The Ministry of Commerce and Industry will convene a meeting of stakeholders on 30th June to deliberate on key issues relating to Special Economic Zones (SEZs), as the government advances efforts to overhaul the country’s export promotion framework, an official said.
The meeting will focus on harmonising existing export promotion schemes and advancing reforms to the SEZ regime as part of the proposed SEZ 2.0 policy.
Among the issues expected to be discussed are permitting payments in Indian rupees for services provided by SEZ units to the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), allowing SEZ units to undertake job work for DTA entities without export linkage, promoting import substitution, reforms to Free Trade Warehousing Zones (FTWZs), and measures to further improve ease of doing business within SEZs.
The government has already constituted a 17-member committee to recommend comprehensive reforms to the country’s SEZ policy.
As part of its mandate, the committee is conducting a background study on harmonising the various export promotion schemes currently in operation, including SEZs, Export-Oriented Units (EOUs), the Manufacturing and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations (MOOWR), Advance Authorisation (AA), the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme and the Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) scheme.
The committee is expected to submit a concept paper outlining a roadmap for broad-based reforms that will form the basis of the proposed SEZ 2.0 policy.
The review comes as policymakers seek to align the SEZ framework with evolving global trade dynamics. The existing SEZ Act was enacted in 2005, when India’s trade policy environment differed significantly from current international market conditions.
Under the existing framework, SEZs are treated as foreign territories for customs-related laws, including trade and import duties, while duty-free sales into the Domestic Tariff Area remain subject to restrictions.
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