Insights
Ease of Doing Business in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift City) in India
February 22, 2024Introduction
The World Bank was a pioneer in drawing world’s attention on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ (“EODB”) by publishing a report in early 2000s. It ranked 190 (one hundred and ninety) economies of the world on 10 (ten) parameters, which indicated how easy it was to do business in a country. In the last annual report on EODB, India ranked at the 63rd position in terms of Business Regulations.
Following the trend and keeping in mind the above, the Government of India through the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”) introduced the Business Reforms Action Plan (“BRAP”). The objective of BRAP is to layout a series of reforms targeted at increasing transparency and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory framework and services for businesses in India. The BRAP includes recommendations across 12 (twelve) reform areas, which include Labour Regulation Enablers, Contract Enforcement, Registering Property, Inspection Reform Enablers, Single Window System, Land Availability and Allotment, Construction Permit Enablers, Environmental Registration Enablers, Obtaining Utility Permits, Paying Taxes, Access to Information and Transparency Enablers.
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Considering the developing landscape of India and its rapidly growing contribution in global finance and world business, the emergence of the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or as it is more popularly known – the ‘GIFT City’, represents India’s strategic endeavour to establish a pivotal hotspot for fostering international trade and investment. GIFT City is India’s first operational greenfield Smart City and International Financial Services Centre (“IFSC”), conceptualized as a financial and technology hub.
The evolution of GIFT City is an opportunity to set out reforms towards providing a thriving financial ecosystem and is setup with a vision of national importance, as the Country is at the thresholds of realizing its dream of becoming a Developed Nation.
As an ambitious project, GIFT City offers a revolutionary launchpad for legacy and modern businesses, rooted in cuttingedge technology and is equipped with a host of incentives and infrastructural benefits. In recent years, GIFT City has presented competitive benefits for offshore investors including, direct and indirect tax exemptions under GST, dividend distribution tax and capital gains tax, incentives for investors and operational benefits.
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Contributed by: Radhika Dudhat, Partner; Gaurita Udiyawar, Partner; Priyanka Sheth, Counsel and Dhwani Baxi, Associate.
Disclaimer
This is intended for general information purposes only. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author/authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the firm.
