On the preparation of an investment declaration by a SEZ participant

In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 13 of the Federal Law of 29.11.2014 No. 377-FZ “On the development of the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol and the free economic zone in the territories of the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol” a person intending to obtain the status of a participant in a free economic zone (hereinafter – FEZ), must submit to the authorized management body of the FEZ an investment declaration in the form approved by the Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated November 18, 2015 No. 856.

This is a prerequisite, and an economic entity claiming the status of a FEZ participant must fulfill it.

The investment declaration (hereinafter – ID) is one of the documents that is attached by the applicant to the application for concluding an agreement on the conditions of activity in the FEZ (clause 4, part 2, article 13 of Federal Law No. 377-FZ). Its form was approved by Order of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated November 18, 2015 No. 856.

According to Part 3 of Art. 13 of the named law, the ID must contain the following information:

the purpose of the investment project;

types of activities, taking into account the requirements established by parts 2 and 3 of Art. 12 of Federal Law No. 377-FZ;

feasibility study of the investment project;

the number of jobs planned to create, including in the first three years of the investment project, and the size of the average wage;

the total volume of capital investments planned within the framework of the investment project and providing, in particular, the volume of capital investments in the first three years from the date of conclusion of the agreement on the conditions of activity in the free economic zone in the amount of at least 3 million rubles. for persons who are subjects of small and medium-sized businesses, or at least 30 million rubles. for other persons;

the schedule for the implementation of the annual volume of capital investments in the first three years of the implementation of the investment project;

the schedule for obtaining the conclusions, approvals and (or) permits of the authorized bodies provided for by regulatory legal acts (in the case when the implementation of an investment project is associated with the need for the design, construction and (or) reconstruction of capital construction facilities, for the implementation of which it is required to obtain the specified conclusions, approvals and (or) permissions);

the schedule for creating new jobs in the first three years of the investment project;

implementation of the investment project on the territory of the Republic of Crimea or the territory of the federal city of Sevastopol.

It should be noted that the schedule for the implementation of the annual volume of capital investments in the first three years of the implementation of the investment project should provide for the implementation of capital investments in the amount of at least 30% of the total volume of capital investments in the first year of the implementation of the investment project (if the implementation of the investment project is not associated with the need for design, construction and (or) reconstruction of capital construction projects, for the implementation of which it is required to obtain the conclusions, approvals and (or) permits of the authorized bodies provided for by regulatory legal acts) (part 3.1 of article 13 of Federal Law No. 377-FZ).

According to Part 7.1 of Art. 13 of Federal Law No. 377-FZ, when considering the documents submitted by the applicant, the FEZ governing body assesses the ID for the effectiveness of the investment project in accordance with the criteria and methodology for such an assessment [1], which are determined by the federal executive body authorized by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Note:

Based on part 14 of Art. 13 of Federal Law No. 377-FZ, in the event that the investment project is recognized as ineffective by the relevant management body of the FEZ based on the results of the assessment of the ID conducted in accordance with Part 7.1 of this Article, it may be refused to conclude an agreement on the conditions of activity in the FEZ.

In the Letter of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia dated 11.06.2020 No. D08i-18488, it is noted that in accordance with clause 4 of the ID form, the applicant must confirm the completeness and accuracy of the information specified in it. Therefore, for the purpose of assessing the ID for the effectiveness of the implementation of the investment project, one statement of the applicant is not enough, including the availability of the necessary infrastructure or the possibility of implementing an investment project at its own expense without attracting borrowed financial resources.

In the opinion of the Ministry of Economic Development, this information, in order to verify its completeness and reliability as part of the assessment of the ID for the effectiveness of the implementation of the investment project, can be confirmed by documents attached directly to the ID, and not to the application for concluding an agreement on the conditions of activity in the FEZ. Officials believe that the applicant’s indication of incomplete or inaccurate information may be regarded by the authorized management body of the FEZ in accordance with Part 14 of Art. 13 of Federal Law No. 377-FZ as grounds for refusing to conclude an agreement.