On June 15, 2024 the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated June 13, 2024 No. 417 «On Priority Activities for Investment» (hereinafter – the Resolution) has been published following the adoption of the new edition of the Law.
In addition to the priority sectors of the economy and priority activities, the Council of Ministers also established the minimum volume of investments required for each type of activity to implement investment projects with the conclusion of investment agreements.
For example, for the group of activities «agriculture, forest and fish industry» the minimum volume of investment, including investments in fixed capital, is set at 1 million basic units (40 000 000.00 BYN, about 12 million EUR). At the same time, the minimum volume of investments in fixed capital should be at least 70% of the minimum volume of investment.
For some sectors of the economy, the fixed capital investment requirement does not apply, e.g. IT sector.
Compared to the current version, the list of priority sectors of the economy for investment is significantly changed. The list itself has been reduced, but new sectors have appeared, such as aerospace technologies, production based on the use of biotechnologies, nanotechnology, production of electric vehicles, components for it and charging infrastructure, etc. We believe that such sectors will be particularly popular for concluding «special investment agreements».
The list of priority activities, despite the reduction of priority sectors of the economy, has expanded significantly.
In particular, some types of retail trade will appear in the list of priority activities, for example, retail sale of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables in specialty stores, retail sale of meat and meat products in specialty stores, retail sale of fish and seafood in specialty stores, etc.
NB: Some activities will be prioritized only within the framework of preferential investment projects and special investment agreements.
For example, such activities will include the manufacture of coke oven products, computer programming activities, etc.
The Resolution enters into force on July 11, 2024, shortly before the new version of the Law enters into force.