MoI to forward Industrial Enterprises Act to Cabinet

THE Ministry of Industry (MoI) is all set to forward the draft of the Industrial Enterprises Act (IEA) to the Cabinet for endorsement. The government, which has accorded top priority to the umbrella act for industrial sector, plans to introduce it as an ordinance. The government plans to formulate the IEA to implement the industrial policy that was introduced three-and-a-half years ago. “The Industrial Enterprises Act will address most issues related to the industrial sector,” Industry Secretary Krishna Gyawali said. The MoI plans to send the draft to the Cabinet after incorporating opinions from all the ministries concerned and other stakeholders to the law ministry for a final word. “We plan to send the proposed Act to the Cabinet within next week,” said Gyawali. The MoI has taken feedback from ministries of Finance, Commerce, Labour and Home and the private sector. Issues incorporated in the proposed Act include facilities for sick industries to turn them around and provisions related to Special Economic Zones (SEZs). “We have also provisioned that no other Act will be applicable than this one in the industrial sector,” said Gyawali. “Such a provision was made amid complaints from the private sector about different definitions of different Acts on the same issue.” Sick industries will get relief through this Act. Two years ago, the Sick Industry Rehabilitation High- Level Taskforce headed by former National Panning Commission Vicechairman Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry had recommended the government to give easy exit measures to enterprises beyond rescue, a three-to-five-year package for rehabilitation, loans at low interest rates and tax exemptions, among other schemes. However, the government failed to implement the recommendations as they went beyond the existing Industrial Act. In the proposed Act, the government is also incorporating the issue of SEZ, although it was planned that a separate Act would be introduced for this. Earlier, the draft SEZ Act prepared by the Industry Ministry was opposed by the Finance and Labour ministries over taxation and labour relations. According to an industry ministry source, the ministry has provisioned income tax exemption for seven years inside SEZs.