Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY

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Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
Doing business
in Kazakhstan
An introductory guide
to tax and legal issues
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
2   Doing business in Kazakhstan
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
Preface
This publication is intended to provide a useful practical summary
of some of the legal and tax issues that investors may face when
starting and building a business in Kazakhstan. We hope that it will
help investors to avoid common pitfalls and highlight areas where
some forethought and planning can prevent problems from arising.
Kazakhstan offers many opportunities and is strongly committed to
encouraging foreign investment in key sectors of the economy.

This guide is split into five sections:

   1. Welcome to Kazakhstan

   2. Our top 10 tax and legal tips for prospering in Kazakhstan

   3. Getting started

   4. An overview of tax rules in Kazakhstan

   5. An overview of other laws affecting business administration.

This guide is a high-level summary of the rules in force as of
1 January 2021. It is not a substitute for comprehensive
professional advice, which should be sought before engaging in
any significant transaction. It should also be noted that this guide
does not cover all taxes in Kazakhstan (of which there are more
than 30). Here, we cover only the most important taxes, so advice
should be sought as to the actual taxes applicable to any particular
business.

We wish you every success in this exciting and dynamic
environment.

                                           Doing business in Kazakhstan   1
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
Contents

2   Doing business in Kazakhstan
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
Welcome to Kazakhstan .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4                Overview of other laws that affect
     Highlights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5                   business administration .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 50
     System of government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8                                  Transfer pricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
     Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8                     Employment regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
     Business hours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8                            Import and export formalities and customs duties. . . . . . 53
     Kazakhstan fact sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9                                Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Our top 10 tax and legal tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10                                               Banking regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
                                                                                                                      Currency regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
     Tax tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
                                                                                                                      Currency regimes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
     Legal tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
                                                                                                                 EY in Kazakhstan .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 64
Getting started .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 16
                                                                                                                      About EY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
     Arriving in Kazakhstan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
                                                                                                                      Encouraging investment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
     Post-arrival procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
                                                                                                                      Supporting our clients in the dynamic landscape. . . . . . . 65
     Types of legal entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
                                                                                                                      Office locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
     Establishing a legal presence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
                                                                                                                      EY Kazakhstan at social media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
     Incentives for investors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
                                                                                                                 Appendix.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 68
Overview of tax rules in Kazakhstan. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 30
                                                                                                                      Double tax treaties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
     Personal income tax (“PIT”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
                                                                                                                      List of countries with preferential tax regimes . . . . . . . . . 70
     Social tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
                                                                                                                      Key macroeconomic indicators of Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . 71
     Corporate income tax (CIT). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
     Withholding tax (WHT) (other than PIT). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
     Value added tax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
     Subsurface use taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
     Tax administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

                                                                                                                                                                                    Doing business in Kazakhstan                         3
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
1   Welcome to
    Kazakhstan

4   Doing business in Kazakhstan
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
Highlights
                                                                                                             US$24,263
                                                      • On 1 January 2015, the Treaty
                                                        on the Eurasian Economic Union
• Kazakhstan posted an annual average                   (EAEU) entered into force. The union
  GDP growth rate of 5.2% from 2005
  to 2019, with GDP in 2019 reaching
                                                        of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
                                                        Kyrgyzstan and Russia comprises a
                                                                                                             million
  US$180.2 billion (US$9,731.2 per                      market of 184 million consumers.                     gross FDI inflows recorded
  capita). In the first 9 months of 2019
                                                      • In December 2012, the former                         by Kazakhstan in 2018
  the growth rate accelerated to 4.5%
  from 4.1% in 2019.1 The country’s                     President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan
  GDP shrank by 2.6% in 2020 as it                      Nazarbayev, in his annual address to
  took a heavy hit from the coronavirus                 the nation, unveiled the Kazakhstan
  pandemic. In October 2020, the                        2050 Strategy, which aims to make

