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Gift IFSC FAQ
GIFT is being developed as a global financial and IT Services hub, a first of its kind in India, designed to be at or above par with globally benchmarked financial centres. GIFT's Master Plan facilitates Multi Services SEZ with International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) status, Domestic Finance Centre and the associated Social infrastructure. "GIFT SEZ Limited" has been formed by Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited (GIFTCL) for development of Multi Services SEZ at Gandhinagar with the prime focus on development of IFSC and allied activities in SEZ.
The promoting entities of GIFT city are:
Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited (GUDCL)
GUDCL is the designated agency of Government of Gujarat to facilitate urban development by assisting state government and other agencies in formulation of policy, institutional capacity building, project implementation; to assist in raising funds from multilateral agencies for various projects to facilitate sustainable development of urban areas, both new and existing, in order to achieve high living standards and growth of economic activities.

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS)
Incorporated in 1987, the business architecture of IL&FS focuses on providing services in development of Core Infrastructure. Areas suitably complemented with an array of Financial Services. The various businesses are conducted through subsidiaries with IL&FS being a principal shareholder in each. IL&FS has been promoted by the Central Bank of India (CBI), Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) and Unit Trust of India (UTI). Over the years, IL&FS has broad-based its shareholding and inducted Institutional shareholders including State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, ORIX Corporation, Japan and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
GIFT City has two Zones: 1. Domestic and 2. Special Economic Zone (SEZ). All the domestic (Rupee denominated) transactions can be undertaken from GIFT domestic area.
Presently, GIFT City houses two state-of-the-art towers which are one of the tallest buildings in the state of Gujarat.
Following are some of the unique infrastructure available at GIFT City:
Data Centre: A state of the art certified TIER IV Green Data Centre by Tata Communications with a capacity of 900 Racks is up and running

Automated Waste Collection System (AWCS): AWCS and Segregation Plant is one of the unique next class infrastructure planned in GIFT City. It will maximise resource recovery/Minimal emissions, Minimise impact on environment, human intervention, space requirement, impact on health hazard and no waste visibility which will make city clean, green and healthy.

Water: GIFT City is zero discharge city, water is drinkable from any tap.

Power: GIFT City ensures 99.999% power reliability.

ICT: GIFT City is connected with a fault tolerant optical fibre ring Infrastructure. The connectivity in GIFT City is provided by four major telecommunication service providers. GIFT uses advance of technology in form of unique IoT (Internet of Things) based C-4 (City & Command Control Centre) to monitor and manage city Infrastructure.

District Cooling System: District Cooling System is introduced first time in India for any commercial use. The chilled water will be supplied till building level and it will reduce energy and maintenance cost, reduce noise & vibrations, improve quality.

Utility Tunnel: All utility services except gas and sewerage from plants to various buildings will be routed through utility tunnel only. GIFT is planned to develop Utility Tunnel through city including DTA & SEZ areas
Currently, GIFT ONE and GIFT TWO each of 28 floors developed by IL&FS are ready and available for use.

