unofficial translation

Law of the Republic of Belarus

No. 1337-XII of December 23, 1991

[As emended at December 31, 2005 ]

On Real Estate Tax

Article 1. Taxpayers

Payers of the real estate tax (hereinafter - tax) are organizations determined by clause 2 article 13 of the General part of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter - organizations) and natural persons.

Affiliations, representations and other separate subdivisions of Belarusian organizations having a separate balance and current (settlement) account or other bank account fulfill their tax obligations in relation to these organizations on relevant objects of taxation in order established by the present Law.

Organizations financed from the budget (budget organizations) recognized as such in accordance with article 16 of the General part of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus are not taxpayers.

The tax is paid regardless of contractual terms by a person that uses the imported property from the cost of the main assets imported to the territory of the Republic of Belarus on rent contracts and other contracts with foreign legal or natural persons which provide involvement of the imported property into civil circulation.

Article 2. Object of Taxation

The tax shall be imposed on the cost of fixed productive and non-productive assets that are owned or possessed by the payers, objects of construction in progress, as well as on the cost of dwelling houses, garden houses, dachas, dwelling premises (appartments and rooms), dependencies, garages and other buildings and constructions, including unfinished by building (hereinafter - buildings and constructions) belonging to individuals.

Article 3. Tax Rates

1. The annual tax rate on the real estate for organizations must be established in the amount of 1 per cent.

The annual tax rate on the immovable property imposed on the cost of buildings and constructions owned by individuals, by garage-construction co-operatives, consumers' co-operative of the car parkings or gardening partnerships set up at the expense of individual contributions made by citizens as well as of buildings and constructions used by individual entrepreneurs for conducting their activities shall be established in the amount of 0,1 per cent.

The annual rate of the real estate tax for the organizations having in the property, economic conducting or operative management objects of the excess of planned rate of uncompleted construction (objects by which the established normative terms of construction by the design documentation exceeded) and carrying out a new objects` construction, established at 2 per cent rate from cost of objects of the excess of planned rate of uncompleted construction, except for the objects financed from the budget, and objects of house-buildings.

2. Excluded.

3. Excluded.

Article 4. Tax Privileges

1. The tax must not be imposed:

on social and cultural and living facilities, as well as dwelling facilities of local Councils of deputies, and organizations;

fixed production assets of the legal entities of the Public Association “The Belarusian Partnership of Sight Invalids”, the Public Association “The Belarusian Society of Deaf People” and the Public Association “The Belarusian Society of Invalids” as well as of individual divisions of these legal entities provided the number of invalids in the said legal entities or in their individual divisions constitutes at least 50 per cent of the listed number over the period on the average;

fixed assets used in entrepreneur's activity of the Republican state association "Belpochta";

fixed assets laid away according to the procedure determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus;

fixed assets aimed at protection of the environment and improvement of the ecological situation.

The list of the fixed assets aimed at the protection of the environment and the improvement of the ecological situation approved by the Presiden of the Republic of Belarus.

living apartments in the multi-apartment houses belonging to the natural persons. When the payer has 2 or more living apartments (rooms) only one of them subjects to freeing from the taxation upon the choice of the payer;

building and constructions (except for those designed and (or) used in the established order for performance of the entrepreneur's activity) belonging to the natural persons being pensioners under age, invalids of 1^st and 2^nd group and other disabled citizens at absence of the persons capable to work living together or reckoned as living together with them according to the household registration or house books, buildings and structures, except for those intended and (or) used when by establishin order for carrying out the enterprise activity, belongs to the large families (which have three or more minors); buildings and constructions (except for those designed and (or) used in the established order for execution of the entrepreneur's activity) belonging to the military men of the service of the fixed period, participants of the Great Patriotic War and persons having the right to privileged taxation according to the Law of the Republic of Belarus of April 17, 1992 "On veterans". Temporarily not residing drafted military men and imprisoned persons listed in the records of household records, house books and records of the authorized body are not considered (if there are documents to confirm it) ;

fixed assets of educational institution of the consumers' co-operation financed from the republican or local budgets of higher, secondary special and secondary educational institutions having the status of institutions of the system of education;

the material, historical and cultural values of the Republic of Belarus included to the State list of historical and cultural values of the Republic of Belarus, by the list of such values approved by the President of the Republic of Belarus, under the condition of its fulfillment by owners of such obligations determined by the protection of a historical and cultural heritage legislation

