About СПВ (Free Port Vladivostok)

What is Free port all about?

Free Port Vladivostok – the territory of constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the Far East Federal District, where state support measures are established for entrepreneurs’ activities, including tax incentives, administrative preferences and a special visa regime for foreign citizens.

Such regimes are in effect in the territory of Vanino and Sovetskaya-Gavan municipalities of Khabarovsk krai. Free Port covers the whole territory of the districts as well as the seaport area and waters.

Free Port is regulated by Federal Law of 13.07.2015 No. 212-FZ “About Free Port Vladivostok”.

Free Port Vladivostok provides a simplified visa entry procedure. Foreign citizens arriving to the RF through the check points located in the territory of Free Port Vladivostok may stay in the RF territory up to 8 days on simplified visa.

What are the incentives and preferences in Free Port?

Tax incentives:

7,6% - total amount of insurance premiums for 10 years

0% - income tax during the first 5 years, 12% - during the following 5 years

0% - land tax during the first 5 years, 50 % reduced in the following 5 years

0% - property tax during the first 5 years, 0,5% in the following 5 years

10 days – fast-track VAT refund

Preferences for the residents:

• “One-Stop-Shop” regime for the investor;
• Possibility of land plot lease without tendering;
• No quotas for foreign manpower;
• Free customs zone regime;
• Fast-track VAT refund procedure (10 days);
• Managing Company’s right to judicial protection of the residents;
• Simplified visa regime for the foreign citizens (no-visa procedure to enter Russian for 8 days).

Who can become a resident?

The Free Port Vladivostok resident is seen as the individual entrepreneur or commercial organization being a legal entity having state registration in the territory of Free Port Vladivostok (part 1 article 10 chapter 3, 212-FZ).

• Individual entrepreneur or legal entity intends to implement in the territory of the Free Port Vladivostok a new investment project, or the types of business activities specified in the application for the agreement for carrying out activities are new to them, i.e. haven’t been executed by them up until the submission of the application (clause 1. Order of the RF Government №1123).
• The amount of capital investments cannot be less than RUB 5 mln., and not beyond 3 years upon the entry of the individual entrepreneur or legal entity in the registry of the Free Port Vladivostok residents.
• No record of the individual entrepreneur or legal entity as to unpaid taxes and levies, insurance premiums to the state non-budgetary funds of the Russian Federation, debts on other mandatory payments to the budgets of the Budgetary system of the Russian Federation for the previous calendar year, which size is not above twenty five per cent of the balance value of the applicant’s assets, based on the accounting (financial) statements for the last reporting period (sub-clause 7 clause 7 article 11 №212-FZ).
• The Company shall not be undergoing restructuring, winding-up, bankruptcy.
• The types of business activities the Free Port Residents are not entitled to carry out shall be determined by the decision of the Free Port Vladivostok Supervisory Board.

How to become a resident?

Step 1. Ensure the compliance with the Free Port resident criteria:

Step 2. Prepare the required set of documents:

1. Get the investment project business plan developed.
2. Prepare the application to execute the agreement for carrying out activities.
3. Prepare the documents to the application:

• copies of the incorporation documents (for legal entities);
• business plan in a prescribed form;
• copy of the legal entity or individual entrepreneur state registration certificate;
• copy of the certificate of registration with tax authority;
• duly verified translation into Russian of the documents of state registration of the legal entity or natural person as individual entrepreneur in compliance with the current law of the relevant state (applies to foreign entities).

Step 3. File application for the Free Port resident status.

1. The application for the resident status may be filed at the official website of the Far East development Corporation.
2. Receive a positive answer from JSC “Far East Development Corporation”.
3. Sing the agreement with JSC “FEDC” for carrying out activities.
4. Receive the certificate of registration of the Free Port resident at JSC “FEDC”.