                                                                                                             184
  Ministry of National Economy of                       Kazakhstan one of the world’s 30
  Kazakhstan announced an updated                       most developed countries. The strate-
  GDP forecast for 2021, predicting a                   gy is to be realized through a number
  real GDP growth rate of 2.8% in 2021.2                of key initiatives: a comprehensive
                                                                                                             million consumers
                                                        and pragmatic economic policy (infra-
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows               structure development, modernized                    make up the EAEU market
  into Kazakhstan have been strong in                   systems for managing state assets
  recent decades. Kazakhstan’s success                  and natural resources, accelerated
  in attracting FDI may be attributed                   industrialization, modernization of
  to its vast natural resources and the                 agriculture and new policies on water
  commitment of the country’s leader-                   resources), the development of a
  ship to welcoming FDI and promoting
  the country’s stable economic growth,
                                                        culture of entrepreneurship, new
                                                        social policies, targeted development
                                                                                                             November 2014
  as well as to developing non-extractive               of knowledge and professional skills,                Infrastructure development
  sectors such as agriculture, renewable                further strengthening of state gover-
  energy, infrastructure, logistics and                 nance and democracy, consistent and
                                                                                                             program launched in Kazakhstan
  transport. In 2019, Kazakhstan posted                 predictable foreign policy, and a new
  gross FDI inflow of US$24.1 billion                   national patriotism.
  compared to US$24.3 billion in 2018.
                                                      • The Nurly Zhol (Shining Path)
• Kazakhstan is ranked 25th for Ease                    infrastructure development program
  of Doing Business in the World Bank’s                 was launched in November 2014
  Doing Business 2020 report. The                       with the aim of creating an efficient
  country has moved up three positions                  transport and logistics infrastructure
  compared with the previous year.3                     in Kazakhstan.4,5

1 	 World Bank Data.
2 	 The Ministry of the National Economy of Kazakhstan.
3 	 Doing Business 2020, the World Bank, October 2019.
4 	 Official Information Source of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 22.10.2019,
    https://www.government.kz/en/news/realizaciya-novoy-gosprogrammy-nu-rly-zhol-na-2020-2025-gody-pozvolit-sozdat-bolee-550-tys-rabochih-mest
5 	 Astana Times, 24.10.2019, https://astanatimes.com/2019/10/kazakh-government-estimates-nurly-zhol-programme-will-cost-16-91-billion-over-next-five-years/

                                                                                                                            Doing business in Kazakhstan       5
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
KZT 5.8 trillion
                                      • KZT 5.8 trillion was invested in                    civil service, rule of law, industrializa-
                                        Kazakhstan’s transport industry                     tion and economic growth, a unified
                                        under the Nurly Zhol program                        nation, and the transparency and
was invested in Kazakhstan’s            in 2015–2019. Of this, 56% was                      accountability of the state. The new
                                        funded with the involvement of the                  President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-
transport industry
                                        private sector, the rest by the state               Jomart Tokayev, has continued the
                                                                                            course and confirmed institutional
                                      • 3,000 km of republican roads
                                                                                            reforms as a key priority in ac-
                                        were built or rebuilt, including
                                                                                            celerating Kazakhstan’s economic
                                        completion of the Western
                                                                                            development.6

3,000 km
                                        Europe­ — Western China
                                        international transport corridor                  • The ‘Digital Kazakhstan’ state
                                                                                            program was launched in 2017.
                                      • 1,400 km of new railways were
                                                                                            It aims to accelerate economic
of republican roads                     commissioned: Zhezkazgan–Beineu
                                                                                            development and improve the quality
were built or rebuilt                   (1,040 km), Arkalyk–Shubarkol
                                                                                            of life of the people of Kazakhstan
                                        (214 km), Borzhakty–Yersai
                                                                                            with the aid of digital technologies.
                                        (14 km) and the second track of
                                        the Almaty–Shu section (111 km)                   • The first wave of privatization in
                                                                                            Kazakhstan laid the foundations of
                                      • 6 runways were upgraded at the
                                                                                            the market economy in the 1990s.

