Russia vigorously develops special economic zones.
The picture shows a scene of the tourism special economic zone in Altai Krai, Russia. Photo by Li Chuifa
The picture shows a scene of Kaliningrad Special Economic Zone in Russia. Photo by Li Chuifa
With the adoption of the Law on Russian Special Economic Zones in the Russian State Duma and the formal implementation of the Law on January 1, 2006, the construction of Russian special economic zones has begun. The first batch of special economic zones began to operate in 2007.
Speed up the development of special economic zones
In order to improve the investment environment, in 2005, President Putin repeatedly instructed the government and called on the legislature to speed up the deliberation and adoption of the relevant bills on the establishment of special economic zones, which played an important role in promoting the promulgation of laws on Russian special economic zones as soon as possible.
In 2005, after three readings, the Russian State Duma finally passed the Special Economic Zone Law on July 8 of that year, and changed the former Free Economic Zone Law into the Special Economic Zone Law. On July 13th of the same year, the Council of the Russian Federation also passed this law by a high vote, and the law came into effect on January 1st, 2006.
The adoption of the Law on Russian Special Economic Zones provides a legal basis for the construction of special economic zones. At present, the Russian government has decided to build two special economic zones for industrial production, four special economic zones for technology promotion and seven special economic zones for tourist resorts. In March 2007, the Russian government passed an amendment to the Law on Russian Special Economic Zones, and decided to establish four special port economic zones.
The first batch of special economic zones in Russia began to operate in 2007, and it is expected that initial results will be achieved within 2-3 years. This indicates that the construction and development of Russian special economic zones have entered a new stage.
Types and characteristics of special economic zones
1. Types of special economic zones: According to the provisions of the Russian Special Economic Zone Law, there are four main types of special economic zones.
1. Industrial production-oriented special economic zones. They are located in Lipetsk region and Yelabuga city of Tatarstan Republic, mainly engaged in product production and processing. Enterprises settled in such special zones can be exempted from land tax, transportation tax and property tax within 10 years, and can also enjoy the preferential treatment of tariff free zone system. The industrial production-oriented special economic zone covers an area of less than 20 square kilometers and its operation period does not exceed 20 years. The prerequisite for obtaining the business status in the industrial production-oriented special economic zone is that the total investment should not be less than 10 million euros, and the investment in the first year of operation in the special zone should not be less than 1 million euros.
2. Technology promotion special economic zones. They are located in Zelenograd (Greentown) administrative region of Moscow, Dubna, St. Petersburg and Tomsk, Moscow, and mainly engage in the development and production of high-tech products, and promote the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in the fields of information technology, nuclear physics, instrument manufacturing, medicine, software, electronics, biotechnology and new materials. Enterprises in the special zone can be exempted from land tax, transportation tax and property tax within five years. Covering an area of less than 2 square kilometers, the operation period does not exceed 20 years. There are no restrictions and regulations on investment conditions for enterprises to enter the technology promotion special economic zone.
3. Special economic zones for tourist resorts. They are located in Altai Krai, Altai Republic, Irkutsk Region, Buryatia Republic, Stavropol Krai, Krasnodar Krai and Kaliningrad Region. Enterprises in the special zone can engage in the construction and transformation of tourist facilities, and can also engage in the development of natural resources such as mineral water and mud with therapeutic effects. Enterprises in the special zone can also enjoy preferential tax policies.
4. Port Special Economic Zone. Such special zones will be built in seaports, river ports and airports in the Russian Federation, mainly engaged in cargo handling, warehousing and ship maintenance. Such special economic zones also enjoy various preferential tax policies. The Russian government is going to invite tenders for the port special economic zone before the end of this year.
