The new Law №448-3 “About the introduction of amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Belarus “About the free economic zones” has been adopted recently. The aims of the Law are:

1. creation of favorable conditions for the further development of the regions of the Republic of Belarus;
2. attraction of foreign investments;
3. creation of new jobs;
4. introduction of new technologies.

Beginning from February 1, 2009 the declarative principle of business registration is set up in the Republic of Belarus (according to the Decree №1 signed by the President of the Republic of Belarus on 16.01.2009). This improvement considerably simplifies the procedure of state registration, i.e.:

• The registration will be carried out on the day of submission of the necessary documents. The list of the documents to be submitted to the registering authority will be minimal. To register a legal entity one is to provide a written petition, the charter of the new business entity and a document verifying payment of state duty.
• State registration of a legal entity shall be carried out by putting a stamp on its charter and making an entry in the single state register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs; and state registration of individual entrepreneurs by making an entry in this register. A state registration certificate shall be issued the next business day.
• Once a legal entity has its charter stamped, which will verify state registration, and once an individual entrepreneur is issued a state registration certificate they are entitled to start their business activity virtually the next day after applying to the registering authority.
• The lower limit for statutory funds of the commercial organizations is canceled. The amount of the statutory fund is defined by the legal person.

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