1,400 km
                                        airports of Uralsk, Petropavlovsk,
                                                                                            At the end of 2015, Kazakhstan
                                        Almaty, Semey, Kostanay and
                                                                                            announced a new privatization plan
                                        Balkhash.
                                                                                            that seeks to shrink state ownership
of new railways were                The program will include the follow-                    of the national economy from more
commissioned                        ing projects: completion of 3,800 km                    than 40% to around 15%. However,
                                    of roads; rebuilding of the runways                     real progress has been slow.
                                    at Kostanay and Balkhash airports;
                                                                                          • On 30 November 2015, the World
                                    modernization of the Dostyk–Moyynty
                                                                                            Trade Organization (WTO) welcomed
                                    railway line and electrification of the
                                                                                            Kazakhstan as its 162nd member.
                                    Moyynty–Aktogay railway line; develop-

6 runways
                                                                                            Kazakhstan has successfully
                                    ment of water transport through the
                                                                                            negotiated arrangements on sensitive
                                    purchase of 48 ships, including six mer-
                                                                                            economic issues, including support
                                    chant fleets, and major repairs to locks.
were upgraded                                                                               for agriculture, financial services
                                    • In June 2015, in line with the                        and telecommunications, and has
at the airports                       Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy, former                      coordinated its WTO and EAEU
                                      President Nursultan Nazarbayev set                    commitments in line with national
                                      out 100 steps for the implementation                  interests. Kazakhstan became an
                                      of five institutional reforms aimed at                associate member of the OECD
                                      promoting a modern and professional                   Investment Committee in 2017

                                    6 	 Official website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan,
                                        https://www.akorda.kz/ru/official_documents/strategies_and_programs

6    Doing business in Kazakhstan
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
and a participant in the Public                    • The annual PowerExpo Almaty                           providing certain financial services
  Governance and Environmental Policy                  international exhibition presents the                 on the territory of AIFC, and personal
  Committees in 2019. The country                      latest equipment, technologies and                    income tax on income of foreign
  has also joined the OECD’s Base                      services for the energy industry.                     employees. As of 2021, more than
  Erosion and Profit-Shifting (BEPS)                   It has become an established                          700 companies from 42 countries
  Project, an initiative involving over                platform for business meetings,                       have been registered in the AIFC.
  100 countries in an effort to tackle                 exchange of experience and                            They represent the United Kingdom,
  tax avoidance strategies that exploit                negotiations. 118 enterprises from                    the USA, China, Russia, Estonia,
  gaps and mismatches in tax rules to                  13 countries, including Austria,                      Latvia, Italy, Finland, South Korea,
  artificially shift profits to low- or no-            Azerbaijan, Belarus, Germany, Italy,                  Singapore, Malaysia, India, the United
  tax locations7.                                      Kazakhstan, China, Poland, South                      Arab Emirates, Turkey and other
                                                       Korea, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine                     leading economies.
• The New Silk Road is an ambitious
                                                       and the Czech Republic, took part in
  transport infrastructure project that                                                                    • The Khorgos-Eastern Gate special
                                                       the exhibition in 2019, with national
  will enable goods to be delivered                                                                          economic zone (SEZ) comprises a
                                                       stands presented by companies from
  from the Pacific coast to Europe.                                                                          dry port, a logistics and industrial
                                                       China, Russia and Poland9.
  Redirecting cargo traffic to the                                                                           zone, a railway station and the
  mainland is no easy task, as the                   • In July 2018 Kazakhstan officially                    Altynkol Kazakh-Chinese Khorgos
  current sea route is significantly                   launched the Astana International                     International Centre of Boundary
  cheaper. However, the new overland                   Financial Centre (AIFC) on the site of                Cooperation. In July 2015, the
  route through Kazakhstan allows                      the EXPO-2017 exhibition. It is set to                country’s first dry port, with an
  delivery times to be reduced from                    serve as a financial hub for Central                  area of 149 hectares and planned
  40–60 days to 13–14 days. A railway                  Asia, the Caucasus, the Eurasian                      capacity of 500,000 twenty-foot
  corridor connecting the Pacific coast                Economic Union and Mongolia. The                      equivalent units (TEU), was launched
  of China to the Caspian Sea is already               centre has a special legal regime                     in the SEZ. Thanks to the dry port,
  in operation. It will provide access to              which differs from the legislation                    shipments that used to take up to 40
  many major markets when integrated                   of Kazakhstan and is based on the                     days by sea from Asia to Europe can
  with the Kazakhstan — Turkmenistan —                 principles of English law and best                    now be transported in just 10 days.
  Iran and Azerbaijan — Georgia — Turkey               practices of world-leading financial                  In 2018, Khorgos processed 311
  railway systems. A joint industry and                centres. Participants enjoy special tax,              container trains along the China-
  investment cooperation program is                    currency and visa regimes, as well as                 Europe transport route and more
  underway between Kazakhstan and                      a favourable framework for attracting                 than 1.2 million people visited the
  China. It comprises 51 projects worth                foreign labour. Tax incentives include                duty-free trade zone. So far, over
  more than US$27b and infrastructure                  a nearly 50-year exemption from                       US$1.4 billion has been invested in
  forms an important part of it.8                      corporate income tax and VAT for                      the project10.

