On September 14, the President signed the Measures to further support residents of special economic zones Decree on Monday.

According to the Decree, due to the lifting of income tax reliefs for residents of special economic zones from January 1, 2020, the unused part of these tax reliefs will be fully applied for residents of special economic zones included in the register as of October 1, 2020 for a period of 3 to 10 years from the date of their inclusion in the register based on the volume of investments made by them.

In addition, from September 15, 2021, residents of special economic zones will have the right to defer the repayment (to pay by installments) of value added tax and customs duty for manufacture of products and the import of components, raw materials and materials for their own needs for up to 120 days without charging and reclaiming ensuring the payment of interest on them.

The Ministry of Finance and the State Tax Committee were instructed to strictly observe the procedure for reimbursing residents of special economic zones for the amount of excess value added tax within seven days. At the same time, in cases of revealing, based on the results of a desk tax audit, the unjustified amount of value added tax refunded, this amount shall be collected in accordance with the established procedure.

The Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, together with the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction and the Ministry of Finance, were instructed to submit to the Cabinet of Ministers:

• within two months - a draft bill providing profit tax benefits to residents of special economic zones based on the volume of investments they have made;
• by July 1, 2022 - proposals for further improving the activities of special economic zones, their tasks and expected results, as well as determining their locations based on international experience.