The special economic zone in the territory of the port of Reni is planned to be abolished

The Ministry of Development of Ukraine initiates the abolition of the special economic zone “Reni”, which was supposed to operate on the territory of the port until 2030.

The corresponding draft law “On the recognition of the Law of Ukraine “On the Special Economic Zone “Reni” as invalid” was published on the website of the ministry.

The explanatory note states that the document was developed to eliminate contradictions in the legal field that arose due to the invalidation of the Law of Ukraine dated October 13, 1992 No. 2673-XII “On the General Principles of the Creation and Functioning of Special (Free) Economic Zones”.

Thus, the SEZ “Reni”, which was created for a period of 30 years in the territory of the city of Reni with a total area of ​​​​94.36 hectares within the land plot and which was provided for use by the State Enterprise “Reni Sea Commercial Port”, introduced a special legal, tax and customs procedure for the activities of economic entities. The preferential taxation regime for the Reni SEZ was completely abolished back in 2005.

This has led to a situation where economic activity is carried out in the Reni SEZ without the benefits introduced by law, but with established restrictions, in particular regarding the procedure for land use.

“As of 2025, most of the SEZs that were created in Ukraine in the late 1990s and early 2000s (11 SEZs) have now been liquidated, or the term for which they were created has expired. As an example, we can cite the SEZ “Port Crimea” (not valid on the basis of the Law of Ukraine dated August 12, 2014 No. 1636-VII), “Azov” and “Donetsk” (not valid on the basis of the Law of Ukraine dated December 24, 1998 No. 356-XIV and Law No. 2389), “Slavutych” and “Yavoriv” (created before January 1, 2020), “Interport Kovel” (created before 2020), “Kurortopolis Truskavets” (created before 2019), “Porto-Franco” (created before May 2025). The only exceptions are 3 SEZs, namely: “Zakarpattia” (created before 2031), “Reni” and “Mykolaiv” (created before 2030),” the document states.

The Ministry of Development emphasized that the adoption of the act will also contribute to the introduction of a comprehensive approach to solving regional development problems. “In particular, it will eliminate legislative restrictions on the activities of business entities and facilitate investment activities in the Danube region,” the ministry emphasized.