7 	 OECD, https://www.oecd.org/eurasia/countries/kazakhstan/
8 	 Belt and Road News, 09.06.2019, https://www.beltandroad.news/2019/06/09/kazakh-chinese-one-belt-one-road-cooperation-discussed-in-astana/
9 	 Official website of PowerExpo Almaty, https://www.powerexpo.kz/en/exhibition/about-the-exhibition
10 Forbes, 14.03.2019, https://www.forbes.ru/biznes/373183-baraholka-s-oborotom-eu18-mlrd-novaya-mekka-chelnokov

                                                                                                                          Doing business in Kazakhstan   7
Doing business in Kazakhstan - An introductory guide to tax and legal issues - EY
System of government                        Time                                       Public holidays
The Republic of Kazakhstan gained           Kazakhstan’s time zones range from five    and days off
independence on 16 December 1991.           hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time         The following table presents
Under the constitution adopted on           (GMT) in the western part of the country   Kazakhstan’s official public holidays
30 August 1995, Kazakhstan is a             to six hours ahead of GMT in the other     and days off.
democratic, secular, legal and social       regions. Nur-Sultan and Almaty are six
state. State power is divided into          hours ahead of GMT.                         Holiday                        Date
legislative, executive and judicial                                                     New Year holidays     1–2 January
branches. Kazakhstan is a unitary
state with presidential rule. Legislative   Business hours                              Orthodox Christmas    7 January

functions are performed by the                                                          International         8 March
                                            Kazakh offices are generally open from
                                                                                        Women’s Day
Parliament of Kazakhstan, which is          9:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday,
the supreme representative body and                                                     Nauryz Meyrami        21–23 March
                                            and closed Saturdays and Sundays.
consists of two chambers, the Senate                                                    Kazakhstan People’s   1 May
and the Majilis. The Government                                                         Unity Day
of Kazakhstan acts as the supreme                                                       Defender of the       7 May
executive body, headed by the Prime                                                     Fatherland Day
Minister. Judicial authority is vested in                                               Victory Day           9 May
the Supreme Court.
                                                                                        Capital Day           6 July
                                                                                        The first day of      20 July in 2021
                                                                                        Kurban Ait            (observed in
                                                                                                              accordance with the
                                                                                                              Islamic Calendar)
                                                                                        Constitution Day      30 August
                                                                                        The First President of 1 December
                                                                                        Kazakhstan Day
                                                                                        Independence Day      16–17 December

8    Doing business in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan fact sheet

 Capital                                                          Nur-Sultan
 Administration                                                   Kazakhstan is divided into 14 provinces and 3 cities of national significance: Nur-Sultan,
                                                                  Almaty and Shymkent
 Bordering countries                                              Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan
 Land area                                                        2,724,900 km2
 Population (November 2020)                                       18.8 million
 Urban population, % (November 2020)                              59% of the total population
 Age structure (2020)                                             0-15 years (29.9%); 16-62 years (59.1%); 63 and above (11.0%)
 Languages                                                        Kazakh (official language), Russian (interethnic communication)
 President                                                        Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (since 20 March 2019)
 Prime Minister                                                   Askar Mamin (since 25 February 2019)
 Nominal GDP (2019)                                               US$181.666 billion
 GDP growth (2019)                                                4.5%
 GDP per capita (2019)                                            9,731.2
 GDP composition by sector (2019)                                 Agriculture (55.5 %); industry (33 %); services 4 %)
 External debt as a percentage of GDP (Q2 2020)                   89.6%
 Labour force (2020)                                              9.06 million
 Unemployment rate (December 2020)                                4.55%
 CPI inflation (November 2020)                                    7.5%
 Stock exchange                                                   Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE)
 Central Bank                                                     National Bank of Kazakhstan
 Corporate income tax rate                                        20%
 Individual income tax rate                                       10%
 State value added tax                                            12%
 Major cities                                                     Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent, Karaganda, Atyrau, Aktau
 Currency unit                                                    Kazakhstan tenge (KZT)
 Annual average exchange rate (2020)                              US$1=KZT 416.7; EUR1=KZT 477.98; RUR1=KZT 5.69; CNY1=KZT 60.8
 Exchange rate as of 1 December 2020         11
                                                                  US$1=KZT 425.05; EUR1=KZT 509.29; RUR1=KZT 5.58; CNY1=KZT 64.66

