Gift City, India’s Global Financial Hub…ONE TO WATCH.

INTRODUCTION

In a move to make India a hub for global capital flow, Gujarat International Finance Tech-City ("GIFT City") was established by the Government of India in April 2015 near Gandhinagar, Gujarat, under

• The Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 ("SEZ Act"),
• Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006 and
• The regulations made thereunder.

GIFT CITY

• Has been developed as a greenfield smart city project with a futuristic vision, encompassing integrated and cutting-edge infrastructure.
• It supports financial services, inter alia, banking, insurance, asset management, and other financial market activities.
• It allows businesses not carried out from or established in India to set up units in GIFT City.
• It also provides a platform for qualified Indian professionals to pursue global opportunities by residing and working in India instead of migrating to foreign countries.

The GIFT City is divided into two parts:

• A domestic tariff area ("GIFT DTA") which is governed as per domestic laws, and
• A multi-service special economic zone ("GIFT SEZ") which consists of a globally benchmarked International Financial Service Centre ("GIFT IFSC") along with IT & ITeS and other export services, which are essentially offshore financial centres that cater to customers outside their own jurisdiction.

GROWTH

• The growth momentum of GIFT City over the past two years has been significant, bringing in over 550 registered entities spanning across the entire spectrum of financial services, encompassing banks, capital markets, insurance, fintech, aircraft leasing, and bullion exchange.
• The financial year 2022-23 has been pivotal for GIFT City's evolution into a formidable international financial gateway. Notably, over 550 entities, are registered at the GIFT IFSC.  including financial heavyweights such as
• Morgan Stanley,
• MUFG Bank,
• BNP Paribas,
• JP Morgan, and
• Deutsche Bank,
• Presently, the GIFT City hosts approximately 20,000 employees, with over 5,000 situated at GIFT IFSC.

GIFT DTA

• The GIFT DTA has been envisioned to propagate the domestic market and allow it to benefit from the growth of the GIFT SEZ.
• The GIFT DTA has been formidably developed with seamless infrastructure to ensure the overall progress of the GIFT City as a whole. While units in the GIFT DTA are treated as any other Indian entity, we understand that discussions are underway to provide special tax incentives to such units. Companies operating within the GIFT DTA can cater to the domestic market and carry out domestic (rupee-denominated) transactions while simultaneously having access to the GIFT IFSC and can also avail the following benefits:

Proximity to the GIFT IFSC:

• GIFT DTA units have the unique advantage of setting up operations close to the bustling GIFT SEZ and GIFT IFSC financial ecosystem.
• The quantity of funds, investment opportunities and wealth of service providers accelerate trade and commerce, which spills over to the GIFT DTA due to their proximity and similarly advanced infrastructure.
• Benefits under Gujarat IT/ITeS Policy (2022-27): The Government of Gujarat has declared the IT Policy 2022-27, which provides impetus to the growth of IT/ITes units by incentivising the major operational expenditure heads. This includes
• Reimbursement on the employer's statutory contribution under the Employees' Provident Fund;
• One-time support for every new and unique job created in the state of Gujarat;
• Interest subsidy at 7 per cent on term loan or the actual interest paid, whichever is lower with a ceiling of INR 1 Crore per annum; and
• Reimbursement of the entire electricity duty paid to the Government of Gujarat for five years.

SOURCE

• https://induslaw.com/publications/pdf/alerts-2023/infolex-article-navigating-gift-city-the-new-global-financial-hub.pdf