Kazakhstan: Special Economic Zones

(update 2022)

Kazakhstan is a country of great opportunities, full of history, and, seeking to become one of the most competitive economies in the world.

Kazakhstan’s territory has unique mineral resources, and significant oil and gas deposits.

Moreover, Kazakhstan is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union alongside Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are particular sites of the Republic of Kazakhstan characterised by a special legal regime and specific infrastructures assigned to carrying out certain priority activities.

SEZs activities are regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Special Economic Zones in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, and other Kazakh regulatory sources.

Actually, on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, there are 13 SEZ with different sectoral orientations: petrochemical, chemical, metallurgical, logistics and other industries.

Today, there is one of them in almost all regions of Kazakhstan.

Residents of each SEZs enjoy various tax and customs benefits, including:

• special tax exemptions (corporate income tax, land tax, customs duties, value added tax on import products, property tax);
• the grant of a production site connected to the necessary engineering and communication infrastructure;
• the possibility of hiring foreign labour outside of quotas and immigration restrictions.

SEZs provide foreign investors with comfortable conditions to conduct business, remove administrative barriers and provide the opportunity to access the Kazakhstan market. Moreover, Kazakhstan’s advantageous geographic position allows quick delivery of the SEZs’ products to the European, Middle East and Asia-Pacific markets.