SmithHealthcare

History

2024: Exclusion from the SEZ "St. Petersburg" with a maximum fine

On July 22, 2024, the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region satisfied the claim of the city committee for industrial policy, innovation and trade (KPPIT) to deprive the status of a resident of the special economic zone "St. Petersburg" (SEZ) of the medical company SmithHealthcare (SmithHelskea JSC). The court decision also provides for the payment of a maximum fine of 5 million rubles for a significant violation of the terms of the agreement.

According to Delovoy Petersburg, the reason for the trial was an unrealized project to build an enterprise for the production of filters for hemodialysis worth 2.2 billion rubles. Despite the construction permit received in 2021, the company did not begin to implement the project.

Freepik

SmithHealthcare planned to build the plant on a 1.24 hectare site at the Novoorlovskaya site. It was assumed that the capacity of the first stage of production will be 1 million units of products per year. The company specialized in equipping hospitals, providing medical equipment to brands such as Philips, Abbott, Drager and Johnson & Johnson.

According to KPPIT, the construction permit expired in November 2022. The administration of St. Petersburg made attempts to update the agreement with the investor, but the company did not take steps to implement the project.

During the trial, SmithHealthcare filed a counterclaim against Smolny with a request to conclude an additional agreement and extend the contract for 5 years. However, the arbitration court returned this claim, considering it not related to the requirements of the committee.

Since the beginning of 2024, the administration of St. Petersburg has initiated several similar lawsuits against companies that have not fulfilled their obligations as residents of the SEZ. Among them - "Intima," "Levrana," "Ai Em Si Stankoinstrumental Plant," "Alterna" and "Auto Hydraulic Lift."^[1]

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