SEZ Amendments in August 2016
Special Economic Zone Rules, 2006 (‘SEZ Rules’) have been amended vide Notifications dated August 05, 2016 to the following effect:
- Rule 47 of the SEZ Rules, has been amended to the effect that refund, demand, adjudication, review and appeal with regard to matters relating to authorised operations under Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (‘SEZ Act’), transactions, and goods and services related thereto, shall be made by the Jurisdictional Customs and Central Excise Authorities in accordance with the relevant provisions contained in the Customs Act, 1962, the Central Excise Act, 1944, and the Finance Act, 1994 and the rules made there under.
- Rule 79 has been inserted in the SEZ Rules to provide that all the authorised operations under SEZ Act and transactions relating thereto in SEZ and Units in the SEZ shall be audited by the Customs officers from a panel drawn by the Jurisdictional Development Commissioner in consultation with the Jurisdictional Chief Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise.
- Rule 22 of the SEZ Rules has been amended to provides that it is mandatory for the Unit or the developer including co-developer to obtain a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (issued by Export Promotion Council for Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones) for availing exemptions, drawbacks and concessions;
Certain offences currently notified under Customs Act, 1962, the Central Excise Act, 1944, Finance Act, 1994 have been notified as offences under SEZ Act also; Further various officers under the said Acts of the level of Addl. Director General, DRI/ Director General, DGCEI have been notified as enforcement officer(s) in respect of the said offence(s) committed in SEZ, and the jurisdictional Commissioners of Customs & Central Excise has been authorized to can carry out investigation, inspection, search or seizure in SEZ with prior intimation to Development Commissioner.