The Ministry of Economy approved the first recommendations for the standardization of investment activities in the regions – 11 pilot subjects of the Russian Federation have already begun to create a single investment environment. They can prepare their own investment declarations, create updated investment development agencies and committees to support projects. The Ministry of Economy promises to present three more elements of the investment standard by the end of this year. By applying the standard, territories are able to compensate for budgetary losses from the use of investment tax deduction by companies, so the list of “pilots” will continue to expand, according to the Ministry of Economy.
The Ministry of Economy approved the first package of guidelines for the implementation of the investment standard in the regions. So far, 11 pilot territories have been involved in this work – Moscow and the region, Tatarstan, Mordovia, the Trans-Baikal Territory, Sakhalin, Tula, Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod regions. This list is expanding – back in June, the authorities spoke of only seven pilot regions and plans to reach at least 15 in 2022.
The investment support system being created consists of six elements and involves the appearance of a declaration of investment intentions in the region, a set of investment rules with algorithms for connecting to infrastructure, an investment map of the region with data on infrastructure and support measures, a register of projects, the creation of an investment development agency (AID) and an investment committee under the governor. All elements will be adopted by the end of the year, while the approved recommendations relate to three of them: writing investment declarations, creating development agencies and investment committees.
According to the recommendations, the declaration should consist of four blocks: the goal of investment development, the characteristics of the region, its obligations, the team). The document is recommended to be approved by the head of the region for the term of his office. When developing a new declaration, his replacement should take into account the provisions of the previous one in order not to worsen the conditions for the implementation of investment projects.
According to the center’s concept, investment development agencies should become platforms for supporting investments, they will have to accompany investment projects throughout their entire life cycle, advise investors, assist businesses in obtaining permits, and government agencies – in developing investment development programs. The performance indicators of the agencies will be the number of investor consultations, new projects, the volume of attracted investments, and so on. They will also be engaged in pre-trial consideration of disputes in the implementation of investment projects. The investment committee will have to resolve the disputes unresolved by the agency – it will consider issues related to violations of investment declarations, non-compliance with the rules, fulfillment of obligations of the region and the investor. The head of the region is recommended to chair the committee.
Let us clarify that the unification of investment activity is part of the government’s efforts to restart the investment cycle. In 2020, the federal authorities were developing tools to support investment activity (regional SZPK, infrastructure bonds mechanism). At the same time, it was noted that a simple distribution of money to the regions should not be expected and that the rules for supporting investment projects will be unified.
The issuance of recommendations does not mean that the governors are obliged to implement the investment standard in their region. However, the center is ready to offer them a financial incentive. “The subjects will decide on their own to follow the recommendations or not, but the plan for the implementation of the reginveststandard will provide subsidies to cover lost income when providing investment tax deduction,” explains the head of the Ministry of Economy Maxim Reshetnikov. The regions will be able to compensate for two-thirds of losses from the investment deduction – in the calculation of up to 200 million rubles. on the company (see “Kommersant” on July 15).
According to the Governor of the Sakhalin Region Valery Limarenko, now the main problem of investors is the duration of the passage of certain stages of the project. Their standardization with the definition of deadlines for the passage of procedures is designed to increase the efficiency of communication between business and government. Yuri Veseliev, head of the Novgorod regional branch of Business Russia, notes that the problems of launching investment projects are associated with a lack of information on infrastructure development plans. “Also, a new investment project, even one in which the authorities are interested, needs to fit into the local business community, to form a complex of satellite enterprises. Having a strategy approved by the business community in place removes this issue as well, ”he notes.
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