general-use motor roads and stations for servicing and guarding bridges, crossing places, galleries, control stations, rest sites, emergency call devices, and linear installation for control of road traffic;

cult buildings of the religious organizations (associations) registered according by the legislation, and also other basic assets of the religious organizations in order, established by the President of the Republic of belarus;

fixed assets of agricultural use of collective farms, state farms, peasant (private) farms, inter-farm enterprises and organizations, agricultural co-operatives, auxiliary agricultural enterprises and organizations and of other agricultural units;

facilities of strategic troops of the Russian Federation temporarily located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus;

urban planning facilities maintained at the expense of resources of the budget of the Republic of Belarus;

basic funds of mobilization and state reserves, non-reducible stock, special equipment and objects intended for their storage and objects used exclusively for civil defence;

buildings and constructions except for those designed and (or) used in established order for carrying out the entrepreneur's activity located in rural areas and belonging to natural persons permanently residing in rural area and working in organizations located in rural area and carried out agricultural industry.

1-1. On lease, other onerous using or gratuitous using of objects of the basic assets free of tax charge, and also the basic assets of the organizations financed from the budget (budgetary organizations), the specified assets (except for leased, other onerous using or gratuitous using to the organizations financed from the budget (budgetary organizations) are the subject of taxation in the established order by the present Law.

2. Excluded.

3. Construction in progress on construction sites and facilities financed from the budget as well as housing construction facilities shall not be liable to taxation.

4. Privileges on tax at calculating a tax by ordinary partnership and economic group are not applied.

5. Buildings and structures belonged to individuals, including uncompleted by construction, are free from tax from the month of privilege appearance, and when the right for a tax privilege is lost during a year, tax calculation and payment of the tax are made from the month followed the other in which this right has been lost.

Article 5. Procedures for Calculating and Timing for Paying the Tax into the Budget

1. The tax shall be determined by organizations quarterly, proceeding from the availability of fixed assets by the residual cost for the beginning of the quarter and 1/4 of the approved annual rate. Tax for individuals shall be determined proceeding from the assessment of the buildings and constructions which is determined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus.

2. Excluded.

3. Individuals shall pay the tax amounts to the budget on the basis of a tax message from the inspections of the Ministry on Taxes and Duties of the Republic of Belarus not later than 15^th of November of a current year. At alienation within a year of the building or installation (part of building or installation) the tax is paid for the period of actual being of the building or installation (part of building or installation) in ownership, including the month, when the right of ownership will be terminated, before their alienation.

In case of handing out a tax message on the sum of the tax to pay after expiration of the term established by the present clause the tax is paid not later than 30 days from the moment of handing out the tax notification.

Calculation of the tax for natural person on objects of non-completed building starts on condition that the object is complete on 80 percent and more.

If the property is in a share ownership of several natural persons, the tax is paid by every one of them proportially to their share in this property. The similar order is provided, if the property is in the share ownership of natural persons and organizations.

If the property is in joint ownership of several natural persons, the tax is paid by one of these persons determined under the agreement among them. At that all owners bear joint responsibility for the fulfillment of the tax obligation.

4. The tax on construction in progress in excess of the norms shall be calculated, when the deadline for the construction has expired according to the construction norms and rules. The tax regarding the fulfilled volume of work on construction in progress shall be paid by the customer from the profits remaining at his disposal. The tax amount shall be determined, proceeding from the value of the construction in progress for the beginning of the quarter and 1/4 of the approved annual rate.

5. Excluded.

6. Excluded.

7. Organizations not later than 20-th day of the first month of the quarter of account submit to tax bodies at the place of their account and at place of location of the real estate objects (at presence of such beyond the administrative and territorial unit on the territory of which the payer is registered) of tax declaration (settlements) on real estate tax.

Payment is conducted by payers not later than 22nd day of every month by equal shares in amount 1/3 of the sum of tax paid quarterly.

8. Payment by natural persons of the real estate tax from the cost of garages located in garage construction cooperatives, rural houses and other buildings and constructions located in special (dacha) partnerships (cooperatives) is carried out by paying the sum of the tax to the relevant cooperatives and partnerships that recieve the tax and transfer it on the account of the relevant budget.