Following are the other Developers in Domestic area:
  • Brigade Group
  • Prestige Group
  • B. U. Bhandari Landmarks
  • Jannadhar Housing (Affordable housing)
  • State Bank of India (for own use)
  • LIC (for own use)
  • BSE Brokers Forum
  • Sterling Hospital
Type of companies operating in commercial buildings in GIFT domestic area
Banks, Insurance companies, stock brokers, IT companies, BPO, KPO etc are already operating from GIFT ONE and GIFT TWO. Some of the names of companies operating from Domestic area are Oracle, Maxim Integrated, Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, nCode Solution, infibeam etc
GIFT city runs a Bus inside the GIFT City on regular interval. Everyone can use the bus facility. Apart from internal bus facility, GIFT also runs a Bus from Visat BRTS station (nearest BRTS stop) to GIFT at regular intervals for everyone to commute from and to Ahmedabad.
GIFT City offers high quality of life with its state-of-the-art infrastructure. GIFT is envisioned to be developed into a smart city that has world class commercial & real estate development, smart IT-enabled business environment, technology enabled smart infrastructure, strong transport network & proximity to an international airport, world class social infrastructure (educational institutes, international schools, state of the art hospitals and 5-Star rated hotels) and entertainment hubs.
Yes, Jamnabai Narsee Monjee School is operational in the GIFT City.
  • Business Club
  • Hospital
  • Hotels
  • Shopping Mall
Currently, GIFT ONE and GIFT TWO each of 28 floors developed by IL&FS are ready and available for use.
Colleges: DAICC, NIFT, NID, IIT-Gandhinagar, IIM-A (30 km), Gujarat National Law University (10 km)
Schools: Podar International School, Delhi Public School (DPS) and many other renowned schools with State, CBSE, ICSE and IB board. There are also many Clubs, Hotels, Restaurants, Theatres, Malls etc nearby GIFT City.
An IFSC is a jurisdiction that provides financial services to non-residents and residents, to the extent permissible under the current regulations, in any currency except Indian Rupee.
GIFT SEZ in Gandhinagar, Gujarat has been designated as International Financial Services Centre. GIFT SEZ is the only place in India which is designated as IFSC.
The IFSC in GIFT seeks to bring to the Indian shores, those financial services transactions that are currently carried on outside India by overseas financial institutions and overseas branches/subsidiaries of Indian financial institutions to a center which has been designated for all practical purposes as a location having the same eco system as their present offshore location, which is physically on Indian soil.

Strategic objective of setting up the IFSC are:
  • To create high value jobs by having production of financial services take place on Indian soil
  • To create an avenue into financial globalisation which would benefit the Indian economy and give policy makers an enhanced set of instruments
The State of Gujarat has emerged as the fastest growing region in the country with an annual Gross State Domestic Product of over 14% per annum over the past 10 years. In addition to housing one of the largest manufacturing bases in India, Gujarat also accounts for a disproportionately large share of the investor and entrepreneurial population in the country. A recently conducted talent study established that the manpower pool available in Gujarat, including non-resident Gujarati's, is amongst the largest pools available in the country.

Recognizing the potential of the State as a centre for the financial services industry, GIFT Project has been formulated as mega project to realize this vision of setting up an IFSC in India.
The IFSC in GIFT will provide numerous benefits to the entities setting up operations there. Some of them are mentioned below:
  • State-of-the-art infrastructure at par with other global financial centres
  • Liberal tax regime for 10 years
  • Strong regulatory & legal environment
  • A wholly transparent operating environment, complying with global best practices and internationally accepted laws and regulatory processes
  • Pool of skilled professionals
  • A modern transport, communications and internet infrastructure
  • Only place in India which allows offshore transactions
IT companies do not require approval from any regulator whereas Banking, Insurance companies and capital market entities require approval from Regulator. At present the units related to Banking, Insurance and Capital market are considered as IFSC Units and regulated by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA)
IT companies and IFSC units can operate from the same zone, GIFT SEZ. IT companies can start operating after getting approval from Development Commissioner, KASEZ whereas Banks, insurance companies and capital market players apart from Development Commissioner approval also need to take approval from respective Regulator.
All the transactions should be in foreign currency (other than Rupee). IFSC units can carry out administrative and statutory expenses in Indian Rupees.
Following are the entities which can open IFSC unit:

Banking Sector
  • Indian banks (viz. banks in the public sector and the private sector authorised to deal in foreign exchange)
  • Foreign banks already having presence in India
Insurance Sector
  • Indian Insurer
  • Indian Reinsurer
  • Indian Broker
  • Foreign Insurer
  • Foreign Reinsurer
  • Capital Market - Regulated by Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
  • Stock Exchanges / Commodity Exchanges
  • Clearing Corporation
  • Depository
  • Broker
  • Investment Adviser
  • Portfolio Manager
  • Alternate Investment Fund
  • Mutual Fund
Banks: IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India

Insurance: New India Assurance (Direct Insurance), GIC Re (Reinsurance) will commence their operations shortly and Xperitus (Reinsurance Broker) will commence operations soon.

