SEZ misuse: Govt loses Rs 144 crore

The government has detected 80 cases of misuse of customs concessions given to the Special Economic Zones, which are under fire on the issue of land acquisition, especially in West Bengal.

The misuse of customs concessions by the SEZs has resulted in a revenue loss of Rs 143.94 crore (Rs 1.43 billion) since 2002-03. However, the government could recover only Rs 1.50 crore (Rs 15 million) from these cases.

This information was provided by Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam in the Lok Sabha.

The revenue loss has taken place despite the monitoring done by the Commerce Ministry officials headed by a development commissioner. Customs officials also check the movement of goods in and out of the SEZs.