Residents of PDA Beringovsky and the Free Port of Vladivostok – customs privileges or new opportunities for entrepreneurs of Chukotka

The round table was attended by Alesya Andreevna Kalinova, Deputy Governor-Head of the Department of Finance, Economics and Property Relations of the Chukotka Autonomous Area, Elena Anatolyevna Kompaniets, First Deputy Head of the Department of Finance, Economics and Property Relations of the Chukotka Autonomous District, Andrei Shamilevich Mingazov, First Deputy Head of the Department of Industrial and agricultural policy of the Chukotka Autonomous Area, Olga Sergeevna Plotnikova, Director of the Fund for the Development of Economics and Direct Investments of Chukotka of the Autonomous Region, Andrei Valerievich Zinchenko, head of the Anadyr customs post of the Magadan Customs of the Far Eastern Customs Administration.

At the event dedicated to the implementation of the mechanisms for the application of special business regimes for residents of the territory of the advanced social and economic development of Beringovsky (PDA) and the free port of Vladivostok (SPV), issues were discussed about the problems and prospects of entrepreneurship development within these zones, the availability of existing mechanisms Customs privileges, as well as the work of public authorities to improve the investment climate in the Chukotka Autonomous Region.

Opening the Round Table, Deputy Governor Alesia Andreevna Kalinova noted that in the current situation, public authorities, within their authority, are called upon to help the business community in solving problems related to customs regulation, tax legislation, to help reduce administrative barriers, and to create Favorable conditions for expanding the circle of entrepreneurs of Chukotka.

– I would like to see that the main motive for carrying out control measures implemented by state bodies was not to “find and punish” but to “identify, help and prompt” – this is the mechanism that presupposes the very purpose of creating PDA or SST, and this is the help for Entrepreneurs from the state authorities, which they expect, – said Alesia Andreevna Kalinova.

Andrei Shamilevich Mingazov, First Deputy Head of the Department of Industrial and Agricultural Policy of the Chukotka Autonomous Region, commented on the work on improving the mechanisms for the application of special economic regimes within the zones formed in the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Region.

– There are a number of large projects in the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Region, large in scale and lengthy in the implementation stages, which do not require support from public authorities in the form of, for example, tax preferences. This should be taken into account when creating new territories for special economic zones, taking into account the needs of budgetary support for the development of the economy of the region as a whole. At the same time, it is necessary to understand the specifics of the region and feel the need to support the development of related industries around large investors. Here it is just necessary to “identify, help and prompt.” There is a field for joint work of representatives of the authorities and supervisory bodies over the mechanisms of applying preferences both within a single settlement, district, and for the economy of the district as a whole. Among the industries that require special attention are transportation services, including not only the transportation of oversized cargo, but also passenger, warehouse and so on, as well as the development of energy.

Elena Anatolyevna Kompanets raised the issue of the conditions for applying the free customs zone regime in respect of residents of the PDA and SPV and the obligation to pay customs and tax payments in the event of the sale of goods and services by a resident to a non-resident. In this case, the differences between the resident having certain preferences and the non-resident who do not have rights to any preferences are leveled.

– It is necessary to further work out the mechanism for using the customs regime of the free customs zone with reference to such unique territories as TOR “Beringovsky” and Free Port of Vladivostok, which included the city district of Pevek. We understand that, first of all, residents who carry out processing activities will benefit. It is necessary to work out more detailed conditions for the application of the free customs zone for other industries, including in the sphere of transport and other services. Only in this case it will be possible to achieve a tangible economic effect and development of our own production and services in the Arctic part of the Far East, “commented Elena Anatolyevna Kompaniets.

Andrei Valerievich Zinchenko, the head of the Anadyr customs post of the Magadan Customs of the Far Eastern Customs Department, shared experience of implementing preferential treatment mechanisms in the Special Economic Zone in the Magadan Region, listed the minimum of controlled parameters for the planned areas of customs control within the PDA Beringovsky and SPV in the city district Pevek. He drew attention to the permissible types of activity in relation to which it is possible to apply certain preferences within the framework of the customs legislation.

– The customs authorities are ready for cooperation and joint work on the implementation of the projects of the territory of the advanced social and economic development of Beringovsky and the free port of Vladivostok. I consider it necessary to determine the format for holding joint working meetings with residents of the PDA and free port Vladivostok in the city district of Pevek, planning to engage in foreign economic activities, in order to work out timely issues. Residents of the PDA and the Pevek city district as part of the SPV on all emerging issues may also apply directly to the Anadyr customs post of Magadan Customs or Magadan Customs.

In his report on the results of the work of the non-profit organization Fund for the Development of Economics and Direct Investments of the Chukotka Autonomous Region, the head of Plotnikova Olga Sergeyevna told about the results of work in attracting and accompanying the Bering residents to the PDA.

– Successful elaboration of specific appeals of potential residents of the PDA “Beringovsky”, consulting, support of preparation of applications and business plans for submission to the Corporation. To date, 5 residents have been registered, 8 more applications are pending, preliminary processing and official finalization. The total volume of investments in the implementation of the announced projects will be more than 9 billion rubles. The volume of jobs planned to create will be more than 580 people. However, for today it is revealed the need to pay special attention to special preferential treatment provided to residents of PDA and free port Vladivostok within the framework of the Customs Code of the Russian Federation. Some moments require further elaboration by the authorities and Customs of Chukotka AR. Among the questions and comments on the topic, the list of recommendations for the current and future residents was drawn up for the purposes of timely coordination of measures for the implementation of investment projects and a balanced assessment of the costs envisaged by the investment plan of each investor – Olga Plotnikova commented.

For reference:

PDA “Beringovsky” is located in the territories of municipal entities Anadyr Municipal District and Anadyr City District of the Chukotka Autonomous Region. The main task of the PDA is the integrated development of the Anadyr industrial zone, one of the advanced development zones defined by the Chukotka Autonomous Region Development Strategy, based on the development of the Bering coal deposit with more than 1 billion tons of coal resources.

At the same time, considering the scale of the created territory of the advanced development of almost 16 million hectares, its specialization is quite wide. This is not only the extraction of coal, but also oil, gas, metal ores and other minerals, processing of extracted resources, production, transport and other services.

Residents of the PDA “Beringovsky” can become a legal entity – a commercial organization (with the exception of state and municipal unitary enterprises) or an individual entrepreneur who have concluded an agreement with the Management Company and included in the register of residents of the PDA, in the course of performing activities for residents of the PDA, with the volume of capital investments Not less than 500 thousand rubles, and also under other conditions.

For residents of the PDA, tax and other benefits have been established, including a reduction in tax rates for taxes on profits, property, extraction of minerals, a reduction in the amount of compulsory insurance premiums, and a reduction in the land tax rate.

Fund87, 05.08.2016