Representation by Development Commissioners: DCs must handle SEZ litigation with Government Counsel, referring only policy issues for departmental vetting.
Development Commissioners of SEZs are the primary officers to examine, prepare and represent litigation concerning their SEZs, including drafting counter affidavits after consultation with Government Counsel. Draft replies involving Department of Commerce policy issues must be vetted by that Department. If departmental directions are needed on specific issues, the DC should request clarification from the Department of Commerce, otherwise the DC should proceed to represent the Union of India in court.

SEZ approvals and conditions: land, contiguity, tax oversight and conditional extensions shape project authorisation.
The Board of Approval administered SEZ governance by granting, deferring, extending, or rejecting approvals and modifications subject to demonstrable land possession, State recommendations, contiguity, refund of tax/duty benefits on de notification, and compliance with revenue and company law. Co developer approvals are without prejudice to tax treatment of lease or premium receipts and Assessing Officers retain rights to examine taxability. Extensions of formal and in principle approvals and LoPs were granted, condoned, or deferred based on project progress, pending litigation, or lack of requisite State permissions, and equity transfers were approved subject to continuity of obligations and furnishing of financial details to revenue authorities.

SEZ approvals and regulatory conditions updated: co developer tax caveats, authorized operations limits, area and de notification safeguards.
The Board recorded approvals, refusals and deferrals across SEZ matters including formal and in principle approvals, co developer permissions subject to tax and lease treatment caveats, authorized operations constrained by SEZ Act and EGoM guidelines with exclusive use conditions for non processing facilities, area changes subject to contiguity and DC certification, de notifications conditioned on refund of benefits, extensions of formal approvals and LoPs with some matters deferred as sub judice, acceptance that equity transfers do not constitute sale of land subject to continuity and eligibility conditions, and grant of industrial licences for defence supplies with prescribed safeguards.

Co-developer ring-fencing policy clarifies entity separation and accounting rules, impacting SEZ approvals, authorized operations and extensions.
The Board granted, deferred or rejected multiple formal and in principle SEZ approvals, authorized non processing area operations with stated area/FAR constraints, and approved sector changes and land additions subject to contiguity and Development Commissioner certification. It adopted a co developer ring fencing policy requiring separate legal entities or, where not feasible, documented reasons, separate accounting for imports and domestic procurements, and prohibition on transfers of lease/service charges between developer and unit accounts. Extensions of validity and LoP were granted in specified cases; prohibited export proposals were refused.

Deputation appointments for Deputy Development Commissioner require prescribed eligibility, documentation and a three-year deputation term.
Two Deputy Development Commissioner posts at Falta SEZ are to be filled on transfer on deputation from Central/State officers with specified eligibility including analogous post-holding or requisite service in feeder scales plus three years' experience in foreign trade or industrial development. Applications must be submitted within sixty days with five years' confidential reports, integrity and vigilance clearances and penalty history. Deputation normally will not exceed three years; selected officers may draw grade pay plus deputation allowance per Department of Personnel & Training instructions.

Extension of deputation: require advance, complete proposals with justification and public interest indication for approval.
Proposals for extension of deputation in Special Economic Zones must be sent by Development Commissioners complete in the prescribed proforma, including post details, officer name and tenure, officer willingness, NOC from parent office, period sought, explicit public interest justification, and the Development Commissioner's recommendation signed by the Head of Office, submitted sufficiently before expiry to permit departmental processing and approval.

Deputation appointment for Deputy Development Commissioner: eligibility, documentation and deputation terms governing selection and posting for central government service
Filling one post of Deputy Development Commissioner on deputation is proposed; duties include project scrutiny under EOU/EPZ/SEZ schemes, policy and licensing work, coordination with state departments, and general administration. Recruitment is by promotion/transfer on deputation from Central/State Government officers meeting specified service and experience criteria; departmental feeder officers may be deemed promoted if selected. Applications in duplicate must include five years' confidential reports, integrity certificate, vigilance clearance and penalty records and be submitted within sixty days; appointment is on deputation with prescribed allowance rules.

SEZ approvals and denotifications subject to refund of tax benefits, DC certification and committee oversight on co developer ring fencing.
The Board resolved on SEZ approvals, denotifications, authorized operations, co developer requests and extensions, imposing conditions including DC certification of refund of tax/duty benefits before denotification, Assessing Officer scrutiny of co developer receipts under the Income Tax Act, and deferred several proposals pending DC comments or multi agency committee review. Authorized operations approvals were subject to EGoM development guidelines and DC certification of operational necessity. Co developer cases prompted constitution of a committee (JS(SEZ) with CBDT and CBEC) to devise ring fencing to prevent shifting of capital goods or double dipping. Extensions of formal approvals, LoPs and in principle approvals were routinely granted or rejected based on implementation progress.

