MOSCOW, June 20. The State Duma adopted in the second and third readings a package of laws on the creation of a free economic zone (FEZ) in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions and on benefits for its participants.
The basic law provides for the creation of free economic zones in these regions for a period until the end of 2050, which can be extended. It is assumed that the Ministry of Construction of Russia will become the authorized body for the regulation of this SEZ, and its management company will be the public law company «Territory Development Fund».
To obtain the status of a SEZ participant, individual entrepreneurs or Russian commercial organizations must be registered in new regions or have a branch in them. At the same time, the volume of capital investments of such a participant in the first three years when implementing an investment project in the field of computer technology and software development, scientific research and development must be at least 1 million rubles; being a subject of small and medium-sized businesses — at least 3 million rubles; for other persons — not less than 30 million rubles.
The law establishes a special regime for entrepreneurial activity in the FEZ, which provides for the features of urban development and land use, as well as tax incentives and the application of the free customs zone procedure.
“By creating free economic zones in new territories, we are creating more comfortable conditions for the development of new constituent entities of the Russian Federation, primarily in terms of attracting long-term investments in their economy. And most importantly, this law is awaited not only by regional administrations, but also by investors who want we can start implementing our projects in these territories as soon as possible,» Nadezhda Shkolkina, First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Economic Policy, told reporters.
The second law brings the current legislation in line with the basic document, and the third establishes in the Tax Code benefits for FEZ participants in new regions. At the federal level, it is proposed to set a zero corporate income tax rate for 10 years, and these four constituent entities of the Russian Federation will be able to set income tax credited to their budgets in the range from 0 to 13.5%. In addition, FEZ participants are exempt from property tax for 10 years, and from land tax for three years. They are also subject to reduced rates of insurance premiums (7.6%) to state off-budget funds.
For organizations participating in this FEZ, a zero excise rate is also set for liquid steel received during the implementation of an investment project on its territory. The benefit is provided for five years, provided that the legal entities maintain the number of employees and the average salary that was established at the time of joining the FEZ, and starting from the sixth year — within the limits of the volume of investments actually made, Deputy Minister of Construction of the Russian Federation Vadim Vasiliev explained last Monday. The zero MET rate for coal and iron ore mined as part of investment projects by FEZ participants is also set on similar terms. All three laws should come into force from the day of their official publication.