The authorities decided to «transform» the investment regime to attract ₽14 trillion

The government and big business discussed a plan for adjusting the SZPK mechanism. The modernization program for the regime, launched to attract ₽14 trillion in investments, consists of eight points.

The government intends to amend the law on SZPK (agreements on the protection and encouragement of investments), taking into account the changed market conditions. The program for modernizing the investment regime was discussed on Wednesday, December 15, at a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, three participants in this meeting told RBC. The regime offering protection of investments in the implementation of investment projects was launched in a pilot mode in 2020. However, since April this year, against the background of the preparation of the regulatory framework, new agreements have not been concluded.

What is SZPK

The NWPC regime was agreed in 2020 and amended in the summer of 2021. It applies to projects in various areas of the economy, except for gambling, oil and gas production, tobacco and alcohol, trade and construction of shopping and business centers, as well as housing (excluding complex projects for the development of territories). NWPC guarantees that investors who have entered into agreements will not be subject to any acts that worsen the conditions for the implementation of investment projects, the so-called stabilization clause. At the same time, a mechanism is envisaged to compensate for the costs of infrastructure created within the framework of investment projects, both through government subsidies and through tax deductions. Compensation now also covers interest on loans and borrowings, coupon income on bonds, research and development costs, and the dismantling of residential buildings in military camps. In general, projects from 5 billion rubles can apply for the conclusion of the SZPK with the Russian Federation, but for a number of industries the bar has been lowered: the minimum is 250 million rubles. - installed for projects in the field of health care, education, culture and sports.

Until April 2021, 36 SZPK were concluded for 1.3 trillion rubles. Until 2024, it is planned to conclude at least a thousand SZPK for 14 trillion rubles. investments, Belousov said earlier.

"The plan for the modernization of the SZPK mechanism, consisting of eight points, was announced by First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov at a meeting with the participation of Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov and business representatives," two sources who participated in the meeting told RBC. Belousov's office confirmed that the meeting was held, but declined to comment further.

In the near future, work will be carried out to assess the costs planned for reimbursement within the framework of the agreements concluded to date, including the assessment of the planned tax revenues to the budgets, the press service of the Ministry of Finance told RBC. Based on the results of this work, "proposals on the feasibility and need for subsequent adjustments of this mechanism" will be considered, they indicated there.

At the meeting, Belousov said that we are not talking about revising previous agreements and already approved projects, and the adoption of new rules is planned for the spring session of the State Duma. The government will work out the parameters of the updated regime within four months, for which a working group will be created, which will include representatives of business, relevant departments, the Federal Tax Service, heads of regions, as well as representatives of two profile committees of the State Duma. Meetings of the group will be held every two weeks, says a source to RBC. Belousov also said that it is planned to transfer the function of the authorized organization to support SZPK to VEB, at least for now. The authorities do not abandon the principle of plurality in the analysis of projects, this will be worked out, he said. The FTS may become the operator of the GIS "Capital Investments" for SZPK.

How they plan to change the SZPK regime

Andrey Belousov, according to the participants of the meeting, named eight points that should become the basis for the transformation of SZPK.

In particular:

• it is proposed to establish the rights of the regions in the coordination and implementation of investment projects on the ground. In the existing SZPK system, regional authorities have no influence over the project;
• under the guise of SZPK, old projects that were previously implemented without benefits should not be restarted;
• the authorized federal executive body should be responsible for verifying and fixing the requirements for the project in terms of compliance with legislation and amendments to the law on the SZPK;
• it is necessary to prescribe the features of the simultaneous use of SZPK and other preferential regimes;
• Belousov drew attention to the absence of a rule on the possibility of concluding an amicable agreement providing for the provision of state support regarding the concluded SZPK. In addition to the amicable agreement, we can talk about the introduction of a mechanism for pre-trial resolution of disputes, a source told RBC;
• it is especially important, he recounted Belousov's position, to provide for the conditions for the implementation of agreements in the event of economic force majeure. In rigid legal structures, reservations are made in the event of a sharp change in the conditions of the functioning of legal systems, which make it possible not to apply these norms, for example, in the event of a sharp violation of the balance of payments or imbalance of markets. There is no such thing in SZPK. As an example, Belousov cited the agreement with PhosAgro against the background of the emerging threat of imbalance in the market for nitrogen-containing fertilizers, says a source to RBC. The government had to introduce export quotas, and such prohibitive measures are contrary to the SZPK;
• a closed and fixed list of conditions for stabilization clauses and compensations is needed. According to Belousov, such norms are still in effect, but an analysis of the agreements shows that they are vaguely spelled out in the agreements;
• In connection with the global energy transition (the goal of achieving carbon neutrality in a number of leading economies in the world), the question arises of introducing additional incentives and options for companies to implement the best available technologies. The First Deputy Prime Minister added that agreements on the announced projects, which will correspond to the new parameters of the SZPK regime, will be drawn up taking into account their previous terms, the source of RBC concluded.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov also said about the vagueness of some provisions of the current mechanism of the NWPC. As an example, he cited the wording prohibiting the state from worsening the business environment or preventing the deterioration of the financial performance of the project. “I don’t mind a set of taxes that will stabilize, or conditions for reimbursing infrastructure costs, but some of the taxes are received by the subjects. The question is: what will the subject do with the shortfall in income? " - the source of RBC retold the words of Siluanov.

At the meeting, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade spoke in favor of the resumption of the SZPK mechanism, "since this is one of the really demanded investment mechanisms, which should enhance our economic growth, launch the investment cycle," the RBC source recounted the position of the department.

Business proposals

According to RBC sources, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development and large business conceptually supported the plans to transform the regime. “Among the areas for work - clarification of the wording in the outline of the law on the SZPK, incentives for companies to accelerate the energy transition and empowering regions in the coordination of investment projects,” - said one of the sources. RBC sent inquiries to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).

The owner of Novaport, Roman Trotsenko, who participated in the meeting (quoted by RBC sources), said about the risk associated with the refusal of the regions to implement SZPK projects on their territory. Each SZPK that is signed must undergo confirmation by the legislative assembly of the constituent entities, Trotsenko is sure. According to him, now some regions are afraid that during the implementation of NWPC projects, their budgets for the next period will be left without a significant part of tax revenues. Trotsenko also opposed attempts to include in the SZPK clauses on tariffs of natural monopolies. “We have FAS for this. We propose to remove this part altogether, because later they will use the reservation in bad faith, ”he stressed.

The head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, is not sure that it will take four months to work out amendments to the law on the SZPK, since we are talking about revising the entire mechanism, despite the preservation of its basic principles. In this case, the amendments may be "split into tranches", a source told RBC the position of Andrei Belousov. Commenting on the proposal on the conditions for the functioning of the agreement on the protection of investment in the event of an imbalance in the market, Shokhin expressed the opinion that the problem should be resolved through formulaic solutions enshrined in the law on the SZPK. “If we keep the formulas in the NWPC, then any price situation will be taken into account,” he said.

In addition, the head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs is convinced that VEB should be empowered to carry out expertise of banks, including private and international ones, since "many projects are being implemented on the basis of established practices of working with investment banks."

Source: https://www.rbc.ru