SEZs sops: Rs 1,02,621 crore loss

The finance ministry on Friday said revenue loss on account of fiscal sops to Special Economic Zones is estimated to be Rs 1,02,621 crore (Rs 1026.21 billion) during 2006-07 to 2009-10 and steps are being taken to curtail it by continuously fine-tuning the SEZ policy.

Of this, the revenue loss on account of direct taxes is estimated to be Rs 53,740 crore (Rs 537.40 billion) and Rs 48,881 crore (Rs 488.81 billion) on account of indirect taxes, Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam told the Lok Sabha.

He said reported views of Asian Development Bank that tax incentives being offered to SEZs are unnecessary, only reflect the concerns of the government about revenue loss on account of tax incentives to SEZs. However, the government has not received any such report from ADB, he said.

Out of 14 approvals given by the Reserve Bank of India, banks have opened seven offshore banking units in SEZs so far, Minister of State for Finance P K Bansal said in the House.

India's great rush for SEZs