The Ministry of Economic Development has simplified the working mechanisms for SEZ residents

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia has simplified the mechanisms of work for residents of the SEZ

Based on the new criteria, special economic zones will be created according to the cluster type, that is, in one or related spheres.

The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has approved three orders aimed at improving the operation of the mechanism of special economic zones.

In particular, the form of the agreement on the creation and management of the SEZ, the procedure for registration and submission of applications for the creation and increase of the SEZ area, passport forms and financial models of residents’ investment projects, as well as criteria and methods of their assessment were approved.

“As for the form of the agreement on the creation and management of SEZs, now there will be one agreement instead of three, which means less bureaucracy in their creation. And the regions will start working with residents faster – saving up to two months of useful time. All old agreements will be renegotiated before September 1, 2025,” Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dmitry Vakhrukov commented through the press service of the department.

Regarding the procedure for processing and submitting applications for the creation and increase of the area of special economic zones, the Deputy minister said that the composition of such applications and the list of documents for them have been adjusted in accordance with the criteria for the creation of SEZs updated in February 2024.

The forms of the passport and the financial model of the investment projects of SEZ residents are replacing the business plans that were used before.

“We simplify the form of documents without compromising the content – instead of 200 pages, information about the project can now be presented on 5-10 sheets and attached to them a financial model in electronic form, in which all calculations will be detailed,” Vakhrukov stressed.