TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Minutes of the 100th meeting of the Board of Approval for SEZ held on 25th September, 2020 to consider setting up of Special Economic Zones and other miscellaneous proposals
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rtment had sought for the legal opinion from the Department of Legal Affairs in this matter. The Board noted that the Department of Legal Affairs as per their ID note dated 23.09.2020, have inter-alia held that since there is no bar under the SEZ Act for cancellation of a Letter of Approval granted to a co-developer for infrastructure development in a special economic zone, it appears that Letter of Approval granted to the co-developer M/s Artha Builder can be cancelled by invoking the provisions of Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897. However, the administrative department is advised to appropriately amend the SEZ Act and Rules to have a clear enabling provision for cancellation of Letter of Approval in such situations. In view of the foregoing, the Board decided to ratify the minutes of the 99th meeting of the BoA held on 31st July, 2020. 100.2 Extension of Formal Approval to developer (Four proposals) Item no. 100.2 (i) Request of M/s Manipur IT SEZ Project Development Company Limited (MIPDCO) for further extension of the validity period of the formal approval granted for setting up a Sector Specific SEZ for IT/ITES SEZ at Imphal, Manipur over an area of 10.85 hectar....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ttled. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of validity of LoA of the unit for a period of one year, i.e. up to 15.09.2021. Item no.100.3(iii) Request of M/s. Nissi Engineering Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a unit in AMRL Hi Tech City Ltd, Multi Product SEZ, Nanguneri, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu for extension of Letter of Approval (LOA) from 31.07.2020 to 31.12.2021. The Board, after deliberations, approved extension of validity of LoA for a period of one year, i.e. up to 31.07.2021. 100.4 Request for change of name/shareholding pattern/merger-demerger (seven proposals) Item no. 100.4(i) Request for change of Developer of M/s L&T Shipbuilding SEZ at Kattupalli, Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu in view of merger of M/s. L&T Shipbuilding Limited with M/s. Larsen & Toubro Limited at Kattupalli, Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal for change of Developer of L&T Shipbuilding SEZ from M/s. L&T Shipbuilding Limited to M/s. Larsen & Toubro Limited in view of the merger of the Companies with the following conditions:- i. Seamless continuity of the SEZ activities with unaltered responsibilities and obligations for the altered developer entit....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... CBDT, Department of Revenue and to the jurisdictional Authority. v. The Assessing Officer shall have the right to assess the taxability of the gain/loss arising out of the transfer of equity or merger, demerger, amalgamation, transfer and ownerships etc. as may be applicable and eligibility for deduction under relevant sections of the Income Tax Act, 1961. vi. The applicant shall comply with relevant State Government laws, including those relating to lease of land, as applicable. vii. The developer shall furnish details of PAN and jurisdictional assessing officer of the developer to CBDT. Item no.100.4 (iii) Proposal of M/s NIIT Technologies Limited, Developer of IT/ITES SEZ at Plot No. TZ-02 & 2A, Techzone, Gr. Noida (Uttar Pradesh) for change of name of the company to "COFORGE Limited". The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal for change of name of the company to "COFORGE Limited", with the following conditions:- i. Seamless continuity of the SEZ activities with unaltered responsibilities and obligations for the altered developer entity; ii. Fulfilment of all eligibility criteria applicable to developer, including security clearances....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....he Income Tax Act, 1961. vi. The applicant shall comply with relevant State Government laws, including those relating to lease of land, as applicable. vii. The co-developer shall furnish details of PAN and jurisdictional assessing officer of the co-developer to CBDT. Item no. 100.4 (v) Request of M/s. Nxtra Data Ltd. SEZ, Co-Developer located at Plot No.28 & 13/10A, 13/10B in MIDC-IT/ITES SEZ, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, Hinjewadi, Phase-III, Pune for approval of Change in Shareholding Pattern. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal for change in shareholding pattern subject to approval by relevant statutory bodies with the following conditions:- i. Seamless continuity of the SEZ activities with unaltered responsibilities and obligations for the altered co-developer entity; ii. Fulfilment of all eligibility criteria applicable to co-developer, including security clearances etc., by the altered co-developer entity and its constituents; iii. Applicability of and compliance with all relevant rules of Revenue/Company Affairs/SEBI etc., which regulate issues like capital gains, equity change, transfer, taxability etc. iv. Full financial details relating to c....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....al assessing officer of the developer to CBDT. Item no. 100.4(vii) Request of M/s. Sai Wardha Power Generation Limited SEZ (developer), for change in shareholding pattern and list of directors of the company post NCLT order. