Minutes of the 114th meeting of the Board of Approval for SEZs held on 15th April, 2023 at Vishakapatnam SEZ (VSEZ) - SEZ - Minutes of the 114th meeting of the SEZ

Minutes of the 114th meeting of the Board of Approval for SEZs held on 15th April, 2023 at Vishakapatnam SEZ (VSEZ) The One Hundred and Fourteenth (114th) meeting of the Board of Approval (BoA) for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) was held on 15th April, 2023 under the chairmanship of Shri Sunil Barthwal, Secretary, Department of Commerce, at Vishakapatnam SEZ (VSEZ) through hybrid mode. The list of participants is annexed (Annexure-I). 114.1 Ratification of the minutes of the 113th meeting of the Board of Approval held on 17th January, 2023 and 2nd February, 2023. The Board ratified the minutes of the 113 th meeting of the BoA for SEZs held on 17th January, 2023 and 2nd February, 2023. 114.2 Request for extension of validity of formal approval for developers (4 proposals) 114.2(i) Request of M/S Phoenix Spaces Pvt. Limited for extension of validity of formal approval, granted for setting up of IT/ITES SEZ at Sy. No. 286 287, Puppalguda beyond 30.03.2023. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of formal approval upto 30th March, 2024. 114.2(ii) Request of M/s Phoenix Ventures Spaces Pvt. Limited for extension of the validity period of formal approval granted for setting up of IT/ITES SEZ at Sy. No. 35 (P) 36, Gachibowli beyond 30.03.2023. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of formal approval upto 30th March, 2024. 114.2(iii) Request of M/s Phoenix IT City Private Limited for extension of validity period of formal approval, granted for setting up of IT/ITES SEZ at Sy. No. 53/paiki/part, Gachibowli beyond 30.03.2023. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of formal approval upto 30th March, 2024. 114.2(iv) Request of M/S. Phoenix Spaces Pvt. Limited for further extension of the validity period of formal approval, granted for setting up of IT/ITES SEZ at Sy. NO. 285, Puppalguda beyond 303.2023. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of formal approval upto 30th March, 2024. 114.3: Request for extension of LoA of unit (3 proposals) 114.3(i) Request of M/s. Wockhardt Ltd. Unit 3, located at Plot No. E-1/2 in Wokhardt Infrastructure Development Ltd.-SEZ, Shendre, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, for extension of Letter of Permission (LoP) dated 25.10.2013, beyond 8th year, for the period of one year, from 25.10.20222 up to 24.10.2023. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of LoA upto 24th October, 2023. The Board further directed that delay in getting USFDA approval may also be informed to concerned territorial division in DoC for pursuing the matter with Indian Mission or Concerned Government. 114.3(ii) Request of M/s. Wockhardt Ltd. Unit 2, located at Plot No. 6 in Wokhardt Infrastructure Development Ltd.-SEZ, Shendre, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, for extension of Letter of Permission (LoP) dated 25.02.2012, beyond 9th year, for the period of one year, from 01.03.2023 up to 29.02.2024. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of LoA upto 29th February, 2024. The Board further directed that delay in getting USFDA approval may also be informed to concerned territorial division in DoC for pursuing the matter with Indian Mission or Concerned Government. 114.3(iii) Request of M/s BEML Limited, a unit in KIADB Aerospace SEZ for extension of validity of Letter of Approval (LoA) for a further period of one year beyond 05.01.2023 (11th Extension). The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of LoA upto 4th January, 2024. Further, the Board directed DC, Cochin SEZ to submit the status of the litigation case in the next meeting of the BoA. 114.4: Request for co-developer status (1 proposal) 114.4(i) Request of M/s ANSR Global Corporation Pvt. Ltd. for Co-Developer status in M/s. Phoenix Tech Zone Pvt. Ltd SEZ, Manikonda Village, Rajendra Nagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal of M/s. ANSR Global Corporation Pvt. Ltd. for co-developer status for Development of the SEZ area specifically to undertake the authorized operations of conversion of warm shell buildings into fully fitted office space and to lease the built up space in the SEZ as contracted, over an area of 0.52 Ha. in accordance with the co-developer agreement dated 12.12.2022 entered into with the developer subject to standard terms and conditions as per the SEZ Act and Rules. Further, the Assessing Officer will have the right to examine the taxability of the income by way of lease rentals/down payment/premium etc. for the purpose of assessment under the prevalent Income-tax Act, 1961 and Income-tax Rules, 1962 as amended from time to time. The lease period shall be in accordance with DoC's Instruction No. 98 dated 29th August, 2019. 