China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone gains status of special economic zone in Belarus

The China-Belarus industrial park Great Stone has gained the status of special economic zone in Belarus, making it the first to gain such status, according to a Presidential decree issued by Belarus in December 2018.

Under the customs law of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a maximum of two special economic zones are allowed to be established in Belarus.

It is noted that the status has provided the enterprises in the park with preferential treatment such as procedure simplification, and tax reduction in the fields of clearance of goods, customs clearance, logistics and production, according to the EEU customs law.

Apart from that, residents of the industrial park will be able to rely on the principle of extraterritoriality and set up various technological chains and establish corporate ties not only inside the special economic zone but outside as well.

The number of the registered enterprises in the park increased to 41 from 22 in 2018, with the expected project investments exceeding one billion U.S. dollars, showed the official data.

Located near the Belarusian capital, Minsk, the China-Belarus industrial park is one of the key projects of Belarus participating into the Belt and Road Initiative.