Second, the characteristics of Russian special economic zones. From the content of the Law on Russian Special Economic Zones, the special economic zones established in Russia have their own characteristics. First of all, Russian special economic zones treat domestic capital and foreign capital equally, and absorbing foreign capital is not the only purpose. Five of the Russian SEZs focus on high-tech industries, so these SEZs are industry-oriented, not capital-oriented. No matter what the nature of the funds coming to the SAR is, as long as they meet the conditions of the SAR, they can enjoy preferential treatment. Secondly, a considerable proportion of the funds for the construction of Russian special economic zones are paid by the central government, and the personnel responsible for attracting investment are sent by the General Administration of Russian Special Economic Zones. Therefore, the project review is very strict and will not violate the standards. Third, in terms of the management system of special zones, the administrative committee of Russian special economic zones has two functions, one is to attract investment, and the other is to examine the qualifications of enterprises. As for other aspects of management, it is the same inside and outside the district. For example, the relevant registration procedures for entering the SAR are still handled by the local industrial and commercial bureau, and the local tax bureau is responsible for collecting taxes. The management committee is responsible for informing the tax bureau which enterprises meet the preferential tax conditions, and the whole management method is the same as before. Therefore, the CMC is a management institution, but it is not a first-class quasi-government institution. It can be seen that Russian special economic zones are more closely linked with the overall economy.
Tax and financial preferential policies
In order to accelerate the development of special economic zones, the Law of Russian Special Economic Zones stipulates a series of preferential policies.
1. Preferential tax policy: there is no limit on the investment quota of high-tech projects, and the unified social tax rate is lowered to 14% (generally 26%), and the federal property tax and land tax are exempted for five years before the project is put into production. At the same time, Russia will correspondingly amend the Tax Code, Land Code, Customs Code and other relevant laws and regulations to adapt to the promulgation and implementation of the Law on Russian Special Economic Zones.
2. Tariff policy: The tariff free zone system will be implemented in the special economic zones. Imported foreign goods can enter the bonded zone free of import duties and value-added tax, while the goods produced in the zones can be exported free of export tax.
III. Financial policy: The losses of an enterprise can be carried forward to the next fiscal year for accounting without restriction. At the same time, accelerate and simplify the confirmation procedures for R&D expenditures of enterprises for scientific research and experiments.
The Law of Kaliningrad Special Economic Zone of Russian Federation stipulates that: in the special economic zone, Russian and foreign investors enjoy the preferential tax reduction and exemption stipulated in the tax law of Russian Federation and local regulations of Kaliningrad Region; Goods produced in special economic zones (determined according to the certificate of origin) can be exempted from paying customs duties and other fees (except customs fees) when they are transported abroad, and are not affected by the state’s non-tariff foreign trade adjustment policies; Goods brought into the special economic zone from abroad may be exempted from paying customs duties and other fees (except customs fees) that should be paid when going through customs formalities; Goods produced in special economic zones (determined according to the certificate of origin) can be exempted from paying customs duties and other fees (except customs fees) when they are transported to other parts of Russia and the customs union to which Russia is a member, and are not affected by the national non-tariff foreign trade adjustment policy; When goods are transported from abroad to the special economic zone (with or without processing in the zone) and transported abroad, they are exempt from customs duties and other fees payable when going through customs formalities, and are not subject to import and export quantity restrictions.
The Law of the Magadan Special Economic Zone of the Russian Federation stipulates that enterprises engaged in business activities in the special economic zone and Magadan State may be exempted from paying taxes and fees payable to the federal finance (except those paid to the federal pension fund and the federal social insurance fund); From January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2014, the profits of enterprises engaged in business activities in special economic zones and Magadan State for investment and development of production and public utilities in Magadan State can be exempted from profit tax; Enterprises in the area can be exempted from import duties and other fees (except customs fees) stipulated by the State Customs Committee of the Russian Federation when transporting foreign goods purchased for their own production and used in Magadan from the special economic zone to other parts of Magadan; When enterprises in the region transport the above-mentioned foreign goods from Magadan to other customs territories of the Russian Federation, if the goods are processed and meet the deep processing standards stipulated by the customs law of the Russian Federation, they can be regarded as Russian goods, exempted from import duties and customs formalities; Enterprises in the area can be exempted from paying customs duties and other fees (except customs fees) when transporting goods produced in the special economic zone to other customs areas of the Russian Federation or outside the Russian Federation. In addition, in the Republic of Dagestan, foreign investors pay profit tax at a reduced rate.