114.5: Request for addition area of the SEZ (one proposal) 114. 5(i) Request of M/s. NSL SEZ (Hyderabad) Private Limited for additional area notification of 2.19 Ha (beyond 10%) to their IT/ITES SEZ at IDA Uppal, Medchal Malkajgiri District, Telangana already notified over an area of 3.78 Ha. The Board, after deliberations, approved the request of M/s. NSL SEZ (Hyderabad) Private Limited for increase in area of 2.19 hectares, subject to contiguity of the land in the SEZ being maintained. 114.6 Request for Change in Sector (one case) 114.6(i) Request of M/s. Integrated Chennai Business Park (India) Private Limited for change of sector of its Free Trade Warehousing Zone at Vallur Edayanchavadi Villages in Ponneri Taluk, Tiruvallur District, Tamil Nadu into 'Multi Sector SET in terms of SEZ Rules amendment Notification dated 17.12.2019. The Board, after deliberations, decided to approve the proposal of the developer for change of sector of its Free Trade Warehousing Zone into 'Multi Sector SEZ' in terms of Rule 6(A)(i) of the SEZ Ruels, 2006 subject to the condition that all the terms and conditions prescribed under the SEZ law for setting up of a multi sector SEZ, viz. minimum contiguous land area requirement, minimum processing area requirement and FTWZ area duly demarcated being exclusively used for trading and warehousing purpose etc. are fulfilled by the developer. Further, the Board observed that as per the amendment vide Gazette Notification dated 17.12.2019 in SEZ Rules, 2006, all existing notified SEZ shall be deemed to be multisector SEZ. Accordingly, BoA directed that the concerned DC may take appropriate decision itself on such matters. 114.7 Miscellaneous (4 cases) 114.7(i) Request of M/s ANSR Global Corporation Private Limited, Co-Developer of M/S GAR Corporation Pvt. Ltd. at Sy. No. 89(P), Kokapet Village, Gandipet Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana for partial surrender of area. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal of M/s. ANSR Global Corporation Private Limited (Co-developer) for partial surrender of area admeasuring 1,86,916 sq. ft. located at 10th Floor (64,297 sq.ft.), Floor to M/S GAR Corporation Pvt. Ltd. (Developer) subject to any future liability to be borne by the developer regarding the surrendered area. The area surrendered by Co-Developer to Developer will remain notified as SEZ processing area for all purposes. 114.7(ii) Request M/s. SEZ Recycling, an SEZ unit at Mahindra World City IT-SEZ under MEPZ for extension of the validity of the Letter of Approval for next five years i.e., from 24.032023 to 23.03.2028. The Board observed that the proposal is silent about the fulfilment of the conditions as specified in the second proviso to Rule 18(4)(d) of the SEZ Rules, 2006. During the course of deliberations, DC, MEPZ informed the Board that the unit has met all the conditions mentioned in Rule 18(4)(d) of SEZ Rules, 2006 including second proviso, in totality in the past period. Further, it is also confirmed that the Unit is maintaining one to one correlation with regard to exports vs. imports and the goods are not allowed to be sold in DTA or destroyed. DC, MEPZ has re-confirmed this position vide email dated 17.04.2023. Thus, Board approved the proposal for extension of LoA till 23.03.2028 subject to strict adherence to Rule 18(4)(d) of SEZ Rules 2006. 114.7(iii) Clarification on instruction no. 95 allowing SEZ unit to set up cafeteria, creche, gymnasium and similar facilities. During the meeting, DoR was of the view that since the benefits have been denied by DoC vide Instruction No. 95 dated 11.06.2019; the matter may be examined in detail by DoC before taking it up for consideration in BoA. The Board, after deliberations, decided that the matter may be discussed with DOR and after obtaining their concurrence, required clarification / amendment in instruction be issued and put up for the information of BoA. 114.7(iv) Proposal of M/s. Prompt International Limited, an SEZ unit at Plot no. 119, NSEZ ad measuring 1000 sq. Mtrs. for revival of sick unit in terms of Rule 72(1) of SEZ Rules, 2006. The Board noted that the unit was granted LoA on 26.12.1991 for manufacturing of readymade garments and the LoA was last extended upto 31.03.2005. The unit was declared sick as per the certificate dated 12.02.2008 issued by the Joint Director, Directorate of Industries, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Meerut. The unit did not get its LoA extended after 31.03.2005 and now, it is more than 18 years since LoA has lapsed. Further, it is not clear from the submissions of DC, or report of NSEZ Customs, whether the unit had achieved positive NFE during its operational years and what was the reason for its closure. The unit has also not submitted any specific clientele