SEZ - Exemption u/s 10A / 10B upto 10 years

[Sunil K. Jain]

Finance act no 2 of 2009 has extended the exemption u/s 10 A/10B upto 31.3.2011. What does it mean for the units who have started there manufacturing in SEZ earlier and have already claimed exemtion for 10 consecutive years upto A.Y. 2010-11. Can the unit claim exemption for further year? Is this a loophole in the law ?

[CAGOPALJI AGRAWAL]

The time has been extended only for those units which could not take the benefit for the whole period of entitlement.

[Surender Gupta]

Overall limit of 10 consecutive year has not been increased.

[Meenu Garg]

Offcourse no, its not a loophole in the law. It just means that for the undertakings which are still claiming the deduction under section 101A(.ie. for 10 consecutive AY )are only allowed to claim such deduction upto 31.3.2011 and not thereafter, even if some period out of 10 consecutive AY is left. It has nothing to do with the undertakings which ave already claimed deduction for 10 consecutive AY upto A.Y. 2010-11.

AI Summary

SEZ tax exemption extension limited to unexhausted entitlement periods; overall consecutive entitlement unchanged and not enlarged. The Finance Act II of 2009 extended the terminal date for claiming the SEZ income-tax exemption to 31 March 2011 only for undertakings that had not yet exhausted their statutory period; the statutory consecutive-year cap was not increased and undertakings that have already availed the full consecutive entitlement cannot claim further deduction.