Section 10 - Suspension of Letter of Approval and Transfer of Special Economic Zone in Certain Cases - Special Economic Zones Act, 2005

Suspension of Letter of Approval and Transfer of Special Economic Zone in Certain Cases 10. (1) If at any time the Board is of the opinion that a Developer - (a) is unable to discharge the functions or perform the duties imposed on him by or under the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder; or (b) has persistently defaulted in complying with any direction given by the Board under this Act; or (c) has violated the terms and conditions of the letter of approval; or (d) whose financial position is such that he is unable to fully and efficiently discharge the duties and obligations imposed on him by the letter of approval, and the circumstances exist which render it necessary for it in public interest so to do, the Board may, on application, or with the consent of the Developer, or otherwise, for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend the letter of approval, granted to the Developer for a whole or part of his area established as Special Economic Zone, for a period not exceeding one year and appoint an Administrator to discharge the functions of the Developer in accordance with the terms and conditions of the letter of approval and manage the Special Economic Zone accordingly. (2) Consequent upon appointment of an Administrator, the management of the Special Economic Zone of the Developer referred to in sub-section (1) shall vest in the Administrator. (3) No letter of approval shall be suspended under sub-section (1) unless the Board has given to the Developer not less than three months notice, in writing, stating the grounds on which it proposes to suspend the letter of approval, and has considered any cause shown by the Developer within the period of that notice, against the proposed suspension. (4) The Board may, instead of suspending the letter of approval under sub-section (1), permit it to remain in force subject to such further terms and conditions as it thinks fit to impose, and any further terms or conditions so imposed shall be binding upon and be complied with by the Developer and shall be of like force and effect as if they were contained in the letter of approval. (5) In case the Board suspends a letter of approval under this section, it shall serve a notice of suspension upon the Developer and fix a date on which the suspension shall take effect. (6) Upon suspension of the letter of approval under subsection (1), the Special Economic Zone of the Developer referred to in sub-section (5) shall vest in the Administrator under sub-section (2) for a period not exceeding one year or up to the date on which his letter of approval for such Special Economic Zone is transferred, whichever is earlier, in accordance with the provisions contained in sub-sections (7) and (9), as the case may be. (7) Where the Board has given notice for suspension of letter of approval under sub-section (5), the Developer may, after prior approval of the Board, transfer his letter of approval to any person who is found eligible by the Board for grant of such approval. (8) If at any time, it appears to the Board that the purpose of the order appointing the Administrator has been fulfilled or that for any reason it is undesirable that the order of appointment should remain in force, the Board may cancel the order and thereupon the Administrator shall be divested of the management of the Special Economic Zone which shall, unless otherwise directed by the Board, again vest in the person, being the Developer, in whom it was vested immediately prior to the date of appointment of the Administrator. (9) Where the Board suspends the letter of approval, under this section, in respect of any Developer, the following provisions shall apply, namely:- (a) the Board shall invite applications for transferring the letter of approval of the Developer, whose approval has been suspended and select the person or persons, in accordance with the procedure as may be prescribed, to whom the letter of approval of the Developer in the Special Economic Zone may be transferred; (b) upon selection of person or persons under subsection (a), the Board may, by notice in writing, require the Developer to transfer his letter of approval in a Special Economic Zone to the person or the persons so selected and thereupon the Developer shall transfer his interests, rights and liabilities in the Special Economic Zone (hereafter in this section referred to as the transferee ) who has been selected by the Board on such terms and conditions and consideration as may be agreed upon between the Developer and the transferee; (c) all the rights, duties, obligations and liabilities of the Developer, on and from the date of suspension of letter of approval or on and from the date, if earlier, on which his letter of approval in the Special Economic Zone of the Developer has been transferred to the transferee, shall cease absolutely except for any liabilities which have accrued prior to that date; (d) the Board may make such interim arrangements in regard to the operation of the Special Economic Zone as may be considered appropriate; (e) the Administrator shall exercise such powers and discharge such functions as the Board may direct. (10) The Board may, in order to promote exports or to protect the interest of Units or in the public interest, issue such directions or formulate such scheme as it may consider necessary for operation of the Special Economic Zone.