Pass it on to another – Economics – Kommersant

Participants of the free economic zone (FEZ) in Crimea are invited to allow the “transfer” of the declared investment projects to other persons, follows from the package of bills prepared by the Ministry of Economy. It is assumed that such a measure will make it possible to insure the participants of the SEZ in case it is impossible for one reason or another to complete the project – if a new investor is found in a timely manner, this will allow, in the absence of violations of the contract, to avoid penalties. Experts note that such a mechanism may also be of interest to new investors, since it allows companies that have “picked up” the project to avoid start-up costs.

The Ministry of Economy proposes to allow residents of the Crimean FEZ to transfer their rights and obligations under an agreement on participation in the zone (it fixes the main parameters of the planned investment project) to “other persons” – the department has prepared an appropriate package of bills. Recall that the FEZ in Crimea annexed to the Russian Federation has been operating since January 1, 2015, among the preferences are tax benefits, reduced insurance premiums, as well as the possibility of using the free customs zone regime. As previously reported, by the end of 2021, 1.7 thousand projects are being implemented in the SEZ, which account for about 250 billion rubles. private investment.

As follows from the explanatory note, the possibility for a FEZ participant to transfer his rights and obligations to another person is necessary to “eliminate administrative barriers, as well as ensure the possibility of completing investment projects.” Simultaneously with the transfer of rights and obligations in connection with work in the FEZ, it is also possible for a resident to transfer lease rights to a land plot received for the implementation of an investment project in the FEZ without tendering to another person. Without compliance with such a condition, the project will be able to transfer lease rights as collateral in order to secure bank loans (in particular, soft loans).

As the Ministry of Economy explained to Kommersant, now the law does not provide for the possibility of transferring rights and obligations under an agreement on working conditions in the free economic zone. At the same time, the agency adds, “despite the benefits provided by the SEZ, the investor bears a number of significant obligations and sometimes, in particular due to the deterioration of the financial situation as a result of external and internal factors, is not able to make the remaining volume of capital investments and complete implementation of the investment project. The possibility of transferring rights and obligations in the SEZ, they say in the Ministry of Economy, will also contribute to the implementation of problematic projects (monitoring is currently underway, which allows you to identify the risks of their occurrence) and the timely search for a new investor, which will allow conscientious participants in the SEZ who cannot complete the project, avoid government penalties.

Note that now, if a FEZ participant fails to fulfill its obligations and violates the agreed conditions, the contract is terminated, and the investor loses his resident status and must pay a fine. In addition, in case of violations, the investor is also obliged to reimburse taxes not paid as a result of the application of benefits – additional charges are expected, as follows from the amendments, and a SEZ participant who intends to transfer his project to another person if the terms of the contract have been violated (for a new investor, the benefits will be available).

Vladimir Saskov, an expert at the HSE Institute of Tax Management and Real Estate Economics, generally supports the idea, but notes that “such mechanisms should be consolidated at the stage of implementing the investment incentive complex itself.” Alexander Dolgov, head of the infrastructure and PPP practice at Better Chance law firm, resident of the CSR expert club, notes that investment projects in Crimea “for objective reasons are characterized by increased risks for investors” and the possibility of transferring rights and obligations under an agreement to work in a free economic zone will help save projects. Also, he adds, the project “will be initially more attractive if investors have the opportunity to transfer it to another person if necessary – a new participant may be interested in a project that is already being implemented, since this will avoid some costs, for example, those associated with pre-project preparation.

Evgenia Kryuchkova