raw materials, successful industrialist, peace-loving population and big
local market.
A SEZ is the Center for the most congenial working and social environment. It is a place where
all the anti-productivity ingredients of very large number of social and other noble acts, rules and
regulations of the country are eliminated, removed or kept under control like ‘Govardhan
Mountain by Lord Krishna’ when Vrindavan was under very heavy rains.
A SEZ is a Center for establishing close global contacts and thus bringing in fast globalization.
The unit-holders by remaining in contact with markets globally, add to the globalization growth.
A SEZ is a Center to bring real peace and happiness to the entire mankind by giving products at
the lowest possible cost and best qualities and reversing the annual cost-rising trend so far
prevailing in the world.
Lastly, SEZ is a Center to serve as a model ground and teaching institute for the people of the
land, more to the political leaders as to how to make the country prosperous, peaceful and happy
by seeing the actual happenings in a SEZ. The political bosses of the Province and the country
are bound to eventually learn for creating similar environment in the DTA so that the entire
province is like a SEZ as far as working and hassle-free environment is concerned. DGDC Ltd.,
the Developer of SURSEZ have been deeply contemplating how our SEZ can become a Centre
for all what we have described above. We are hopeful that we shall get full cooperation from all
in our vision and efforts. We are a small SEZ – hardly 270 acre land. We are a small Developer
with no large fund at our disposal. But, we are dedicated and committed to make SURSEZ a
success and ideal place for India and the world. We seek your blessings.