Infosys has taken over Rajarhat plot: TMC

On Saturday, state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said: “A top delegation of the company recently met the principal secretary of my department, who is also chairman of Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco), and paid Rs 50 crore for the 50-acre land, thereby taking possession of the land.”

“Dirty politics on the part of erstwhile Left government had resulted in some leading IT companies turning away from Bengal to foray into Bengaluru and Hyderabad. But this is gradually changing. The IT sector is making a turnaround,” he said.

However, the government may be forced to look for a “middle path”.

“Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly spoken out against SEZ. This is also the stance that Congress has, and now in the context of anti-Modi politics, it will be problematic for them to go back on the issue,” a government official said

When asked about this, Hakim had refused to comment, explaining that as the urban development minister, this wasn’t within his prerogative. IT Minister Bratya Basu wasn’t available for comment.

The “middle path” would involve the government retaining at least some of the advantages an SEZ would offer, without giving land the SEZ tag. While this would not give them the tax benefits that an SEZ status would, an official said: “The government was considering offering a better deal in terms of higher Floor Area Ratio (FAR), and if the company isn’t interested, exemption in terms of property tax is also being considered.”

Infosys officials could not be reached for comment.

The benefits of setting up shop in an area with SEZ status includes exemption from various forms of taxes such as customs duty, income tax, central sales tax and service tax.

However, with the Centre looking to wind down the financial benefits of an SEZ over a period with tax exemptions being over by March 2020 – as per the 2016 budget – officials said Infosys was even more keen to follow up on the deal.