Putin signs law on promotion, protection of investment in Russia

MOSCOW, Apr 1 (PRIME) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed into law a bill on promotion and protection of investment in the country.

The minimum amount of investment that a company has to make to fall under the investment protection law stands at 250 million rubles for projects in the social sphere, at 500 million rubles for projects in the agriculture, environment, and digital economy spheres, at 1.5 billion rubles for projects in the processing industries, and at 5 billion rubles in other sectors.

The agreement on promotion and protection of investment cannot be signed in the spheres of gambling; production of tobacco and alcohol goods; production of liquid fuel; production of oil and gas excluding liquefied natural gas; wholesale and retail trade; construction of administrative, business, and trade centers; construction of residential housing; and in the banking sphere that is being regulated by the central bank.

Any agreement under the law fixes conditions of land utilization, urban development, and taxation for no more than six years for projects with investment below 5 billion rubles; for no more than 15 years for projects with investment of 5–10 billion rubles; and for no more than 20 years for projects with investment of over 10 billion rubles.

It also encompasses a single prolongation of the moratorium for no more than six additional years. Projects with investment of more than 10 billion rubles may also utilize a moratorium on increases in non-tax payments for up to three years and a moratorium on increases in export duties. The agreement’s mechanism also includes reimbursement of spending on infrastructure.

All projects that were started no earlier than on May 7, 2018 and that fall under the mentioned parameters will be eligible for an agreement on promotion and protection of investment.

In December 2019, Deputy Finance Minister Andrei Ivanov said that the bill’s goal is to attract at least 30 trillion rubles of investment, and that the Finance and Economic Development ministries will have the goal of signing 100–150 agreements under the bill per year with investment totaling 7–10 trillion rubles.

(77.7325 rubles – U.S. $1)

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