Customs
A designated area where goods may be imported, stored, or manufactured free from most customs duties.
India’s own account starts earlier than most people expect: “India was one of the first in Asia to recognize the effectiveness of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) model in promoting exports, with Asia’s first EPZ set up in Kandla in 1965.” The SEZ policy that replaced it was announced in April 2000, and the Department of Commerce is candid about what drove the change — the EPZ regime suffered from “the multiplicity of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and an unstable fiscal regime”. The policy “intended to make SEZs an engine for economic growth supported by quality infrastructure complemented by an attractive fiscal package, both at the Centre and the State level, with the minimum possible regulations”. Note the sequence for anyone reading older documents: SEZs operated under the Foreign Trade Policy from 1 November 2000 until 9 February 2006, when the SEZ Act took over. A zone is a customs and fiscal construct, not merely an industrial estate.
What this source settles. Where a government or an intergovernmental body is cited, the page is authoritative for the regime it administers and for the figures it publishes about itself. Where a standards body is cited, the entry names the body and describes the standard’s role, but quotes nothing from a text that is sold rather than published. In every case the operative document — the Act, the order, the manual, the issue of the standard your contract names — governs over any summary of it.
Free Trade Zones (FTZs) are designated areas where goods can be imported, stored, or manufactured free from customs duties until they are declared for domestic use or re-export. Key FTZs relevant to India trade: Jebel Ali FTZ (UAE), Singapore FTZ, Nhava Sheva FTZ (India). Used for re-packaging, consolidation, or triangular trade structures.
From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).
Developed by Amit Jain at allfrontierglobal.com
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