Amendments in DTC likely to hit investment in state SEZs: MADC

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd (MADC), promoter of the ambitious MIHAN-SEZ project in Nagpur, feels that the proposed amendments in the Direct Tax Code ( DTC) which deny tax sops to special economic zones, would have an adverse impact on investments in the state.

The Maharashtra Government has approved 146 SEZ proposals out of which 54 have been notified till now. Of these, 24 projects, primarily IT-based, are already operational.

The Multi-Modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project is spread over 4,354-hectares (approx 10,000-acres) of land. Out of this, around 2,086-hectares (approx 5,000-acres), has been earmarked for the SEZ project.

The project estimates it would generate nearly Rs 40,000-crore in annual revenue and provide employment to some 1,20,000 people directly and another 2,30,000 people indirectly.

"Maharashtra is being looked at as an investment destination. If the revised DTC draft is approved, it would have an adverse impact on investments in the state," MADC's Marketing Manager, S Sittarasu, told PTI here.

He said that companies come to invest in SEZs as they get certain tax benefits, including income tax benefits.