ROMANIA'S PARLIAMENT
Romania's
Parliament hereby passes the following law:
General Provisions
Art.1.
- In order to foster international exchanges and draw foreign capital for the
introduction of new technologies, as well as to enhance the use of the national
economy resources, free zones may be established in the maritime and river
ports of Romania, along the Danube-Black Sea Canal and other navigable canals
and in the territories in the neighbourhood of frontier checkpoints.
Art.
2. - Free zones are part and parcel of the Romanian State territory and are
bound by national laws. Customs control shall be enforced only to the limits of
free zones.
Art.
3. - Free zones shall be precisely delimited and surrounded. Access to free
zones shall be controlled by customs and frontier bodies.
Art.
4. - Transportation means, goods and other merchandise shall be admitted to
free zones without restrictions as to country of origin or destination. The
goods prohibited to be imported on Romanian territory under the law of the
international conventions Romania is a party to shall not be admitted.
Art.
5. - Ships and the other transportation means, as well as goods or other
merchandise of any kind entering or leaving free zonas should be accompanied by
the documents provided under the Romanian laws and the international
conventions.
Establishment Authorisation
Art.
6. - The establishment and territorial delimitation of free zones, of the
adequate customs units shall be made by Government decision, at the suggestion
of the ministries interested and of the local public administration bodies.
Art.
7. - By Government resolution the establishment shall be endorsed, as well as
the organization and operation regulations of the free zone, its administration
and control, the levying of taxes and tariffs and the required means of customs
control.
Administration and Coordination of the Activity of Free Zones
Art.
8. - The administration of free zones shall be provided by the relevant
managing bodies, organized and operating as regles autonomes.
The
tasks of the free zone administration shall be established by the Agency of
Free Zones within the Ministry of Transportation. The tasks of the Agency of
Free Zones shall be laid down in the organization and operation regulations,
drawn up by the Ministry of Transportation within 30 days from publication of
this Law.
Activities in Free Zones
Art.
9. - The activities to be carried out in free zones shall be the following:
handing, storage, sorting, measuring, packaging, processing, assembly,
production, branding, testing, auction, sale-purchase, expertise, repairs,
knocking down of goods, organization of exhibitions, stock exchange and
financial- banking operations, transports and domestic or international
deliveries, leasing or
renting
buildings, storage areas or unarranged spaces for the construction of economic
or hotel units, quality and quantity control of goods, freighting, supplying of
ship and other transportation means, services and other activities specific for
free zones.
Art.
10. - The activities provided under art. 10 can be performed by natural and
artificial persons, Romanian or foreign, only on the basis of licences released
by the administration of the relevant free zone.
Chapter V
Facilities
Art.
11. - The terrains or constructions in the free zones may be leased or rented
by natural and artificial persons, Romanian and foreign. The leasing and
renting regulations shall be established by the provisions under art. 7 and 9.
The leasing term may be of maximum 50 years and is established function of the
value of the investment and the specific nature of the activity.
Art.
12. - Transportation means, goods and other merchandise coming from abroad or
bound to other countries, that enter or are taken out of the free zones shall
be exempt from customs tariffs and taxes.
Art.
13. - For activities carried out in free zones, economic agents shall be exempt
from the goods-circulation tax, excise and profits tax throughout the period of
activity.Transfer abroad of the profit shall be made under the law.
Art.
14. - Upon liquidating or limiting the activity camed on in the free zone,
natural or artificial foreign persons may transfer abroad the relevant capital
and profit, after having paid all dues to the Romanian State and the partners
under contract.
Art.
15. - Transportation means, merchandise and other goods made in Romania or
imported from abroad, entering Romania's customs territory, may by introduced
in the free zones with observance of the legal export provisions or, as the
case may by, temporary delivery stipulations. Re-entry of the relevant goods
into the country's customs territory shall be done under the provisions of the
law.
Art.
16. - Romanian materials and accessories that enter the free zones and are used
to manufacture other goods shall be tax- exempt, with compliance or export
formalities.
Art.
17. - The Romanian goods used for constructions, repairs or maintenance of
objectives within the free zones are tax-exempt.
Art.