Deputation appointment for Deputy Development Commissioner: applications invited with prescribed eligibility, clearances and documentation within the stipulated period.
One post of Deputy Development Commissioner in Cochin SEZ is to be filled on deputation; eligible Central/State officers holding analogous posts or meeting prescribed service criteria and with experience in foreign trade or industrial development may apply. Applications must be submitted in the prescribed proforma within the stipulated time with five years' confidential reports, integrity certificate, vigilance clearance, and penalty details. Appointment is on deputation for the ordinarily prescribed term, with option to draw grade pay plus deputation allowance per the referenced DoPT order, and duties include project scrutiny, licensing work, intergovernmental coordination and general administration.

Deputation and promotion eligibility for Development Commissioner post: criteria, service conditions, application process and deputation limits.
The Development Commissioner, Cochin SEZ post will be filled by promotion/transfer on deputation from eligible All India and Central Services Group 'A' officers or specified Central Government officers meeting substantive-post or pay-band service criteria and possessing relevant experience in industrial development, foreign trade, estate development and administration. Applications must be advertised for thirty days, forwarded to the Department of Commerce, and submitted with a prescribed proforma and a head-of-department certificate; deputation tenure and maximum age limits apply, and departmental feeders and deputationists are mutually ineligible for the alternative route.

Deputation appointment rules: vacancy to be filled with specified qualifications, documents and fixed-term deputation with allowance option.
Filling one post of Deputy Development Commissioner in Noida SEZ on deputation, carrying specified pre-revised/revised pay scales. Eligibility requires holding analogous posts or defined years of regular service in stated pay scales and experience in foreign trade or industrial development; departmental feeder rules and mutual exclusivity of deputation and promotion are noted. Applications (in duplicate) must be forwarded within the prescribed period with five years' confidential reports, an integrity certificate, vigilance clearance and penalty details. Appointment is by transfer on deputation for the ordinarily prescribed period with an option to draw grade pay plus deputation allowance; core duties include project scrutiny, policy/licensing work, state coordination and general administration.

Employment visa salary threshold may be relaxed for specialist foreign employees in SEZs to facilitate increased FDI.
The Department proposes exempting a limited number of specialist foreign employees of SEZ units bringing substantial FDI from the existing Employment visa salary threshold, noting Project visas lack such a stipulation; it requests industry consultation and stakeholder views to shape a proposal for the Ministry of Home Affairs.

SEZ approvals and conditions: conditional formal approvals, co-developer review, authorized operations, and restricted import safeguards.
The Board of Approval processed SEZ proposals by granting, deferring or rejecting formal approvals and ancillary requests with specific operational conditions: State recommendations and DC certificates were required for consideration; co-developer approvals mandated lease/co-developer documentation review and did not alter tax treatment of lease rentals or premiums; authorized operations were approved subject to development guidelines and DC monitoring; imports of restricted items were permitted only if sourced from outside India, used exclusively for export production, with no DTA procurement or sales and DC safeguards to prevent leakage; contiguity relaxations and land de-notifications were conditioned on physical measures, non-precedential treatment and refund of tax/duty benefits.

FTWZ storage and trading rules clarified; transitional contracts given temporary validity, full compliance required thereafter.
Units in FTWZ within sector-specific SEZs may store goods for zone development, unit setup, manufacturing, export or domestic sale of goods and services or finished products of units in that sector; the amended instruction must be followed in letter and spirit and, after the transitional period, all cases and pre-existing contracts are to be regulated by the amended instruction.

Abeyance of SEZ rule provisions suspends certain duty provisions for sale of power to DTA pending further orders.
The Department of Commerce instructs that the operation of Rule 47(3)(a), (b), (d) and (e) of SEZ Rules, 2006 is kept in abeyance with effect from 6 September 2010 until further orders, modifying the last two lines of the earlier Instruction No.67 and notifying Development Commissioners accordingly.

Special Economic Zone approvals and modifications conditioned on tax refund certification and adherence to development guidelines.
Board decisions authorised and adjusted SEZ approvals and operations subject to precise compliance conditions: formal approvals were granted where land possession and state recommendation existed; co-developer approvals were conditioned on tax-assessment rights of the Assessing Officer; authorized operations were approved or rejected based on SEZ size, town-planning norms and phased linkage to processing activity; de-notifications and withdrawal of approvals were approved only subject to DC certification of refund or non-availment of SEZ Act/Rules tax and duty benefits; extensions of approvals and LoPs were granted or denied based on performance and compliance.