New Delhi, July 7 (KNN) Under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was rolled out from July 1, the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) will not have to face the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST).

The Department of Revenue in a notification said that the central government has decided to exempt all goods imported by a unit or a developer in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for authorised operations, from the whole of integrates tax levied under the act.

SEZ refers to the areas defined by the government as a foreign territory for   trade operations and duties. The SEZs are set up in various part of the country in an attempt to promote trade and exports. As of now the government has approved over 421 SEZs in different states. Of these 218 are operational.

Recent reports indicate that the exports from SEZs grew by 12 per cent amounting to Rs 5.24 lakh in 2016-17 as opposed to 4.68 lakh crores in the previous year. (KNN/ DA)