Need for SEZ in Hubli-Dharwad

To,
Hon. Minister for Commerce & Industry, Govt of India,
Hon. Chief Minister Sri.HD Kumaraswamy,
Hon. Deputy Chief Minister, Sri. Yediyurappa,
Hon. Revenue Minister & In-Charge Minister for Dharwad District, Sri. Jagadish Shettar,
Hon. Member of Parliament, Sri. Pralhad Joshi,

Subject: Request for establishing SEZ in Hubli-Dharwad regarding

Honorable Min for Commerce & Industry, Govt of India, Hon. CM, Hon. Dy CM, Hon. Revenue Minister & Hon. MP,

We the citizens of the twin cities, request to establish a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) within Hubli-Dharwad.

The recent successful meeting of the Investors Meet in May, 2006 has unfolded the potentials of the twin cities to the IT / ITeS / BPO / BT industry players. Slow but definitive developments can be see in the starting of operations by some of the IT industry players, which include Neilsoft (Engg Services Company), Sankalp Semiconductors and others. The recent announcement by TCS, (Tata Consultancy Services) to plan for their operations in Hubli-Dharwad has certainly made other IT industry players to sit up and take note of the potentials of twin cities, for certain.

The recent announcement by the Hon.Revenue Minister, Sri. Jagadish Shettar, about the forthcoming meeting of interested IT companies willing to start operations in Hubli-Dharwad, to meet with the Hon. CM, Sri. HD Kumaraswamy, for finalizing the concessions to be provided to them, is a clear indication of the necessity for establishing a Special Economic Zone within twin cities.

The ambient features of twin cities, providing a conducive environment for the IT industry establishment, certainly needs to provide the required impetus with more sops to the investing IT companies, to make it an attractive destination for such investments to flow to this region of the state. Some of the advantages for establishing SEZ in Hubli-Dharwad can be glanced from the details mentioned below:

SEZ's are duty free enclaves and are treated as foreign territory for trade operations & duties and tariffs. SEZ's provide internationally competitive & hassle free environment for exports, units may be set up in SEZs for manufacture of goods, rendering of services & trading. Up to 100\% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in manufacturing sector is allowed through automatic route barring a few sectors. Units in SEZs have to be net foreign exchange earners within 3 years.
Other benefits of SEZ's
Exemption from customs duty on import of capital goods, raw materials, consumables & spares
Exemption from Central Excise duty on procurement of capital goods, raw materials, consumables, spares, etc. from the domestic market
100\% income tax exemption for a block of five years;
50\% tax exemptions for two years; &
Up to 50\% of the Profits ploughed back for next 3 years under S.10-A of Income Tax Act
Reimbursement of Central Sales Tax paid on domestic purchases

Courtesy: http://members.aol.com/rtmadaan1/#sez

The state government of Karnataka has already granted to establish SEZ in Hassan, the details of which could be seen @ http://www.sezindia.nic.in/Important_addresses.asp . We are convinced that the untapped potentials of twin cities, along with the support of plaudable and respectable administrations by Hon. Commissioner and Hon. Deputy Commissioner, can contribute significantly for the development and sustenance of diverse investing entities of IT/BT industry, provided the aforementioned sops are extended to these investing entities by establishing a Special Economic Zone in Hubli-Dharwad.

We voice our strong request to your able administrative offices, to grant establishment of Special Economic Zone for Hubli-Dharwad. Although the meeting of Board of Approval (BOA) of SEZ, scheduled for August 8th 2006 , is considering only the proposals for setting up of SEZs received upto July 15th 2006, (http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/11/stories/2006071109041600.htm)
we request you to consider our request for submittal of SEZ proposal for Hubli-Dharwad at your earliest administrative convenience. We look forward to further developments that encompass our request for establishing SEZ for Hubli-Dharwad.

Thanking you in anticipation.