Business news

MOGILEV, 4 November (BelTA) – The Belarusian government has come up with additional measures for the sake of maintaining favorable conditions for doing business in the country’s free economic zones. Belarusian Economy Minister Vladimir Zinovsky made the statement during the international investment forum Mill of Success in Mogilev on 4 November, BelTA has learned.

Free economic zone (FEZ) residents are exempted from paying real estate tax for three years after their registration as FEZ residents. As from 1 January 2017 FEZ residents, which were registered after 1 January 2012, will be exempted from profit tax for ten years. Those, which were registered before 1 January 2012, will be exempted from profit tax for an additional period of five years. All the FEZ residents will be exempted from land tax on state-owned lands inside free economic zones for an additional period of five years regardless of the registration date of the FEZ residents and regardless of how the land plots are used. The measures have already been implemented by amending and expanding the Tax Code of Belarus.

The Economy Ministry and the government have come up with proposals to exempt FEZ residents from land rent for five years and from VAT on imported goods for three years as from 1 January 2017 regardless of their registration date and regardless of how the land plots are used. “We expect that these norms will be approved by the head of state soon,” said the Economy Minister.

According to Vladimir Zinovsky, at present there are over 420 companies residing in free economic zones in Belarus. Their business priorities include the production of industrial goods and efforts to increase export. The FEZ resident companies employ about 124,000 people or over 4% of the number of people employed in the national economy. The performance of FEZ resident companies is considerably higher than the country’s average. Their industrial output and export per employee are higher than those of regular companies.