Yaroslav Kulik, Evgeny Arbuzov, and Artur Zurabyan, of ART DE LEX, participated in a meeting to prepare the draft federal law on the Free Port of Vladivostok

On 23 March 2015, the Russian Federation Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East organized a meeting about the draft federal law regarding the Free Port of Vladivostok.

A number of individuals attended the meeting: Alexander Galushka, the minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Russian Far East; Sergey Nekhaev, the vice-governor of the Primorsky Territory; Alexander Kostenko, the chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy and Property of the Legislative Assembly of Primorsky Krai; Igor Pushkarev, the mayor of Vladivostok; as well as business representatives and experts. The meeting addressed specific issues to facilitate the introduction of the tax regime, de-bureaucratization of economic activity, regulations for the creation of a free customs zone, and other measures aimed at reducing risk related to the economic activities of potential residents and the steps needed to increase their profitability. The participants proposed to extend the visa-free stay for foreign citizens in the free port from 72 hours to 120 hours. In addition, there was a proposal to entitle foreigners the use of hotel services during this period.

Alexander Galushka drew attention to the need for more favorable conditions for business, the introduction of a single tax in the free port area, as well as the use of international experience, especially from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.

Deregulation and de-bureaucratization became an important facet of the meeting. The experts suggested that certain regulations and regulatory regimes of other competitive countries should apply to the territory of the free port.

The experts called for a simplified regime of inspections for residents of the free port, including the possibility of a complete renunciation of planned inspections.

The partners and heads of various practices at ART DE LEX, Yaroslav Kulik, Evgeny Arbuzov, and Artur Zurabyan, received invitations to participate in the working group on amendments to the bill on the free port of Vladivostok.

The ministry already has received a number of constructive suggestions regarding the draft law as a result of expert hearings.