In a bid to give boost to exports, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the government will soon bring out a Special Economic Zones Bill and a new trade policy.
Terming SEZs as growth engines that will boost manufacturing, exports and employment, he said they require a special fiscal and regulatory regime and the commerce minister will soon unveil a Bill for regulating them.
"Five SEZs have started functioning. SEZs require a special fiscal and regulatory regime. The commerce minister will, shortly, introduce a Bill for introducing SEZ and it is my belief that the passing of such a law would be a significant milestone in our quest to become a major hub for manufacturing and exports," he said.
Giving relief to gems and jewellery exporters, he proposed to reduce customs duty on platinum from Rs 550 per 10 gram to Rs 200 per 10 gram apart from exempting all rough coloured gem stones.
Concessional rate of customs duty of five per cent available to specified items for use in leather industry has been extended to items designed for use in non-leather footwear industry which would be subjected to countervailing duty.
Patent leather has also been exempted from customs duty.