On June 11, 2021, the President of the Republic of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko signed Decree No. 215 "On Amendments to the Decrees of the President of the Republic of Belarus". The document significantly updates the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 166 dated May 12, 2017 "On improving the special legal regime of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park "Great Stone".
The legislative act establishes several innovations related to the activities of the Industrial Park.
1. Improved complex service on the principle of "one station" in the Park. Now 58 administrative procedures, which were previously carried out by local authorities, will be carried out by the Park administration. This will reduce the time required to obtain the necessary permits.
2. Expansion of the main activities, which will make the Park accessible to a wider range of investors. The list includes new areas: the creation and development of industries in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, medical products, medical services, laboratory diagnostics, as well as the use of 5G technologies and artificial intelligence in all areas of the Park activities, the creation of "sub-parks" infrastructure to attract startups, residents and investors.
3. Support for innovation. During the first two years, the entities engaged in innovation activity, whose projects correspond to the main directions of the Park activities, will enjoy the main resident benefits of the Great Stone Park, which should significantly improve success rates in the implementation of the projects from an idea to the commercial introduction.
Additional benefits are provided for venture capital organizations established in the Park: the exemption from income tax is extended until 2062 when venture capital organizations alienate a share in the authorized capital of the innovation entities located both in the Park and outside. The possibility of subsidizing venture activities both in the Park and outside of it, receipt of profit from which is possible no sooner than five years after the beginning of funding, will serve as an incentive for the active creation of such organizations.
4. Implementation of the most common English law institutions. The Park residents, entities engaged in innovative activity, get the opportunity of additional financing through the introduction of special agreements (option, option agreement and convertible loan). Thanks to such agreements, for example, startups without initial capital can receive money from an investor in exchange for the investor's future share in such a startup. The employees of the Park residents, entities engaged in innovative activity will be able to purchase shares in their company.
5. Establishment of preferential conditions for large ("anchor") residents. These are additional preferences for the projects with investments of 50 million and more US dollars: an increased grace period (from 5 to 10 years) for the application of a zero tax rate on dividends accrued to the founders (shareholders, participants), as well as the possibility of applying special simplifications in the field of customs administration. The payment for land plots in the Park, acquired for private ownership by such residents, will be reduced by an amount equal to 25 percent of their cadastral value.
6. Attracting large investors will expand the cluster activity principle. According to separate decisions of the Government, observing the economic interests of the Republic of Belarus and investors, enterprises outside the Park will also be able to take advantage of the preferences, provided they participate in the capital and production process of residents.
7. To stimulate the creation of sub-parks, primarily of major Chinese regions, the provinces of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Tianjin in particular, the founders of sub-parks will be able to obtain resident status.
8. Implementation of the advantages of the territorial special economic zone. The conditions for the production activities of residents with minimal customs administration have been improved. Now there is no need for the participation of customs authorities when transferring goods between the territories of the free customs zones of the same Park resident. The Decree also stipulates that the entities engaged in innovative activity can act as declarants of the customs procedure of the free customs zones on an equal basis with the Park residents.
9. Additional stimulation of medical activity. The usage of unregistered drugs and medical devices, as well as obtaining a license for medical activities, are allowed. Medical activities will be carried out based on the decision of the Park administration, subject to certain conditions regarding medical personnel training, premises, equipment, hygiene requirements, the presence of a special employee in the staff who carries out maintenance and repair of medical devices, etc. Certain administrative procedures in the field of medical activities are simplified and their terms are reduced.
10. Further simplification of the regulation of land relations and construction activities. The time frame for state examination of project documentation is reduced, the procedure for approving and obtaining initial permits and technical documentation is simplified, the requirement for the mandatory development of estimate documentation within the project is eliminated, preliminary approval and allotment of land plots are excluded when connecting the Park facilities to the backbone networks, opportunities for the mortgage of land plots are expanded.
The document also provides for more innovations and simplifications in all economic activity areas.
The Decree takes into account the proposals of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, Chinese business circles representatives, as well as the Industrial Park resident enterprises.
In the context of global competition for attracting investments, the new legislative act will preserve the optimal legal regime for doing business in the Great Stone Park in comparison with other economic zones of the EAEU and the EU.
The material has been provided by the press office of the Chinese-Belarusian Industrial Park "Great Stone"
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