Of the 13 greenfield SEZ identified by the Centre, the SEZ in Indore is the first to have taken off- having received final government clearance on September 1st, '03. The Indore SEZ has attracted corporate interest across the country with a number of them relocating their manufacturing hubs to Madhya Pradesh, reflecting India's coming an par with her neighbouring peer countries.

The SEZ at Indore will focus on five key manufacturing sectors including soya, automobiles, IT & hardware, semi conductors and textiles.

With the introduction of value added tax (VAT) put on the back burner due to political compulsions, states now plan to look at a further refinement of the existing sales tax system.

The proposed refinement of the existing sales tax system encompasses several initiatives- including online verification of interstate trade and harmonized system of nomenclature- which would help in transition to VAT eventually.

A few major states- including West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat have forwarded their bills, incorporating amendments, to the Centre for approval. The amendments include enhanced threshold limit for registration of dealers, uniform definition of capital goods, self-assessment classification of commodities to be subject to specific rates. However, these amendments will have to be ratified by the respective legislatures.