Free zones (Decree 65-89) and ZDEEP versus Decree 29-89

Free-zone users are exempt from import duty (DAI) and VAT on imports of machinery and inputs, exempt from VAT on operations inside and between free zones, and exempt from income tax (ISR) for 10 years (industrial and service users) or 15 years (zone operators), verified against the text of Decree 65-89 in dossier 03. ZOLIC (Decree 22-73) and the ZDEEPs (created by the 30-2008 reform) are extra-customs enclosures authorized by the tax authority (SAT), with taxes suspended inside the enclosure. The practical difference: a free zone is an enclosure (the goods never fiscally 'enter' the customs territory), whereas Decree 29-89 operates in the company's own plant inside the customs territory against a guarantee and a running goods account - Decree 29-89 lets you site the plant anywhere, while a free zone ties the benefit to the enclosure.

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