President signs law on economic operations in Crimea

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed the law on the tax and customs control in the free economic zone of Crimea and specifics of the economic operation on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine passed by the parliament on August 14, 2014.

According to a posting on the Web site of the parliament, the law was signed on September 4, although the last stage of its registration according to the Web site was the submission of the law to the president on August 20.

Deputy Finance Minister Denys Fudashkin and Head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine Ihor Bilous on September 18 found it difficult to tell Interfax-Ukraine the reason of the delay in the registration of the document.

According to Article 94 of the Constitution, the Ukrainian president has 15 days from the moment of receiving the law to sign it or return it to parliament with remarks.

As reported, the law on the provision of rights and freedoms of citizens and the legal regime on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine was passed by the parliament on April 21, 2014, although the requirements on the procedure for doing economic operations were removed from the bill and it was decided to describe it in a separate law within 15 days.

However, the parliament passed the law on the free economic zone of Crimea and specifics of the economic operation on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine only on August 12. On August 14, the parliament revised its decision and sent the law for repeated second reading. The document was again approved by 238 lawmakers at the evening session.

According to the law, the free economic zone of Crimea is introduced in two administrative and territorial units of Ukraine, as well as Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol City.

According to the document, the special law regime for economic operations of individuals and companies, including the special procedure for applying the requirements of the regulatory, tax and customs laws of Ukraine and the special regime of internal and external migration of individuals, is in effect. A free customs zone is created within the free economic zone of Crimea.

The free economic zone is created without agreeing it with the relevant local government or executive power agencies. National taxes and duties are not collected on the territory of the free economic zone. Individuals who have the taxation address on the different territory of Ukraine than the free economic zone is obliged to declare property in their ownership on the territory of the free economic zone of Crimea.

The law says that goods which were made, processed or were in free turnover on the temporary occupied territory of Ukraine until the law on ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine are considered goods with a Ukrainian status that can be freely moved to other territory of Ukraine without the application of the tariff and non-tariff regulation of foreign economic operations until January 1, 2015.

According to the law, Ukraine guarantees the protection of property and non-property rights of individuals and companies on the territory of the free economic zone of Crimea according to Ukrainian law, including foreign investment.

State guarantees to secure domestic and foreign local loans of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol City and persons staying on the said territory are not given.