Benefits of investing in free zones and investment zones

One of the distinctive investment systems that the Egyptian state has paid great attention to because of its great positive return on the country's economic performance.

Free zones are subject to the provisions of Investment Law No. 72 of 2017 and its executive regulations and their amendments, and the regulations of the free zones management system issued by the Minister of Investment Resolution No. 39 of 2019, and its implementation is supervised by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones.

Free zones are part of the territory of a state that falls within its borders and is subject to its administrative authority, and is dealt with in accordance with special tax, customs and monetary provisions.

As for the investment zone, it is a geographical area with a specific area and boundaries, allocated for the establishment of one or more specialized investment activities and other complementary activities, based on its development and the development of its infrastructure developed for that area, and the developer is every legal person licensed to establish, manage, develop or develop an investment zone in accordance with the provisions of this law.

The state, represented by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, has provided all the factors of success in the free zones through an integrated system represented in providing the best advantages, incentives, exemptions and guarantees if compared to their counterparts at the regional level.

1. Exempting all capital assets and production requirements necessary to carry out the project activity (except passenger cars) from any customs duties, value-added taxes or other taxes throughout the period of practicing the activity, even if the nature of the activity requires its temporary presence outside the free zone.

2. Exempting the project's exports and imports to and from outside the country from any customs duties or taxes, whether value-added taxes or other taxes or fees applicable within the country.

3. The project and its profits shall not be subject to the tax or customs laws or legislation in force within the country throughout the period of practicing the activity.

4. The project's imports and exports to and from outside the country shall not be subject to any customs procedures or normal import rules in force inside the country.

5. Exempting the project's imports from the local market from value-added taxes.

6. Exemption of determined-destination transit goods from payment of any prescribed fees on goods entering and exiting in accordance with the following conditions:

1. The project must be within the customs office.

2. The final destination must be specified in the bill of lading and invoice.

7. Exempting all local components of goods produced in free zone projects from customs duties in case of sale to the local market (inside the country).

1. It is not permissible to file a lawsuit against the projects operating in the free zones system except after referring to the Authority .

2. It is not permissible to nationalize or confiscate projects and establishments .

3. It is not permissible by administrative means to impose receivership on projects, seizure of their funds, seizure, seizure, freezing or confiscating them without judicial means.

In addition to the advantages granted by the Investment Law to all projects that operate under its umbrella, one of the most important advantages of free zones is that the project deals with one administrative entity, the Free Zones Department, which deals with the project throughout the life of the project according to an integrated system of procedures characterized by facilitation and facilitation during the various stages of the project, through the following:

1. Issuing all necessary approvals for the establishment of the project .

2. Issuing a license to practice the activity of the project, which is sufficient to deal with all government agencies without the need for registration in the industrial register.

3. Finalize the procedures for reserving and handing over the land to the project from the zone administration immediately after submitting the application and completing the procedures for that (for public free zone projects).

4. Approval of building permits from the zone administration immediately after submitting and reviewing engineering drawings (for public free zone projects...).

5. Take all necessary amendments to the project .

6. Completing all procedures for the entry and exit of goods to and from the project headquarters by issuing incoming and outgoing declarations and completing all customs procedures for them .

7. Take the procedures of liquidating the project if you want to liquidate the project activity.

There are two types of zones : (public free zones – private free zones), and the free zones sector is responsible for supervising them.

It is a single entity that represents one independent project (or more than one project in similar activities) when its nature so requires, and it is necessary to be located outside the scope of public free zones according to the economics of the project and the nature of its activity, which necessitates its presence in certain locations to take advantage of the advantages offered by this site in terms of proximity to sources of raw materials and production requirements, export markets, necessary labor, integration with nearby projects, or the need for its proximity to a specific port or land road.

The location of the private free zone shall be either owned by the investor or his lessee thereof.

To view the documents and procedures for establishing the project in the system of special free zones.

There are currently (9) public free zones spread throughout the Republic in each of (Alexandria "Amreya" - Cairo "Nasr City" - Port Said - Suez "three sites in Port Tawfiq, literary and Ataqa" - Ismailia - Damietta - Shebin El Kom - Media Production City - Qena "Qaft City") Equipped with the facilities and infrastructure necessary for the operation and reception of projects (roads - electricity - sewage stations - water networks - telephones) in addition to an integrated customs unit and a unit for port security police and a security unit in each region that operates 24 hours a day has been taken into account that the sites of free zones are chosen so that they are located in major cities distinguished by their location and the availability of labor and its capabilities supporting the region and near sea and air ports and allocating investment areas in them with a system in exchange for annual use / square meters according to the type of activity practiced by the project.

The investment zones system is one of the investment systems, which is based on the integrated development system in various fields to include industrial, commercial, service, logistical and other activities, by providing lands and industrial units with full facilities through developers specialized in the field of industrial development to raise the burden of companionship costs on the shoulders of the state and achieve integrated development in various fields, through which all the necessary approvals, licenses and permits are issued for investors within those areas from one administrative authority, which is the authority. General Investment and easy procedures.

1- Issuing all necessary approvals and licenses for projects from the General Investment Authority with easy procedures.

2- The decision to license the practice of the activity issued by the General Investment Authority in dealing with the various state agencies to obtain services, facilities, benefits and exemptions for the project without the need to register in the industrial register shall suffice.

3- Acting on behalf of projects in dealing with all concerned authorities in the country through the Executive Office of the investment zone.

4- The Board of Directors of the investment zone manages its affairs and overcomes all obstacles facing the projects.

5- No administrative authority may take any measures within the investment zones and the projects operating within them except after referring to the Authority.

6- The work of the investment zones system was characterized by the speed and ease of land allocation procedures, obtaining licenses and providing payment facilities, where land is allocated under different contracting systems.

7. The licensee shall not enjoy the guarantees, incentives and benefits provided for in this Law except within the limits of the purposes set forth in the license.

Obtaining the necessary approvals from the concerned authorities for the establishment of new investment zones.

Approving public and private plans for the establishment of investment zones and projects within them.

Approving projects to operate within investment zones.

Issuing a license for the construction and management of public utilities and infrastructure.

Issuing a building permit and making building matches.

Issuing a license decision to practice the activity (permanent / temporary).

Issuing approvals for the authorities concerned with the activity (civil protection / occupational safety and health / environment) and others.

Investment zones specialized in industrial activities in Giza Governorate "Sixth of October"

Investment zones specialized in industrial activities in Sharkia Governorate "Tenth of Ramadan"

Investment zones specialized in industrial activities in Damietta Governorate "New Damietta City"

Investment zones specialized in the activities of small and medium industries - the mandate of the authority (Al-Saff, Banha and Mit Ghamr)

God bless

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