The Central Government has permitted Work From Home up to the 31st of December, 2023 for 100 per cent of employees of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) units. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the decision was made after duly noting the genuine needs of the industry and the scope of benefits to economies of Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. It has also issued a Standard Operating Procedure to streamline the implementation of amended rules across all SEZs.
Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country’s national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increased investment, job creation and effective administration. To encourage businesses to set up in the zone, financial policies are introduced. These policies typically encompass investing, taxation, trading, quotas, customs and labour regulations. Additionally, companies may be offered tax holidays, where upon establishing themselves in a zone, they are granted a period of lower taxation.
The creation of special economic zones by the host country may be motivated by the desire to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The benefits a company gains by being in a special economic zone may mean that it can produce and trade goods at a lower price, aimed at being globally competitive. In some countries, the zones have been criticized for being little more than labor camps, with workers denied fundamental labor rights.
The term special economic zone[8][9] can include:
- Free-trade zones (FTZ)
- Export processing zones (EPZ)
- Free zones/ Free economic zones (FZ/ FEZ)
- Industrial parks / industrial estates (IE)
- Free ports
- Bonded logistics parks (BLP)
- Urban enterprise zones