The Government of the Union Territory has finally started the process of registration of units for handholding start-ups and entrepreneurs aspiring to set up their projects as part of the plan to usher in an industrial revolution in Jammu and Kashmir. The Rs 28,400 crore special scheme offers land at low prices and a slew of incentives including full reimbursement of GST for 10 years from the date of making a unit or service operational.

Managing Director Jammu and Kashmir State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO) Haroon Malik said that the UT’s new land allotment policy had been finalised and it would be uploaded on the government website anytime this week. He said that all the applicants aspiring to set up units under the new industrial policy were supposed to register their units through an online system. Most of the procedures have been simplified for ease of doing business and brought under the single window system of clearance.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry has issued general operational guidelines for the registration of units under the new Central scheme for industrial development in Jammu and Kashmir.

Registration under the scheme has commenced from April 1, 2021 and will continue till September 30, 2024 while all applications for registration shall be disposed of by March 31, 2025, unless otherwise extended.

According to senior officials in the Department of Industries and Commerce, about 600 aspirants, including some top notch entrepreneurs and investors, have already submitted their proposals and signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UT Government. However, they all are supposed to apply under the guidelines of the new industrial policy.

As per the guidelines, applicants wanting to avail incentives under the scheme, have to apply for registration through online portal jknis.dipp.gov.in along with certain documents such as Detailed Project Report, bank loan sanction letter, land documents, PAN, GSTIN, etc.

Eligible building and physical durable assets of Services Sector also include tourism and hospitality services, promoting film tourism, ropeway, entertainment parks and rides, heritage property restoration services, healthcare services such as hospitals, diagnostic labs, AYUSHG Centres, IT services, maintenance and repair services, freight terminals, logistics parks and warehousing, testing, R&D analysis & certification services, educational & skill development services.

The heritage property, not in use before April 1, 2021 and restored thereafter for commercial or hospitality or tourism services on commercial basis, will also be considered as a new unit, if fulfilling certain eligibility conditions.

The heritage property under the scheme includes monuments notified under ASI, monuments notified by the State Government under Ancient Monuments Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2010, heritage sites notified under J&K Heritage Conservation and Preservation Act, 2010 and heritage monuments listed by recognized agencies such UNESCO, INTACH etc.

Further, the restoration of such heritage property should have been done on the basis of a conservation plan prepared/vetted by INTACH, J&K or a qualified conservation body duly notified by the UT.

The guidelines also make it clear that merely submitting an application will not entitle any applicant for registration under the scheme as certain requirements shall be taken into consideration for granting registration to the unit.

Submission of required documents from the authorized authority to run the unit, fixed financial assets, availability of land, required power connection, adequate required infrastructure to run the unit, source of finance, employment generation potential, sustainability to run the unit are among the conditions, which shall be taken into consideration for granting the registration.

A Secretary Level Committee and a Chief Secretary Level Committee have been designated for approval of grant of registration of the units having assets up to Rs 500 crores and more than Rs 500 crores, respectively.

If any unit is availing or has availed any incentive envisaged in this scheme, from other schemes of Government of India, it will not be eligible for those incentives under this scheme. The unit has to opt to receive such incentive only from any one of the schemes.

The core components of plant and machinery, which will be eligible to avail any incentive under this scheme, include the cost of mother production equipment essential for carrying out manufacturing activities.

However, in this sector, loading and unloading charges, sheds/building for plant and machinery, Miscellaneous fixed assets such as diesel generating sets, excavation/mining equipment, handling equipment, working capital including raw material, commissioning cost, storage equipment, weigh bridge, laboratory testing equipment etc. will not be eligible to avail any incentive under this scheme.

Similarly, for the service industry, cost of construction of building and other durable physical assets essential for carrying out the service activities, will be eligible to avail incentives under this scheme while cost of land, consumable, disposables or any other item charged to revenue, will not be eligible to avail the incentives.

In the case of Houseboats, the entire houseboat project along with its fitting and furnishing shall be treated as building and physical durable assets while in case of hotels and resorts, the investment in filtration plant for swimming pool and other equipment such as AC plant and sewage disposal unit are among 23 items shall be considered as fixed durable assets.

Inclusion of services related to the film industry, hospitality and food preservation and processing, like Controlled Atmosphere Storages (CASs) are the key features of the new policy. Principal Secretary Agriculture Production Navin Kumar Choudhary told India Narrative that as against the total apple production of 22 lakh metric ton a year, J&K’s total storage capacity was just 1.20 lakh MT. “We are now striving to raise this capacity to a minimum of 7 lakh MT”, Choudhary said.