In-Principle nod for Free Trade Warehousing Zone

KOCHI:  The Kerala Government has granted in-principle approval for the Free Trade Warehousing Zone (FTWZ) proposed by the  Cochin Port Trust (CPT). Government approval was essential as the FTWZ needed facilities such as ‘deferment of tax’ and ‘re-export without duty implication’.The CPT had invited Expression of Interest (EoI) at the global level for the project on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in October. “The government has in principle accepted the proposal of the Port Trust and forwarded the same to the Central Government. Seven major players in the logistics industry, including the Arshiya International Limited, have shown interest in the project,” said CPT chairman Paul Antony.The FTWZ, coming up on 102 acres of land near the proposed Kochi campus of the Indian Maritime University on NH 49A in Willingdon Island, will be  governed by the provisions of the SEZ Act-2005 and SEZ Rules-2006.The proposed FTWZ would be a global trading hub linking logistics and supply chain serving both Indian and foreign ports. It will comprise of warehousing for different products, logistics and distribution centres, along with one-stop clearance for import and export of goods.“Apart from storage capability, it will have a sanitised and temperature-controlled environment which will be made moisture and dust-free, along with land, air and water connectivity,” the port authorities said.All activities within the FTWZ will be exempted from central sales tax, VAT and service tax, including labour and rental. There will be no duty on re-export. Products sourced from the domestic traffic area will be exempted of excise duty.“Currently, only Mumbai has such a facility. Most of the logistics companies are now dependent on free-trade warehousing facilities in Singapore and Dubai. The key difference between an FTWZ and a standard warehousing unit is a unique product offering, wherein the benefits of a free zone are integrated with professionally handled, high-quality physical infrastructure.It provides an ideal platform for the successful proliferation of trading and warehousing companies in a globally competitive scenario,” port authorities said.