In order to improve the conditions for doing business and attracting investments in the country's economy the Law of the Republic of Belarus No 159-Z of 30.12.2018 entered into force on January 1, 2019. The Law introduced amendments and additions to the Tax code of the Republic of Belarus, which was published in a new edition providing for new approaches to the calculation of taxes and simplification of tax administration, as well as additional preferences for residents of free economic zones.
Thus, a FEZ resident is exempt:
- from payment of tax on profits derived from the sale of goods (works, services) of own production;
- from payment of land tax on land plots located within the FEZ boundaries and provided to him after registration as a FEZ resident.
These benefits are provided to residents while selling the goods which are subject to the peculiarities of taxation in the FEZ (article 382, clause 3, Chapter 41 of The Special part of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus), for the entire period of the investment project implementation or until the end of the period of the FEZ operation (31.12.2049).
FEZ residents also received additional benefits in the field of customs regulation. The new rules began to operate since the Edict of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 22 December 2018 No 490 "On customs regulation" came into force. The Edict was adopted in order to bring the legislation of Belarus in the field of customs regulation into conformity with the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union.
The Edict provides for additional simplifications in the field of customs administration for residents of free economic zones, in particular:
- from the date of entry into force of the Edict, FEZ residents will be able to transfer to each other real estate objects built in the FEZ with the use of foreign goods without declaring and paying customs duties;
- residents are given the opportunity to transfer foreign goods to other persons for storage and carrying out cargo operations with them without declaring and paying customs duties.
For FEZ residents the Edict opened the possibility to organize work on a “cluster” principle providing for the possibility to carry out activities within the borders of one established customs control zone to all residents without creating additional zones within it.