Telangana, along with Karnataka, is on the second position across the country in terms of having operational Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
In her written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman informed that in addition to Seven Central Government Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 11 State/Private Sector SEZs set-up prior to the enactment of the SEZs Act, 2005, formal approval was accorded to 416 proposals out of which 330 SEZs have been notified. Presently, a total of 202 SEZs are exporting. Tamil Nadu is on top with 36 SEZs followed by 26 SEZs each in Telangana and Karnataka, 25 in Maharashtra, 19 in Andhra Pradesh, 18 in Gujarat, 15 in Kerela, 11 in Uttar Pradesh, 7 in West Bengal, 6 in Haryana, 4 in Rajasthan, two each in Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Punjab and one in Chattisgarh.
The fiscal concessions and duty benefits allowed to Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are in-built into the SEZs Act, 2005 and Rules thereunder. The incentives and concessions available to SEZ Developers and Units include exemptions from income tax, customs/excise duties, central sales tax, service tax, VAT, etc. These fiscal concessions and duty benefits allowed to SEZs are in the nature of incentives to achieve the SEZ objectives. The revenue foregone on account of concessions availed by the SEZ Developers and Units under the provisions of sections 10AA and 80-LA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 as well as customs duty and excise duty availed during the last three years is as under: Rs. 23,305.40 Crore in 2012-13; Rs. 27,855.10 Cr in 2013-14 and Rs. 26,533.87 Cr (estimated) in 2014-15, according to the Union Minister. (INN)