New Delhi, 9 June (IANS). The central government on Monday introduced improvements in the Special Economic Sector (SEZ) rules to meet the special requirements of the semiconductor and electronics component manufacturing sector. The rules have been amended to promote investment and manufacturing in these high technology sectors.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, a specially established SEZ would require a minimum land area of only 10 hectares for manufacturing of semiconductor or electronic components after amendment in Rule 5 of SEZ Rules, 2006, which was earlier 50 hectares.
In addition, amendment to Rule 7 of SEZ Rules, 2006 allows the approval board for SEZ to be relaxed in the condition of being loans in case of lease to the Center or State Government or their authorized agencies.
The value of goods obtained and supplied on free basis under the revised Rule 53 will be included in the Pure Forex (NFE) calculation. Also, the applied customs assessment will be evaluated using the rules.
In addition, Rule 18 of SEZ has been amended to allow the semiconductor as well as the SEZ unit to the Electronics Component Manufacturing sector to allow domestic supply to the domestic tariff area after paying the applicable fees.
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, these amendments will promote high-tech manufacturing in the country. Also, semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem will develop and high skills will be created in the country.
According to the statement of the ministry, these amendments have been notified by the Department of Commerce on June 3, 2025. Subsequently, the approval board for SEZ has approved proposals received from Micron Semiconductor Technology India Private Limited (MSTI) and Hubli Durable Goods Cluster Private Limited (Aquas Group) for the establishment of SEZ for manufacturing SEZ respectively.
-IANS
SKT/GKT