Having bagged 70 per cent of the total formal approvals for setting up SEZs, IT and ITeS firms continue to rush for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and the sector will dominate the agenda for the next Board of Approvals meeting this week.

Of the 15 proposals listed for the Board of Approvals  meeting on October 19, 11 belong to the IT and ITeS sector, including those from TCS and DLF for their new projects in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.

Several tax sops
Of the 366 SEZ proposals that have been formally approved by the central government so far, 257 of these are for IT and ITeS sectors, accounting for over 70 per cent.  All the big IT firms like Infosys Technologies, TCS, Wipro, HCL and Satyam have joined the special economic zone bandwagon, commerce ministry data shows.

The special economic zone scheme, under which several tax incentives are extended for 15 years, has come in as an alternative to the existing Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme, which gives fiscal sops but will expire in March 2009. However, some analysts feel that it is not tax incentives alone which are attracting IT and ITeS companies toward special economic zones but also the need for global infrastructure, which is easier to build in these zones.

Self sufficient plan
“The SEZ scheme is self-sufficient. Apart from fiscal incentives, there are advantages like ease of operation through single window clearance and creation of infrastructure,” according to  Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs Director General L B Singhal here.

Besides information technology majors, IT and ITeS special economic zoness are also being established by leading arge real estate companies like DLF and Parsvnath.