Sources: Official website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan; the National Bank of Kazakhstan; the Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan.

11 Hereafter in this guide, all calculations in US$ are made based on the exchange rate as of 1 December 2020

                                                                                                                                    Doing business in Kazakhstan   9
2
Our top 10
tax and legal tips

10   Doing business in Kazakhstan
In this section we set out our top
tax and legal tips for prospective
investors.
                                     Tax tips

                                                      1                                          3
Should you need more
information on any of these
issues, EY is happy to assist you
in the following areas:
• Tax planning and compliance,       Recent years have shown that Kazakh       The scope of withholding taxes (WHTs)
  both in Kazakhstan and             law is subject to frequent changes.       on cross-border payments is wide, and
  internationally                    This makes it important to have robust    rates are high (sometimes even when
                                     tax planning to enable businesses         the recipient has never entered Kazakh-
• Business accounting and            to cope with changes in the law and       stan). However, Kazakhstan has tax
  payroll                            implement structural changes as           treaties with many countries which allow
• A full range of legal consulting   required without significant tax costs.   for withholding taxes to be reduced or
  services in Kazakhstan, as well                                              avoided if all the necessary documenta-
                                                                               tion is in place place (though, the MLI

                                                      2
  as tax litigation services
                                                                               provisions, which entered into force in
• Transaction advisory services                                                Kazakhstan from 1 October 2020, should
  and legal and tax due diligence                                              be considered and properly supported).
                                                                               Otherwise, tax will be withheld, and
• Immigration support and                                                      obtaining a refund may be a complex and
  performance and reward             Corporate and personal income tax rates
                                                                               time-consuming process with an uncer-
  planning                           in Kazakhstan are low by international
                                                                               tain outcome. Moreover, Kazakhstan
                                     standards, but penalties for non-
• Assurance services                                                           has a unique position on transfer pricing
                                     payment and non-reporting, whether
                                                                               whereby all cross-border transactions
                                     intentional or not, are high. The first
                                                                               may potentially be inspected for transfer
                                     focus of tax planning in Kazakhstan
                                                                               pricing compliance, regardless of wheth-
                                     should be to confirm that all tax that
                                                                               er the parties are in any way related.
                                     ought to be paid in Kazakhstan is paid
                                     and reported. In addition, Kazakhstan

                                                                                                 4
                                     is a documentation-driven country,
                                     and keeping documentation in order
                                     (including supporting documentation)
                                     is of paramount importance

                                                                               There are many downsides to dealing
                                                                               with tax havens when structuring cross-
                                                                               border investments or transactions in
                                                                               Kazakhstan. Thus, tax havens should
                                                                               not usually form part of tax planning
                                                                               in Kazakhstan.

