Free-trade Warehousing Zone to Come up at Kochi

KOCHI: The Cochin Port Trust (CPT) has invited expression of interest (EoI) at the global level to set up a free-trade warehousing zone (FTWZ) on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.The concept is to have an FTWZ which would be a global trading hub linking logistics and supply chain. It would comprise warehousing for different products, logistics and distribution centres, along with one-stop clearance for import and export of goods.“The FTWZ will come up on 102 acres of land near the proposed Kochi campus of the Indian Maritime University on NH 49-A in Willingdon Island. Apart from the storage capability, it will have sanitised and temperature-controlled environment which would be made moisture and dust-free, along with land, air and water connectivity,” the port authorities said.“Other features of the FTWZ include exemptions on Central sales tax, value added tax and service tax on all activities within the FTWZ, including labour and rental, re-export without duty implication, Excise duty exemption for products sourced from the domestic traffic area, shared warehousing and equipment,” they said.The port officials said they were awaiting sanction from the state and Central governments to provide ‘deferment of tax’ facility at FTWZ.“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 FTWZ is envisaged to function as international trading hubs which serve as key links in global logistics and supply chain, serving both Indian and foreign ports. 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.The Government of India in its Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09, had proposed to set up free trade and warehousing zones (FTWZ) to create trade-related infrastructure to bridge the gap in the existing facilities available for trading and storage activities relating to foreign trade with freedom to carry out trade transactions in free currency.The FTWZ will be  governed by the provisions of the SEZ Act-2005 and SEZ Rules-2006.