The fiscal concessions and duty benefits allowed to Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are in-built into the SEZs Act, 2005 and Rules thereunder. These exemptions are uniformly applicable to all SEZs and are in the nature of incentives for export and are consistent with the principles that guide export promotion initiatives of the Government in general.

Ministry of Finance has withdrawn the exemption from Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) to SEZ Developers and Units with effect from 1st April, 2012, and also the exemption of Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) in the case of SEZ Developers under the Income-tax Act for dividends declared, distributed or paid after 1st June, 2011. In order to facilitate creation of Social & Commercial infrastructure and other facilities in Non-Processing Area (NPA) of SEZs, Government vide notification G.S.R. 5(E) dated 02.01.2015 has allowed dual use of facilities in NPA by both SEZ and non-SEZ entities.

 Exports from the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) during the last three years are as under:                                                           

Years	Exports  (Rs. in crore)	Growth/decline over previous year
2013-2014	4,94,077	4%
2014-2015	4,63,770	-6.13%
2015-2016 (April to December, 2015)	3,41,685	-1.89% (corresponding period of previous financial year 2014-15)

Export Promotion Council for EoUs and SEZs (EPCES) has been undertaking several activities for enhancing exports as well as resolving issues concerning EoUs and SEZs.   During the year 2015-16, a number of meetings with Hon’ble Minister, Commerce and Industry and Senior Officers of Department of Commerce have been held to resolve the issues concerning to SEZs.

The Government, on the basis of inputs/suggestions received from stakeholders on the policy and operational framework of the SEZ Scheme, periodically reviews the policy and operational framework of SEZs and takes necessary measures so as to facilitate speedy and effective implementation of SEZ policy. The exports from Food and Agro, IT/ITeS, Automobiles and Auto ancillaries manufacturing, Leather, Footwear and Sports goods Sector, Electronic and Hardware and Software services and Textiles sector SEZs during the last five years is as under:

Sl. No.	Sector	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16 (as on 31.12.15)
1	Computer/Electronic software (IT/ITeS)	81017.11	140306.71	184093.93	212349.15	177756.81
2	Automobiles and Auto ancillaries manufacturing	761	849	1154	1253	1720
3	Electronics hardware	20454.40	20936.75	16460.71	7181.65	3444.82
4	Leather, footwear and sports goods	516.35	896.96	1654.34	1343.39	1708.02
5	Food and Agro Industry	729.71	805.95	880.71	1132.31	1581.94
6	Textiles and garments	2938.08	4342.87	4213.86	4294.66	3480.33

The State-wise exports from SEZs during the last three years is as below:

State-wise breakup of Exports  from SEZs during last three years     (Rs. in crore)
Sl. No.	State	2013-14	2014-15	2015-16 (Till December 2015)
1	Andhra Pradesh	33291	7887.61	7599.06
2	Chandigarh	1778.15	2084.24	1896.38
3	Chhattisgarh	1.84	3.19	0.00
4	Gujarat	225042	179791.75	106568.74
5	Haryana	8740.43	11139.50	10574.66
6	Karnataka	51372.88	55197.83	41088.64
7	Kerala	8003.64	6540.20	5213.88
8	Madhya Pradesh	2984.23	4009.46	3579.48
9	Maharashtra	56399.23	62535.90	51777.29
10	Odisha	386.09	596.66	752.03
11	Punjab	136.72	290.79	235.34
12	Rajasthan	2036.59	2091.33	1649.17
13	Tamil Nadu	71417	68103.63	55478.96
14	Telangana	0	37107.89	32966.19
15	Uttar Pradesh	16282.42	16516.77	13754.51
16	West Bengal	16204.27	9872.79	8550.41
	TOTAL	494077	463770	341684.75

This information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

SEZ fiscal concessions and tax exemption changes reshape incentives and permit dual use of non processing area facilities. Fiscal incentives for SEZs function as uniform export promotion exemptions; key tax changes include withdrawal of MAT exemption for SEZ developers and units and withdrawal of DDT exemption for SEZ developers for dividends after specified dates. Government permitted dual use of Non Processing Area facilities by SEZ and non SEZ entities. The administration undertakes periodic policy reviews and engages stakeholders, with reported export statistics by year, sector and State to inform policy monitoring and implementation.