18. - The goods from a free zone may be transported to another free zone
without any customs tariff on Romania's customs territory with observance of
legal provisions. Moreover, these goods may also be introduced in the country
with observance of the conditions and formalities of import or temporary
delivery.
Chapter VI
Financial Operations and Resources
Art.
19. - All the financial operations connected to the activities carried on in
the free zones shall be denominated in freely convertible currencies accepted
by the National Bank of Romania. Excepted are the financial operations carried
on within construction projects in free zones, which can also be paid in Lei.
Art.
20. - The financial resources of the administration of free zones shall come
from:
-
taxes for operation licences;
-
income derived from leasing and renting tariffs;
-
other incomes.
The
level of leasing and renting tariffs shall be established under the contracts
concluded between the administration of free zones and the artificial or
natural persons, Romanian or foreign, that carry on activity in the relevant
zones.
Sanctions
Art.
21. - The following deeds shall be assessed fines unless perpetrated in such
conditions as to be deemed criminal acts under the penal law.
1.-
entry in free zones without approval of the administration or without permit
released by the administration of free zones or other bodies so authorized
under the law shall be assessed fines between 250 and 1,000 U.S. dollars;
2.
-introduction in the free zones of goods unaccompanied by documents shall be
assessed fines between 2,000 and 10,000 U.S. dollars;
3.
-carrying on of other activities than those provided in the licence released in
conformity with the provisions of art.
4.
-shall be assessed fines between 2,500 and 10,000 U.S. dollars;
5.
-carrying on of other activities than those provided in the resolution for the
establishment of the free zone shall be assessed fines between 5,000 and 20,000
U.S. dollars.
Payment
of the fine mentioned in par. a) may be made in Lei as well after
transformation of the relevant sum at the official exchange rate of the day
when the offence is notified.
The
goods involved in the contraventional activities provided in par. b), c) and d)
shall be confiscated. Penalties may be applied to artificial persons as well.
Art.
22. - Notification of contraventions and fine assessment as per art. 22 shall
be performed by the persons thus empowered by the administration of the free
zone.
Art.
23. - Against the report laying down the offence a complaint can be lodged
within 15 days since notification.The complaint shall be forwarded to the
administration of the free zone and shall be settled by the court within the
territorial radius where the offence has been perpetrated.
Art.
24. - Offences provided under art. 22 shall be assessed under law 32/1968 on
establishment and sanctioning of offences, with the exception of art. 25, 26
and 27.
Art.
25. - Introduction in the free zones of imported goods that are forbidden on
Romanian territory shall be deemed a penal offence and be punished by a term of
2 to 7 years of prison, except for the cases where for the deed perpetrated the
Penal Code or other special law provides a more severe punishment.Attempted
offences shall also be sanctioned.
Final Provisions
Art.
26. - The investments made in free zones cannot be expropriated, requisitioned
or subject to similar treatment unless it is a case of public interest, with
observance of the legal provisions and payment of damages adequate to the value
of the investment, which should be prompt, suitable and effective.
Art.
27. - The buildings within the free zones shall not be used as dwellings. The
personal working inside the free zones shall be equipped only with adequate
surveillance spaces, restaurants and other relevant amenities.
Art.
28. - The goods produced in the free zones that enter Romania's customs
territory shall be subject to customs tariffs.
Art.
29. - The transportation means, merchandise and other goods introduced in,
existing or taken out of the free zones, as well, as the activities carried out
in these areas shall be subject to sanitary, phytosanitary, veterinary and
environmental protection regulations, as the case may be.
Art.
30. - The goods and transportation means necessary to the administration of the
free zone shall comply with the legal framework provided by the national laws.
Art.
31. - The salaries of the personnel working in the free zones shall be paid in
Lei and in foreign currencies, or only in Lei or foreign currencies, following
collective or individual negociations.When salaries are established the
additional tax system provided in the regulations in force shall not be applied.
Art.
32. - In free zones, the foreign personnel designated by the convention of the
parties can be employed in managing or expert positions, with observance of the
legal provisions.
Art.
33. - On the coming into force of this Law, Decree No. 294/1978 on the free
port of Sulina, Decree No. 401/1982 on the operation of the free port of
Sulina, as well as other contrary provisions shall be abrogated.
Published in
Official Gazette no. 182 of 30 July 1992.
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