« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Delhi HC Rules GST Registration Cannot Be Cancelled Retrospectively Without a Clear Show Cause Notice (SCN)  Belated income tax return AY 2026-27: How to file, late filing charges and what you may lose  Major Financial Changes from August 1, 2026: ITR Deadline, RBI MPC Meeting, Tatkal Ticket Rules & More  Government proposes to ease tax relief conditions for offshore funds  TallyPrime Connected Banking: Automating Banking and Accounting  ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Is July 31 the Last Date to File Your Income Tax Return? Latest Official Update  ITR filing deadline nears: How to file income tax return online on e-filing portal - quick 15-step guide  Will the ITR Filing Deadline Be Extended Beyond July 31 for FY 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update for Taxpayers  Income Tax Refund Delayed for AY 2026-27? 5 Common Reasons Your Refund May Be Stuck and How to Fix It  ITR Filing 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Tax Officials to Let Honest Taxpayers Correct Genuine Mistakes  Will Your FCNR Deposit Stay Tax-Free After Returning to India? Tax Rules Explained for NRIs «  Vodafone case: CBDT to file caveat ... Fiscal stimulus to revive the economy... » Centre urges RBI to grant infra status to SEZs December, 03rd 2008 The Cabinet has urged the Apex bank to grant infrastructure status to the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) for encouraging the exports, which are badly hit by recession in the US and several European economies. India`s exports plunged by over 12% in October this fiscal under the impact of global slowdown. At present, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) considers SEZs as real estate as a result of which promoters have to pay higher interest on bank loans. Banks charge higher interest from the real estate promoters because they need to provide increased provisioning. However, the central bank is yet to implement the government directive, which was issued after a decision of the empowered group of ministers (eGoM), said L B Singhal, director general of the Export Promotion Council for Export Oriented Units (EOUs) and SEZs. Since the SEZ Act, 2005, came into force, exports from SEZs have been Rs 660 billion. The SEZ exports are likely to reach over Rs 1,000 billion by the end of this fiscal, Singhal said. He said the Central government has already decided to provide service tax exemptions to SEZs for services provided outside the tax-free zones. The department of commerce is working on extending the tax refund benefits to SEZs under the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB) as well as Duty Drawback scheme. In addition, the ministry of finance (FinMin) would be coming out with directives to provide central value added tax (CENVAT) credit benefits for manufacturing within SEZs.