Cancelation of customs privileges will entail stoppage of enterprises in SEZs

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"Atameken" proposes to introduce alternative measures to support Kazakhstan - special investment contracts

Within the framework of the EAEU rules, participants of SEZ and free warehouses shall be exempt from import duties. However, since January 1, 2017, this rule is no longer valid.

Currently, the participants of SEZ are 43 operating companies that were registered before 2012 and currently receive customs privileges in full.

"Atameken" conducted an analysis and found that, if customs privileges are retained in 2017, the employment at the enterprises will increase by 15%, then there will be additionally created 624 permanent jobs that will ensure capacity of enterprises by an average 63%. The price of this effect is 27 billion tenge in the form of exemption from import duties.

For example, after a meeting with the Kazakhstani locomotive factory, NCE found that in 2017 the cost of a locomotive will be much higher than in 2016, where the share of customs duties is 14.4% and VAT 12% - in total 26.4% of the product cost. These customs duties and VAT will not allow the company to reach the breakeven point, which would entail production stoppages and a reduction of more than 600 permanent jobs.

"Atameken" believes that it is necessary to provide customs exemptions to enterprises until the end of the action of SEZ, then they will be able to expand production, increase the proportion of local content, they will ensure localization and save jobs.

For comparison, in the Russian Federation, it is planned to subsidize the loss of paid import duties amounting to more than 66 billion rubles (303 billion tenge) foe participants of SEZ (800 companies) from 1^st of April 2016...

Taking into consideration the abovementioned facts there was suggested as an alternative, the support measure, to introduce special investment contracts in Kazakhstan, according to which the participants can receive investment preferences in SEZ. To do this, it is necessary to introduce changes to the Entrepreneurial Code, freeing SEZ participants from customs duties from 1^st of January 2017 through the conclusion of specialized investment contracts in 2016. This proposal is based on the experience of Russia, where, according to Article 16 of the Law of RF "On industrial policy", was introduced the concept of "special investment contracts". However, in our case the customs benefits for 43 participants of SEZ should be moved to a special investment contract with the fulfillment of obligations as a member of SEZ under the existing Agreement between the participant of SEZ and SEZ Management Company.