Capital Market: Reliance AIF Management Ltd

IT/ITeS, Consultancy Units: Accvell Technologies, QX Corporate Advisors, iShip Design, Exemplary Consultants Some of the biggest players in the financial services have signed MoUs to set up their operations in the GIFT-IFSC. These include: National Stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange, MCX, NCDEX and DMCC.
IFSC Banking Units have done following type of transactions:
  • Buyer's Credit
  • Loan Syndication
  • JV/WOS funding
  • ECB
Yes, IFSC units can open foreign currency account with the banks operating in GIFT IFSC.
Yes, IFSC units can carry out administrative and statutory expenses in Indian Rupees.
The following points describe the procedure to establish a unit in GIFT- IFSC:
  • Obtain Letter of Intent ("LOI") from GIFT SEZ Ltd. for securing the premises on lease
  • Application in the prescribed Form F to be filed with the jurisdictional Development Commissioner, (Kandla SEZ) and GIFT SEZ along with copy of project report and other details / information (in quintuplicate)
  • The Development Commissioner, GIFT SEZ shall scrutinize the proposal of the unit and shall place the same before Unit Approval Committee for their consideration
  • Unit Approval Committee shall approve or approve with modifications or reject the proposal within 15 days of its receipt
  • The Development Commissioner, GIFT SEZ shall issue "Letter of Approval" for setting up unit subject to approval by the relevant regulator.
  • SEZ unit will take approval from RBI, SEBI or IRDA for setting up IFSC unit for carrying out banking, capital market or insurance related activities in GIFT SEZ- IFSC
  • SEZ unit shall be required to confirm its acceptance with the terms and conditions of LOA to the Development Commissioner, GIFT SEZ within 45 days of receipt of LOA
  • SEZ unit shall be required to enter into a lease agreement with GIFT SEZ Limited and copy of registered lease deed shall be required to be submitted with the office of the Development Commissioner, GIFT SEZ within 6 months of receipt of LOA
  • The unit can then operate and avail all the benefits /exemptions/concessions as a unit in GIFT SEZ
Please provide web link to submit Form F online to Development Commissioner (DC), KASEZ. https://sezonline-ndml.co.in/
The application is to be filed in 5 Set and one copy is to be submitted to the Developer i.e. GIFT SEZ.
  • Bank Draft of Rs 5000/- payable to REGIONAL PAY AND ACCOUNTS OFFICER, MUMBAI. (Payable at Gandhidham)
  • Application in form "F" duly filled and signed by the Authorized Person.
  • Self certified copy of incorporation, MOA,&AOA.
  • Self certified copy of PAN of the company.
  • Copy of Provisional Letter of Allotment issued by the Developer.
  • List of Directors of the company.
  • Certified copy of PAN card of the Directors.
  • Passport size photographs of the Directors
  • Copy of audited financial statement of the company for the last three financial years.
  • Certified copy of resolution for setting up the unit is SEZ and authorizing the person to sign the application.
  • Brief Project Report.
Please provide web link to submit Form F online to Development Commissioner (DC), KASEZ. https://sezonline-ndml.co.in/
The reporting requirements for the entities that set up in the GIFT-IFSC are mentioned in the regulations released by various regulating authorities.
The regulating body for various financial services in GIFT-IFSC is International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).
Generally, if all the submissions to regulators and Development Commissioner are correct, company may get license within 45 days from the date of submission.
  • Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) - 9 % for IFSC units
  • Security Transaction Tax (STT) - NIL
  • Commodity Transaction Tax (STT) - NIL
  • Commodity Transaction Tax (STT) - NIL
  • Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) - NIL
  • Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) - NIL
  • Tax Holiday (10 years)
    (GoG has also exempted stamp duty for entities having registered office in GIFT for capital market activities).
The following are the regulating bodies for various financial services:
  • IL&FS Township and Urban Assets Ltd., Mumbai
  • Hiranandani, Mumbai
  • Brigade Group, Bangalore
  • Savvy Group, Ahmedabad
    Apart from above Reliance Capital is developing office and residential building in GIFT SEZ.
The lease rent in GIFT Business Centre is around Rs. 50 per sq. Ft. per month. These are plug n play units.
The primary contact for queries related to the setting up operations in the GIFT-IFSC is as follows: Mr. Sandip Shah, Manager (IFSC & Strategy), GIFT City Co. Ltd.: sandip.shah@giftgujarat.in
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