In a bid to promote India as an important trading hub, the government will soon put in place free trade warehouses to facilitate international traders in export activities.

The proposal is a part of the revised SEZ Bill which is likely to be taken up by the Union Cabinet in August.

The law ministry has already given its go-ahead to the draft of the new Bill, official sources told PTI.

The warehouses would facilitate trade, wherein companies can maintain huge stocks and indulge in trading activity.

However, these would not be allowed to carry on trading at the retail level.

The free trade warehouses will have to come up separately as greenfield SEZs since they are envisaged to be set up on huge areas from where transhipment would be allowed.

The revised Bill has also floated the idea of virtual SEZs, a long-pending demand of the industry, which will get immense support if the warehousing scheme takes off.

The earlier Bill had been tabled in Parliament by the previous government, but had lapsed. It will now be re-introduced in the current session after the recess.

If the government is unable to table it in the current session, it may take the ordinance route.

Touted as "growth engines" to boost manufacturing and exports, the nine SEZs in the country recorded a growth of 46 per cent in exports in 2003-04.