                                                                                           Doing business in Kazakhstan   11
5                                           7                                           9
The rules for determining whether            There is a safe harbour allowing an          In many cases, exemption from capital
a business dealing with Kazakhstan has       entity that seconds staff to Kazakhstan      gains tax may be obtained upon with-
a taxable presence for corporate income      to avoid a taxable presence. Provided        drawal from an investment in Kazakhstan
tax (CIT) purposes in Kazakhstan             the arrangements are properly                provided that the correct structuring
(a permanent establishment) are very         structured, this is likely to be more tax-   was used when the investment was first
broad and can apply collectively to          efficient than using the same staff to       made. The complexity of the structuring
whole groups of companies if they have       provide consulting or other services.        depends on the nature of the asset.
been in the country for over six months.
Some, but not all, of Kazakhstan’s tax

                                                               8                                        10
treaties (with MLI limitations) protect
against this. Therefore, if more than one
group entity is used to do business in
Kazakhstan, the position of all entities
involved should be reviewed collectively.
                                             Branch profit tax applies to all             According to currently enacted tax law,
                                             permanent establishments of foreign          income received by foreign individuals

                   6
                                             legal entities at a standard rate of 15%.    (cash and in-kind) for work performed
                                             It is usually reduced by tax treaties.       in Kazakhstan (regardless of where the
                                             There is an equivalent tax on dividends      income is paid) is treated as Kazakh-
                                             at the same standard rate, which may         source income and is subject to Kazakh
                                             also be reduced by treaties (with MLI        personal income tax (PIT). Generally,
                                             limitations). In the case of dividends,      Kazakh-source income is reported and
Deductibility of interest on investor
                                             the rate is zero after an investment has     taxed in Kazakhstan using one of the
loans is subject to a debt-to-equity ratio
                                             been held for three years (except for        following methods: (i) self-assessment
of 4:1 (7:1 for financial organizations).
                                             investments in oil and gas or mining         via an annual PIT return or (ii) at source
At best, an investor will pay 10%
                                             operations (unless a certain portion         via a local company acting as a so-called
WHT on cross-border interest (under
                                             of minerals is refined), dividends paid      “tax agent”. In most cases, the law
a double tax treaty) and be able to
                                             to entities registered in tax havens         places tax and reporting obligations
claim a CIT deduction of 20%, while for
                                             and investments in certain CIT-exempt        for Kazakh-source income of foreign
certain borrowings accrued interest
                                             entities).                                   individuals on the local tax agent (e. g.,
expense may be deducted only when
                                                                                          a foreign legal entity with a registered
paid. Furthermore, exchange gains and
                                                                                          presence in Kazakhstan (a branch or rep-
losses on loans are recognised for tax
                                                                                          resentative office) or a local entity that
purposes.
                                                                                          uses services of a non-resident employer
                                                                                          delivered through foreign employees).

12   Doing business in Kazakhstan
Legal tips
                 1                                           3                                              6
Most investors use a Kazakh limited         There is an extensive range of business       The process of hiring foreign employees
liability partnership (LLP) as their        and professional activities that are          is complex and strictly regulated in
investment vehicle.                         subject to licensing requirements, and        Kazakhstan. Immigration and labour
                                            it is important for investors to determine    law has undergone numerous changes
                                            in advance whether they need a licence.       resulting in frequent inspections of

                 2
                                            The penalties for failure to obtain a         companies that employ foreign workers
                                            licence can be significant, including         and increased penalties for violations
                                            potential criminal liability.                 of labour and migration rules (including
                                                                                          discriminatory remuneration terms and
                                                                                          payment of salaries in foreign currency).

                                                             4
Settlements between residents of
Kazakhstan (Kazakh legal entities,

                                                                                                            7
branches/representative offices of
foreign non-financial entities, and
Kazakh citizens) must be made in KZT
(with a few exceptions — e. g., branches    Kazakhstan often takes a formalistic
of non-financial entities may transact      approach to procedural matters. In most
with each other in foreign currency).       cases, a company’s representatives must       Kazakhstan generally permits foreign
Settlements between non-residents           have a detailed power of attorney and         law to be the governing law for
(foreign legal entities and citizens) and   will regularly be required to refer to it —   commercial contracts, except for
Kazakh residents may generally be           for example, when signing contracts.          subsurface use contracts with the
made in any currency but may have to                                                      state, foundation agreements of a
be reported to the National Bank if they                                                  Kazakh legal entity, agreements on the

                                                             5
hit certain thresholds.                                                                   transfer of participating interests in a
                                                                                          legal entity and transactions involving
                                                                                          immovable property. Regulatory acts of
                                                                                          the AIFC governing relations between
                                                                                          AIFC participants may be based on the
                                            Compliance with local content
                                                                                          “principles, norms and cases” of the law
                                            requirements is very important for
                                                                                          of England and Wales and standards of
                                            mining and oil and gas companies and
                                                                                          international financial centres.
                                            their subcontractors and is constantly
                                            monitored by government authorities.

