Recent legal and business developments in Belarus, March 2010
1. On the 9th of March 2010 the President of the Republic of Belarus held the conference on the Concept of gambling industry development. The variant of development of the Belarusian gambling industry, which was used by the Government of the Republic of Belarus during the working on the concept, provides decentralization of Belarusian gambling industry, implementation of advanced technology means of control, security of the gambler, and transparency of financial activities of gambling joints. The Head of the State commanded to complete the draft of edict on development of gambling industry during following two month.
2. The President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenka provided by the Edict № 135 to the Minister on taxes and duties Vladimir Poluyan authority to sign a number of international treaties. Particularly, they are intergovernmental agreements on avoidance of double taxation and on prevention of deviation from tax payments between the Republic of Belarus and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of Sudan. By the same Edict Vladimir Poluyan is authorized to sign the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Council of ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina on avoidance of double taxation and on prevention of deviation from tax payments in respect of the tax on income and property.
3. The Law “On the order of departure from the Republic of Belarus and on entry in the Republic of Belarus of citizens of the Republic of Belarus”.
One of the main innovations, introduced by the Law is a possibility of minor citizens of the Republic of Belarus to go abroad with one parent without consent of the other. If one of the legal representatives does not approve such order of departure from Belarus of s juvenile, he or she has a right to apply this order to the court. This is possible from the 30th of March 2010.
The Law specifies the documents, upon which the citizen of the Republic of Belarus may depart from Belarus and enter into it. They are diplomatic passport, service passport, and national identity card of a sailor. Single entry may be carried out on the basis of certificate on return.
The list of persons, whose right to depart from Belarus is temporarily restricted was also altered. The Law provides possibility in special occasions to raise restrictions on departure from Belarus: immediate treatment, participation in criminal procedure, and serious illness or death of immediate relative.
4. The execution of electronic import declaring of goods now is possible in the Republic of Belarus. Nowadays in Belarus the system of electronic export declaring of goods comprises almost 90%. Electronic declaring of import gives many advantages to companies: time and material costs, connected to the necessity to conduct customs procedures, are reduced
5. In order to create favorable treatment for mobilization of foreign investment in the Republic of Belarus the President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenka on 29th of March 2010 signed the Edict № 159 “On certain aspects of taxation of income of foreign companies”. According to this act foreign companies, which do not carry out activities through permanent representation, are exempted from payment of tax on income, achieved from credit and loan arrangements to the Government of the Republic of Belarus and residents of the Republic of Belarus under the state guarantees of the Republic of Belarus.
