The Special Economic Zones (SEZs) policy was launched in April, 2000. The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, was passed by Parliament in May, 2005 which received Presidential assent on the 23^rd of June, 2005. The SEZ Rules, 2006 came into effect on 10^th February, 2006. The salient features of the SEZ scheme are:-

1. A designated duty free enclave to be treated as a territory outside the customs territory of India for the purpose of authorised operations in the SEZ;
2. No licence required for import;
3. Manufacturing or service activities allowed;
4. The Unit shall achieve Positive Net Foreign Exchange to be calculated cumulatively for a period of five years from the commencement of production;
5. Domestic sales subject to full customs duty and import policy in force;
6. SEZ units will have freedom for subcontracting;
7. No routine examination by customs authorities of export/import cargo;
8. SEZ Developers /Co-Developers and Units enjoy tax benefits as prescribed in the SEZs Act, 2005.

The notification of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the country is guided by the following:-

1. generation of additional economic activity
2. promotion of exports of goods and services;
3. promotion of investment from domestic and foreign sources;
4. creation of employment opportunities;
5. development of infrastructure facilities

There were 7 Central Government Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 12 State/Private Sector SEZs prior to the enactment of the SEZs Act, 2005.  In addition, 425 proposals for setting up of SEZs in the country have been accorded formal approval under the SEZ Act, 2005.  Presently, 378 SEZs are notified, out of which 265 are operational.  States/Union Territories-wise details of SEZs is at Annexure-I.

Eight Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been approved for the Agro and Food Processing sector in India.  Of these 8 SEZs, 7 have been notified and 4 are operational. A statement showing details of Agro and Food Processing SEZs in India is at Annexure-II.  The exports from these SEZs during the last five years and current year 2020-21 (i.e. up to 31^st December, 2020) is as under: 

Years	Exports (Value in Rs. Crores)
2015-16	2365
2016-17	4061
2017-18	4117
2018-19	4405
2019-20	5219
2020-21 (up to 31.12.2020)	5456

Annexure-I

States/Union Territories-wise distribution of approved SEZs
States/UTs	Central Government SEZs set up prior to the enactment of SEZs Act, 2005	State Government/ Private Sector SEZs set up prior to the enactment of SEZs Act, 2005	Formal Approvals granted  under the SEZs Act, 2005	Notified SEZs under the SEZ Act, 2005	Total Operational SEZs  (Including prior to SEZs Act + under the SEZs Act, 2005)
Andhra Pradesh	1	0	32	27	24
Chandigarh	0	0	2	2	2
Chhattisgarh	0	0	2	1	1
Delhi	0	0	2	0	0
Goa	0	0	7	3	0
Gujarat	1	2	26	22	21
Haryana	0	0	25	22	7
Jharkhand	0	0	2	2	0
Karnataka	0	0	63	52	34
Kerala	1	0	29	25	20
Madhya Pradesh	0	1	12	7	5
Maharashtra	1	0	51	45	37
Manipur	0	0	1	1	0
Nagaland	0	0	2	2	0
Odisha	0	0	7	5	5
Puducherry	0	0	1	0	0
Punjab	0	0	5	3	3
Rajasthan	0	2	5	4	3
Sikkim	0	0	0	0	0
Tamil Nadu	1	4	56	53	48
Telangana	0	0	63	56	34
Tripura	0	0	1	1	0
Uttar Pradesh	1	1	24	21	14
West Bengal	1	2	7	5	7
GRAND TOTAL	7	12	425	359	265

 

Annexure-II

List of Agro and Food Processing SEZs in India
Sl. No.	Name of the developer	Location	SEZ status
1	Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KINFRA)	Malappuram District, Kerala	Notified and Operational
2	Parry Infrastructure Company Private Limited	Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh	Notified and Operational
3	CCCL Pearl City Food Port SEZ Ltd.	Tuticorin District, Tamil Nadu	Notified and Operational
4	CCL Products (India) Limited	Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh	Notified and Operational
5	Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation Limited	Dimapur, Nagaland	Notified
6	AnsalColours Engineering SEZ Limited	Sonepat, Haryana	Notified
7	Tripura Industrial Development Corporation Limited	PaschimJalefa, Sabroom, South Tripura District, Tripura	Notified
8	Akshaypatra Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.	Mehsana, Gujarat	Formal Approval

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Special Economic Zones policy treats designated duty-free enclaves as outside customs territory, promoting exports and investment. Special Economic Zones policy treats a designated duty free enclave as outside customs territory, allows duty-free imports without licence, permits manufacturing and service activities, and grants tax benefits to Developers, Co Developers and Units. Units must achieve Positive Net Foreign Exchange cumulatively over five years; domestic sales face applicable customs duty. The document records nationwide counts of formally approved, notified and operational SEZs, state-wise distributions, and lists Agro and Food Processing SEZs with their notification and operational status along with export performance summaries.