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal for change in shareholding pattern and list of directors of the company with the following conditions:- i. Seamless continuity of the SEZ activities with unaltered responsibilities and obligations for the altered developer entity; ii. Fulfilment of all eligibility criteria applicable to developer, including security clearances etc. by the altered developer entity and its constituents; iii. Applicability of and compliance with all relevant rules of Revenue/Company Affairs/SEBI etc., which regulate issues like capital gains, equity change, transfer, taxability etc. iv. Full financial details relating to change in equity/merger, demerger, amalgamation or transfer in ownership etc. shall be furnished immediately to Member (IT), CBDT, Department of Revenue and to the jurisdictional Authority. v. The Assessing Officer shall have the right to assess the taxability of the gain/loss arising out of the tra....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rd floor in Tower-9 in the SEZ in accordance with the co-developer agreement dated 07.02.2020 entered into with the developer, subject to compliance with relevant provisions of SEZ Act & Rules. The lease period shall be in accordance with DoC's Instruction no. 98 dated 29.08.2019. Item no. 100.5(iv) Request of M/s. Spacetech SEZ Developers Pvt. Ltd. for co-developer status in M/s Phoenix Tech zone Pvt. Ltd. SEZ at Sy. No. 115/35, Nanakramguda Village, Serilingampally Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal of M/s. Spacetech SEZ Developers Pvt. Ltd. for making further investment to upgrade, develop infrastructure and undertake operation and maintenance of the constructed area leased by the Developer to the proposed co-developer in an area of 47,010 sq.ft. located on the 12th Floor of Tower - B in the above SEZ in accordance with the co-developer agreement dated 16.07.2020 entered into with the developer, subject to compliance with relevant provisions of SEZ Act & Rules. The lease period shall be in accordance with DoC's Instruction no. 98 dated 29.08.2019. Item no. 100.5(v) Request of M/s. Squarespace SEZ Pvt. Ltd. fo....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....accordance with the co-developer agreement dated 08.09.2020 entered into with the developer, subject to compliance with relevant provisions of SEZ Act & Rules. The lease period shall be in accordance with DoC's Instruction no. 98 dated 29.08.2019. 100.6 Miscellaneous cases (eleven proposals) Item no. 100.6(i) Request of M/s. Panama Petrochem Limited, a unit in Dahej SEZ for granting permission for import of Used Cooking oil (HSN 15180040) with other grades of Vegetables oils for manufacturing. The Board, after deliberations, decided to approve the proposal subject to the condition that goods manufactured out of such prohibited imported goods are exported in its entirety. Item no. 100.6(ii) Extension of LoA of used and worn clothing units and plastic recycling units located at Kandla, Falta and Noida SEZ in terms of Rule 18(4) of the SEZ Rules, 2006. The Board noted that the validity of LoA of 47 units including both the plastic recycling units and worn and used clothing units from Kandla, Falta and Noida was last extended by the Board of Approval in its 99th meeting held on 31.07.2020 for a period upto 30.09.2020. As the policy is under deliberations amongst the stakeholde....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....xtra Data Ltd. (Co-Developer) in MIDC IT/ITES SEZ, Pune located at Plot No. 28 and Plot No.13/10/A & Plot No. 13/10/B, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, MIDC, Hinjewadi, Phase-III, Pune, for increase in area from existing 2.40 Ha to 9.28 Ha. i.e. increase by 6.88 Ha (68800 sq.mtrs.) located at plot No. P-1/1 & P-1/2. The Board, after deliberations, approved the proposal of M/s. Nxtra Data Ltd., co-developer for expansion in area from 2.40 Ha to 9.28 Ha at Plot no. P-1/1 & P-1/2 to the existing SEZ located at Plot no. 28 & Plot no. 13/10/A & 13/10/B, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, MIDC, Hinjewadi, Phase III, Pune subject to execution of necessary agreement with the developer and compliance with relevant provisions of SEZ Act & Rules. Item no. 100.6 (viii) Requests for procurement of Sand by Developers/Co-Developers/Units in SEZs in Telangana. The Board, after deliberations, decided to approve the proposal i.r.o. listed developer/co-developer/units (nine) in the agenda subject to the condition that the allowed items are actually used in the SEZ. Item no. 100.6(ix) Procurement of Sand/Soil by SEZ Developers and SEZ units and ratification of approval granted under Delegation of Powers grant....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....inst the CA for certifying false APR iii. The unit consistently failed to achieve positive NFE both during the period 2005-2010 and 2014-2019 (for period 2010-14, LoA was not renewed by BoA). The above decision of the Board was challenged by the unit in the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad through Special Civil Application No. 13735 of 2019. The High Court quashed and set aside the impugned decision of the BOA taken in the 89th meeting held on 22nd April, 2019 and directed to reconsider the application filed by the petitioners for renewal/extension of LoA after giving adequate opportunity of hearing to the petitioners with a period of three months from the date of receipt of the writ of the order. As directed by Hon'ble High Court, the Board heard Shri Paresh M. Dave, Advocate of M/s Sameer Industries at length. During the course of hearing, the representative of the unit reiterated the points made in his written submission which are given below: i. The adverse decision taken by the Board in its 89th meeting held on 22.04.2019 is wrong and unjustified because an instance of violation of Customs Act in 2005 by the unit wherein Kandla Custom Authorities booked a case is a....