Manoj Kumar, zonal joint director-general of foreign trade, in Calcutta on Tuesday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, March 30: The country’s exports through special economic zones (SEZs) is set to increase substantially in the post-WTO regime, Manoj Kumar, zonal joint director-general of foreign trade, said today.

“SEZs have great potential, but we need to harness it. It is one of the tools that is WTO-compliant and will continue to be so,” Kumar, who is also development commissioner of Falta SEZ, said while addressing the members of Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

He said the country was yet to fully tap the potential of SEZs, but exports through eight government-controlled and 26 private and joint-sector operated SEZs were increasing gradually over the past four years.

Aggregate exports through SEZs, which stood at Rs 8,552 crore in 2000-01, increased to Rs 10,000 crore in 2002-03 and further to Rs 12,000 crore during the first 10 months of 2003-04.

The share of Falta SEZ also increased to Rs 754 crore in 2003-04 up to February from Rs 520 crore in 2000-01, Kumar said.

On the Falta Special Economic Zone (FSEZ), Kumar said, “Currently, 70 per cent of the area under FSEZ is occupied and we expect it to be fully utilised within the next two years.”

According to the estimates up to February 2003-04, FSEZ is among the SEZs that recorded the highest growth in exports with an export of Rs 754 crore as against Rs 521 crore for 2002-03.

The central SEZ bill, approved by the Cabinet, is awaiting approval by Parliament and will be instrumental in providing further impetus to the growth of the SEZs.

The bill , along with various other fiscal and financial incentives, proposes to extend the tax holiday to 20 years. It also proposes to forego the 30 per cent duty, which needs to be paid on sale to Domestic Tariff Area.

Improved infrastructure and establishing an independent SEZ authority have also been suggested to ensure hassle-free operations in these zones. Further, there are plans to set up more overseas banking units to provide credit in foreign currencies.