list or written work order or assurances from the existing buyers. Moreover, it is observed that the unit has no proposal to invest into capital goods whereas existing machinery (sewing machines) are more than two decades old and raw material is also very old and in shabby condition, so how will they make the unit operational. In this regard, DC, NSEZ informed the Board that as per their records, the Unit was having NFE positive until 31.03.2001. As regards machinery, the Unit informed that with some repairs and reconditioning, the existing sewing machines will be sufficient to start the operation and no imported machines are required. However if any new machines are needed they have resources for the same. On the raw materials, they intend to use the existing ones or procure them indigenously. The Board, after deliberations, referred the matter back to the DC, Noida SEZ with direction to seek the following details from the unit: - i. Unit should pay their full outstanding lease rent to NSEZ in one go; ii. Details regarding future business plan, order etc; iii. Details regarding investment plan; iv. Details regarding bank approved investment plan, if any. This issue may also be examined by DC that LoA of the unit has lapsed more than 18 years back i.e. before the present SEZ act 2005 was enacted, how the same LoA will be made operational within the legal Ambit of present SEZ Act and Rules. Once matter is examined in detail by DC and he feels that it is possible legally, backed by proper data/plan/resolution, then only it shall be referred to BoA. Decision on Supplementary. Agenda 114.8: Request for extension of validity of formal approval for developers (1 proposal) 114.8(i) Request of M/s State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd., (SIPCOT), at Industrial Park, Bargur, Tamil Nadu for extension of validity of formal approval, granted for setting up of granite processing SEZ beyond 31.03.2023. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of the validity of formal approval upto 31 st March, 2024. 114.9: Request for co-developer status (2 proposals) 114.9(i) Request of M/s Tabreed Infopark Cooling Private Limited for Co-Developer status in M/s. Mikado Realtors Private Limited at Behrampur, Gurugram, Haryana. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal of M/s. Tabreed Infopark Cooling Private Limited for co-developer status for provide HVAC Services, installing and operating district cooling plants and installation, operation and maintenance of the overall HVAC Services in Intellion Park, Gurugram SEZ area and undertaking other default authorised operations, over an area of 10.221 Ha. in accordance with the co-developer agreement dated 17.03.2023 entered into with the developer subject to standard terms and conditions as per the SEZ Act and Rules. Further, the Assessing Officer will have the right to examine the taxability of the income by way of lease rentals/down payment/premium etc. for the purpose of assessment under the prevalent Income-tax Act, 1961 and Income-tax Rules, 1962, as amended from time to time. The lease period shall be in accordance with DoC's Instruction No. 98 dated 29th August, 2019. 114.9(ii) Request of M/s. Shilp Infraprojects LLP, Ahmedabad for approval as Co-Developer within the processing Area in GIFT-Multi Services SEZ at Ratanpur, District Gandhinagar, Gujarat, developed by M/s. GIFT SEZ Limited. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal of M/s. Shilp Infraprojects LLP for codeveloper status for development of incubation structure over land area of 2500 square meters (0.25 hectares) consisting of 1500 square meters of office space and 1000 square meters of parking area, over an area of 0.25 Ha. in accordance with the co-developer agreement dated 02.03.2023 entered into with the developer subject to standard terms and conditions as per the SEZ Act and Rules. Further, the Assessing Officer will have the right to examine the taxability of the income by way of lease rentals/down payment/premium etc. for the purpose of assessment under the prevalent Income-tax Act, 1961 and Income-tax Rules, 1962 as amended from time to time. The lease period shall be in accordance with DoC's Instruction No. 98 dated 29th August, 2019. 