Dmitry Vakhrukov: regions will be able to start working with SEZ residents faster

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 (SEZ). 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," commented Dmitry Vakhrukov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia.

Regarding the procedure for processing and submitting applications for the creation and increase in 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 this year.

"Now we will request a more detailed study of the projects, and for the regions we have opened the possibility of submitting an application in electronic form. For comparison, previously there could have been 10 boxes of paper in one application," Dmitry Vakhrukov said.

Mikhail Labudin, General Director of the Association of Clusters, Technoparks and SEZs of Russia, noted that, based on the new criteria, special economic zones will be created according to the cluster type, that is, in one or related areas. The criteria for the expansion of the SEZ territory, which were not previously included in the regulatory framework, are also defined. According to the Deputy minister, passport forms and financial models of investment projects of SEZ residents are replacing 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", Dmitry Vakhrukov emphasized.