Relevant restrictive provisions
The Law of Russian Special Economic Zones provides detailed provisions on the concept, types, purpose, composition and duration of special economic zones.
Special economic zones refer to areas approved by the Russian government that implement special preferential policies for their business activities within a limited scope in Russia. The purpose of establishing special economic zones is to develop domestic processing industries, high-tech industries, new product production enterprises and transportation infrastructure.
As for the composition of special economic zones, the Russian Special Economic Zone Law stipulates the following statutory requirements, that is, the ownership of land in special economic zones is owned by the state or the municipal government, and there are some supplementary provisions on land for different types of special economic zones.
Land in industrial production special economic zones does not belong to citizens and legal persons, and may not be used for other purposes, except for basic projects. Within the land of the special zone, only state-owned or municipal-owned projects (except traffic engineering construction) are allowed to be implemented.
The land in the technology promotion special economic zone does not belong to the public and legal persons (excluding educational and scientific research institutions) and may not be used for other purposes (except for basic engineering projects). Only state-owned or municipal-owned projects (except traffic engineering construction projects) are allowed to be implemented within the land of the technology promotion special zone.
In addition, projects prohibited in the special zone include real estate development; Classification of mineral mining and metallurgical manufacturing projects according to the types of business in Russia; Mineral refining, ferrous and non-ferrous metal processing projects; Other manufacturing and processing projects of goods subject to consumption tax except cars and motorcycles.
The term of a special economic zone is 20 years, and no extension will be granted after the expiration.
The business entities of industrial production-oriented special economic zones can be commercial organizations in addition to unitary production enterprises, and enterprises in technology promotion-oriented special zones can also be privately owned. However, all business entities in the special zones must meet the following conditions, that is, they must be companies registered in the administrative agencies in the special zones according to regulations, signed an agreement on industrial production or technology promotion activities with the administrative organs of the special zones, and registered as business entities in the list of members.
According to the provisions of the Russian Special Economic Zone Law, business units in the Special Zone have no right to open branches or offices outside the Special Zone. According to the agreement, the total investment of industrial production enterprises in the special zone, except intangible assets, shall not be less than 10 million euros (according to the foreign exchange rate of the Russian Central Bank on that day). In the first year after signing the agreement, excluding intangible assets, at least 1 million euros (according to the foreign exchange rate of the Russian Central Bank on that day) should be invested in the SAR.
Administrative organs of special economic zones
On July 22, 2005, the Russian Special Economic Zone Administration was established in the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, which is the main institution responsible for the management of Russian special economic zones. The agency directly or through other government departments, as well as local authorities to carry out the management of Russian special economic zones.
There are 12 bureaus in the Russian Special Economic Zone Administration: Investment Analysis and Prediction Bureau, Industrial Production Special Zone Bureau, Technology Promotion Special Zone Bureau, Tourism Special Zone Bureau, Port Special Zone Bureau, Foreign Investors and International Organizations Bureau, Special Economic Zone Organization and Infrastructure Development Bureau.
Foreign enterprises wishing to enter the Russian Special Economic Zone for economic cooperation can contact the Bureau of Foreign Investors and International Organizations of the Russian Special Economic Zone Agency, apply to it and get approval.
The procedures and document requirements for applying for investment and cooperation in Russian special economic zones are very complicated, and the requirements of various types of special zones are different. If China enterprises want to know the details and requirements, they can directly visit the website of the Russian Special Economic Zone Agency.
The address and telephone number of the Russian Special Economic Zone Agency are: No.18/1, Kaya Riverside Street, Ovchinnikov, Moscow, Russia. Tel: (495)9853178, Fax: (495)9853175, E-mail: rosoez@economy.gov.ru, Russian website: www.rosoez.ru
Editor: Xiu Rongteng