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SPECIAL ECONOMIC
EXPORT ZONES
Special Economic Export Zones (ZEEEs) are select cities with a special regime for new export-oriented businesses. The government granted this special status for a period of 50 years, renewable, to the port or border cities of Buenaventura (in the Valle del Cauca Department), Valledupar (in the Cesar Department), Ipiales and Tumaco (in the Nariño Department) and Cucuta (in the Norte de Santander Department), to promote their economic growth given their strategic locations within Colombia.
Some benefits offered to investors by the ZEEEs, include:
- Income tax exemption over export income
- Tax exemption over dividends and remittances abroad
- Income tax exemption to construction companies
- Tariff exemption on capital goods or raw material imports for the production within the ZEEE
- More flexible labor regime
- Same incentives as the Free Trade Zones with relation to customs and tax matters
These benefits are available to companies located in any of the qualifying ZEEE cities. Additionally, the following requirement must be met:
- There has to be an investment in anew project, of at least US$100,000 (for projects submitted by December 31, 2004) or US$1,000,000 or US$2,000,000 for projects submitted during 2005 or 2006, respectively.
- The project has to be an industrial, residential development or infrastructure development project. Industrial projects are defined as the activities destined to manufacture, produce, transform or assemble goods for sale, as well as their services support.
- The project should guarantee technology transfer and employment generation.
- The investor should sign an export commitment equivalent to at least 80% of its production, unless agriculture raw materials are used, in which event the export commitment should be 100%.
- The investor has to be a legal entity and has to sign a legal agreement with the government, with duration from five to twenty years.
The same benefits applicable to the ZEEEs will be applied to companies that are located as industrial users in the Department Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, and provided they comply with the special requisites foreseen in the law.
For more information on Special Economic Export Zones, click here (Spanish).
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