The basis for legal regulation of investment activity is the Investment Code of the Republic of Belarus adopted on June 22, 2001. It determines the general legal conditions for investment activity in the Republic of Belarus and it is aimed at its facilitating and state support as well as protection of investor’s rights on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

The investment activity in accordance with Belarusian legislation is actions of a legal or natural person or a state (administrative and territorial unit of the state) in regard to investing in manufacturing of goods (works, services) or in regard to their utilization in other ways in order to obtain the profit (incomes) or achieve other significant result (article 2 of the Investment Code of the Republic of Belarus).

Investment may be both national and foreign. The state support of foreign investment projects is provided in the form of privileges for tax and customs payments; guarantees of the Government of the Republic of Belarus; centralization of investment resources.

A legal person, the share capital of which partially or fully financed through foreign investments is considered a commercial organization with foreign investments. All commercial organizations with foreign investments are divided in commercial joint companies and commercial foreign companies.

The reinvestment is investing of profit (income) obtained as the result of investment activity of the investor into the objects of investment activity of the territory of the Republic of Belarus.

When creating and registration of enterprises with foreign investments besides the Investment Code the provisions of laws establishing the procedure of creation and registration of enterprises without foreign investments are applied. For the purposes of improvement of the state registration and liquidation (termination of activity) of commercial and non-commercial organizations, their associations as well as individual entrepreneurs the President of the Republic of Belarus adopted on January 16, 2009 the Decree No. 1 “On Order of State Registration and Liquidation (Termination of Activity) of Economic Entities”.

The procedure for opening and functioning of representations of foreign enterprises on the territory of the Republic of Belarus is governed by the Regulations on Procedure of Opening and Activity in the Republic of Belarus of Representations of Foreign Organizations approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of July 22, 1997 No. 929. According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of January 16, 2009 No. 1 the state registration of commercial organizations with foreign investments except for the banks, non-bank credit and financial organizations, commercial organizations with foreign investments in free economic zones and insurance and re-insurance organizations is made by the Oblast Executive Committees (Minsk City Executive Committee).