Date:29/03/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/29/stories/2007032900400801.htm

Back SSIs and SEZs

The Finance Ministry is planning to deny tax sops for shifting old machinery, including imported ones, to new SEZs.

Besides this, the Government should have the SEZs developed by private players and get the ownership transferred to the Government.

There is no doubt that owners of small-scale units cannot afford to have a plot of land in an SEZ because of its high cost.

The Government should, therefore, reserve some area in the SEZs for SSI units. Encouraging the big players to have units in these SEZs will only help the rich become richer.

The Government can, perhaps, impose a ban that no big industrial house will be allowed to operate any industrial unit from the SEZs. The tax sops available in the SEZs should be restricted to five years instead of 10.

S. C. Aggarwal

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