CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These rules may be called the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions.- (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(a) “Act” means the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 (28 of 2005);

(b) “Advance Licence” means an Advance Licence issued under Duty Exemption and Remission Scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy;

(c) “Authorised Officer” means an Inspector or Preventive Officer or Appraiser or Superintendent of Customs posted in the Special Economic Zone and authorized by the Specified Officer to discharge any of his functions under these rules;

(d) “Bio Technology Park unit” means a unit approved under the Bio-Technology Park Scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy;

(e)"capital goods" means any plant, machinery, equipment or accessories required for manufacture or production, either directly or indirectly, of goods or for rendering services, or for development of Special Economic Zone, including those required for construction, replacement, modernization, technological upgradation or expansion and also include material handling equipment, packaging machinery and equipments, refractories for initial lining, refrigeration equipment, power generating sets, machine tools, equipment and instruments for testing, research and development, quality and pollution control system, for use in manufacturing,construction, mining, agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, floriculture,horticulture, pisciculture, poultry, sericulture and viticulture, and in the services sector;

(f) "component" means one of the parts of a sub-assembly or assembly of which a manufactured product is made up and into which it may be resolved and includes an accessory or attachment to the component;

(g) "consumable" means any item, (including fuels, high speed diesel oil, light diesel oil and other such petroleum products) which is required for a manufacturing process, which may or may not be substantially or totally consumed during a manufacturing process but does not necessarily form part of the end product;

(h) “custodian” means any person referred to in section 45 of the Customs Act,1962;

(i) “Customs Act” means the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962);

(j) "drawback" means drawback referred to in the Customs Act, 1962;

(k) “Duty Entitlement Pass Book Scheme” means the Duty Exemption Pass Book Scheme framed under the Foreign Trade Policy;

(l) “Duty Free Replenishment Certificate“ means Duty Free Replenishment Certificate issued under the Foreign Trade Policy;

(m) "Electronic Hardware Technology Park unit” means a unit approved in accordance with the Electronic Hardware Technology Park Scheme framed under the Foreign Trade Policy;

(n) “Export Oriented Unit” means a unit approved in accordance with the Export Oriented Unit scheme framed under the Foreign Trade Policy;

(o) “Foreign Trade Policy” means the Foreign Trade Policy notified from time to time by the Central Government under section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act 1992 (22 of 1992);

(p) “Form” means the form appended to these rules;

(q) “Handbook” means the Handbook of Procedures framed under the Foreign Trade Policy;

(r) “Import Trade Control (Harmonized System) Classifications of Export and Import Items” means the items notified from time to time by the Central Government under section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992 (22 of 1992);

(s) “infrastructure” means facilities needed for development, operation and maintenance of a Special Economic Zone and includes industrial, business and social amenities like development of land, roads, buildings, sewerage and effluent treatment facilities, solid waste management facilities, port, including jetties, single point moorings, storage tanks and interconnecting pipelines for liquids and gases, Inland Container Depot or Container Freight Station, warehouses, airports, railways, transport system, generation and distribution of power, gas and other forms of energy, telecommunication, data transmission network, information technology network, hospitals, hotels, educational institutions, leisure, recreational and entertainment facilities, residential and business complex, water supply, including desalination plant, sanitation facility;

(t) “Nominated Agency” means:-

a) the MMTC Ltd, being a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956

(1 of 1956);

b) the Handicraft and Handloom Export Corporation Limited, being the company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);

c) the State Trading Corporation of India Limited, being the company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);

d) the Projects and Equipment Corporation of India Limited being the company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956); and

e) any other agency authorized by the Reserve Bank of India;

(u) raw material" means:-

(a) basic materials which are needed for the manufacture of goods, but whichare still in a raw, natural, unrefined or un-manufactured state; and

(b) any materials or goods which are required for the manufacturing process (including, catalysts for initial charge), packing material, whether they have actually been previously manufactured or are processed or are still in a raw or natural state;

(v) “Replenishment Licence” means the Replenishment Licence issued under the Foreign Trade Policy;

(w) “section” means the section of the Act;

(x) “Sector” means one or more products or one or more services falling under a category such as engineering, textiles and garments, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, handicrafts, gem and jewellery, electronics hardware and software, including information technology enabled services and bio-technology;

(y) “Software Technology Park unit” means a unit approved under the Software Technology Parks Scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy;

(z) "spares" means a part or a sub-assembly or assembly for substitution, that is ready to replace an identical or similar part or sub-assembly or assembly and includes a component or an accessory;

(za) “Special Economic Zone for multi-product” means a Special Economic Zone where Units may be set up for manufacture of two or more goods in a sector or goods falling in two or more sectors or for trading and warehousing or rendering of two or more services in a sector or rendering of services falling in two or more sectors;

(zb) “Special Economic Zone for specific sector” means a Special Economic Zone meant exclusively for one or more products in a sector or one or more services in a sector;

(zc) “Special Economic Zone in a port or airport” means a Special Economic Zone in an existing port or airport for manufacture of goods in two or more goods in a sector or goods falling in two or more sectors or for trading and warehousing or rendering of services;

(zd) “Specified Officer” in relation to a Special Economic Zone means Joint or Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Customs for the time being posted in the Special Economic Zone; (ze) "status holder’ means an exporter recognized under the Foreign Trade Policy;

(2) All other words and expressions used in these rules and not defined but defined in the Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.