114.10: Miscellaneous (3 cases) 114.10(i) Request of M/s. Nhava Sheva Business Park Private Limited (Co-Developer) for Broad Banding of Authorized operations for their SEZ Co-developer to include additional Authorised operations. During the meeting, DoR was of the view that the Instruction dated 13.09.2013 issued by DoC introduced a 'Graded Scale for Minimum Land Criteria' and for each contiguous fifty-hectare parcel of land in an existing SEZ or which is added to a notified SEZ, an additional sector would be allowed whereas the Co-developer has a total area of 34.68 Ha. However, in the instant proposal, the DC has not specified whether the Co- developer intends to allocate / increase an additional area of fifty-hectare for additional authorised operations applied for. DC has merely stated that BOA will have the discretion to allow additional categories to be broad-banded into a sector based on compatibility of area requirement etc. In this regard, SEEPZ informed the Board that Current proposal is for broad banding of authorized operations of Co-developer only i.e. Nhava Sheva Business Park Private Limited. Co-developers in SEZ were appointed for setting up an FTWZ, in accordance with the provisions of sub section I l of section 3 of SEZ Act, 2005 read with Rule 3A of SEZ Rules, 2006. Further, Instruction dated 13.09.2013 issued by DoC doesn't specify any minimum land Area for Co-Developer, for such broad banding. As per the SEZ Act and Rules, there is no minimum land or area requirement for SEZ Co-developer appointment, such minimum land or area requirement is there only for SEZ Developer only. Co-developers are subset of SEZ Developer and mainly appointed to set up/provide various types of infrastructure facilities within SEZ as per Section 3(11) of SEZ Act, 2005. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal of M/s. Nhava Sheva Business Park Private Limited (Co-Developer) for Broad Banding of Authorized operations i.e., Leasing of Land/Built up space to manufacturing/processing units, Security Systems, Telecommunication/ Communication Services, Facilities Infrastructure management services in JNPT-SEZ subject to strict adherence with SEZ Act/RuIes and Instructions of Doc. Further, the Board observed that as per the amendment vide Gazette Notification dated 17.12.2019 in SEZ Rules, 2006, all existing notified SEZ shall be deemed to be multisector SEZ. Accordingly, BoA directed DOC to examine whether the power to approve proposals of broad banding of authorised operations of Developer and Co-Developer of SEZs can be delegated by BoA to the concerned DC of SEZs. 114.10(ii) Request of M/s Raj Rajeshwar Lalita Tripursundari Private Limited, Atchutapuram for permission to import Ferro Manganese Slag for authorized operations. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal considering the no objection accorded by Expert Committee, MoEF CC for import of 46,170 MT (40% of 1,15,425 MT) of Ferro Manganese Slag (B 1210) for production of Silico Manganese to the Unit for recycling purpose with certain conditions stipulated therein within a period of 18 months for the production of Siliva Manganese. The approval shall be subject to the conditions as stipulated by MoEF CC. 114.10 (iii) Request of M/s. State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (SIPCOT), Hi-Tech SEZ at Sriperumbudur Taluk, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, for relaxation of contiguity criteria for Partial de- notification of 20.360 Hectares (50.313 Acres). The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal subject to the contiguity of the SEZ being maintained by the Developer in terms of rule 7(2) of the SEZ Rules, 2006 and DoC's Instruction No. 27 dated 18.10.2009, by getting constructed a Foot Over Bridge for ensuring Contiguity of SEZ Land, by CONCOR, after de-notification. ANNEXURE - 1 List of Participants for the Meeting of the Board of Approval for Special Economic Zones held on 15 th April, 2023 at Visakhapatnam under the Chairmanship of Commerce Secretary, Department of Commerce. 1. Shri Sunil Barthwal, BOA Commerce Secretary, Department of Commerce 2. Shri L Satya Srinivas, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce 3. Shri Vipul Bansal, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce 4. Shri Manish Kumar, Pr. ADG, DGEP, Delhi 5. Shri Bipin Menon, Development Commissioner, NSEZ, Noida 6. Shri Alex Paul Menon, Development Commissioner, MEPZ 7. Smt. P Hemalatha, Development Commissioner, CSEZ 8. Shri Shah Suvidh Prabodhkumar, DC, Indore SEZ 9. Smt. Roshni Aparanji Korati, JDC, VSEZ 10. Shri K Srinivasu, DDC, VSEZ 11 . Shri Vara Prasada Varma, Specified Officer, VSEZ 12. Shri R.A. Praveen Kumar, JDC, APSEZ List of participants connected with Video Conferencing. 1. Shri Santosh Kumar Sarangi, DG, DGFT 2. Shri Shyam Jagannthan, Development Commissioner , SEEPZ-SEZ 3. Dr. Amiya Chandra, Development Commissioner, Adani Port SEZ, Mundra 4. Shri Akash Taneja, Development Commissioner, KASEZ 5. Dr. V. Sraman, Development Commissioner, Mihan SEZ 6. Shri Vijay Kumar Sr, DC Dahej SEZ, GIFT 7. Shri Vikas Singh , Director, ITA-I, CBDT 8. Dr. K.M. Arya, Dy. Legal Adviser, D/o Legal Affairs, M/oL J 9. Shri Virendra Singh, Development Commissioner, Surat SEZ, Gujarat 10. Shri Satish Kumar, Development Commissioner, FSEZ 11. Shri Anil Kant Mishra, Research Assistant TCPO, Ministry of Housing Urban Affairs, Vikas Bhawan, I.P. Estate, New Delhi