The Budget has brought down curtains on the tax holiday of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme, which will end by March 2011. Yet it continues to be business as usual for STPI and it continues to attract new units. There have been 88 new registrations in Maharashtra so far, and the number is likely to exceed 100 by the month end, STPI officials said. The number of new registrations was similar last year.
?Either the industry is optimistic that they will get an extension or they want to continue with their growth plans. I seem to find no signs of change,? SK Agarwal, director of STPI Maharashtra, said. ?I don?t think there should be much of an impact,? he added.
?Companies are already paying taxes amounting to nearly 34%. Corporate taxes with educational cess come up to nearly 31%, there is also the service tax and minimum alternate tax that range between 16% and 18%. So there could be a difference of just about 10% in the amount of taxes paid by companies now and the amount they will pay after March 2011. The way I see it, I think companies believe STPI benefits may be extended or they are waiting for the SEZs to prove themselves,? Agarwal explained.
Agarwal expects a 20% growth in the state?s software exports from Rs 42,000 crore recorded in 2008-09. In 2008-09, the state?s IT exports had risen by 24%. So far, there have been 47 new registrations in Pune and another 35 new applications have come in from Mumbai, while remaining registrations have come from Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad, Nashik and Goa. The total number of approved units currently stands at 945, while 681 units are operational, STPI officials said. Pune continues to dominate the state?s IT exports, contributing more than half of the total. For FY10, Pune?s IT exports touched Rs 21,0888 crore as against Rs 21,769 crore last year. Pune recorded Rs 25,000 crore exports in previous financial year.
Last year, over 20 companies had sought additional space for expansion. The trend continues this year with 36 companies, including TCS, Persistent Technologies, Wipro, Kale Consultants and Infosys BPO, putting in applications with STPI seeking space for expansion. DHL is seeking space in Mumbai for a greenfield facility. There are 12 IT SEZs in and around Pune and these are functional as of now, Agarwal said. Agarwal is the development commissioner for IT / ITES SEZs in Maharashtra and Goa.