                                                                                                      Doing business in Kazakhstan   13
8                                       10
In certain cases, Kazakh law requires         At the same time, Kazakh legal entities
approval to be sought from government         have access to the AIFC’s court and
authorities for the acquisition of            international arbitration centre, whose
shares/participating interests in legal       decisions are recognised and enforced in
entities operating in fields covered by       Kazakhstan in a similar way to decisions
competition and natural monopoly              of arbitration and international courts.
regulations and by legislation relating to
subsurface use. It is therefore important
to analyse the requirements of Kazakh
laws on a case-by-case basis before
entering into such transactions.

                   9
Disputes between Kazakh legal entities
are resolved either through amicable
procedures (mediation, amicable
settlement and participatory procedure)
or by courts and local arbitration, as well
as by international courts if a provision
allowing such dispute resolution is
contained in the relevant agreement
between the parties. Public disputes
with Kazakh government authorities can
be resolved either in court or through a
pre-litigation procedure.

14   Doing business in Kazakhstan
Doing business in Kazakhstan   15
3
Getting
started

16   Doing business in Kazakhstan
Arriving in Kazakhstan                                Business visas (Category B) are                        An individual may obtain certain
                                                      issued to foreign individuals arriving                 types of official business and private
The Kazakh authorities issue the                      in Kazakhstan for business purposes                    visas without a letter of invitation by
following categories of visa:                         (e. g., negotiations, conclusion of                    submitting a written application to
• Category A: diplomatic, official and                contracts, provision of consulting or                  the Kazakh consular establishment in
  investor                                            audit services, provision of installation,             the respective country if he or she is a
                                                      repair or maintenance services and                     citizen of one of the following countries:
• Category B (short-term stay):                       attendance of conferences, symposiums,
  business visa, visa for international               forums, exhibitions and concerts).                       • Australia             • Lithuania
  road haulage, visa for crew members
  of aircraft, marine and river vessels               Work visas (Category C) are issued to                    • Austria               • Luxembourg
  and trains, visa for religious                      foreign individuals entering or staying                  • Belgium               • Malaysia
  events, visa for practical training                 in Kazakhstan for employment and                         • Brazil                • Malta
  or internships, visa for permanent                  members of their families. In general,
                                                                                                               • Bulgaria              • Monaco
  residence in Kazakhstan, private visa,              a work visa is issued based on a work
                                                                                                               • Canada                • Netherlands
  visa for adoption of Kazakh citizens,               permit. See the “Work permits” section
                                                      for details.                                             • Croatia               • New Zealand
  tourist visa, transit visa and exit visa
  to leave Kazakhstan                                                                                          • Cyprus                • Norway
                                                      In Kazakhstan, visas are issued by the
                                                                                                               • Czech Republic        • Oman
• Category C (long-term stay): visa for               Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of
                                                      Kazakhstan. Elsewhere, they are issued                   • Denmark               • Poland
  permanent residence in Kazakhstan
                                                      by Kazakh consulates (for example, the                   • Estonia               • Portugal
  (for ethnic Kazakhs), family reunion
  visa, work visa, visa for missionary                Consular Department of the Embassy of                    • Finland               • Qatar
  activities, humanitarian visa,                      Kazakhstan). Business and work visas                     • France                • Romania
  study visa, private visa (for ethnic                are issued based on a letter of invitation               • Germany               • Saudi Arabia
  Kazakhs), visa for minors and medical               issued by a local Kazakh company or
                                                                                                               • Greece                • Singapore
  treatment visa.                                     a branch or representative office of a
                                                                                                               • Hungary               • Slovak Republic
                                                      foreign company. The state duty for the
Visas of the above categories may                     execution of invitations is 0.5 times the                • Iceland               • Slovenia
be issued for single or multiple entry                monthly calculation index (MCI).12 The                   • Ireland               • Spain
depending on the category and type                    fee for issuing a visa ranges from US$20                 • Israel                • Sweden
of visa. Exit visas are issued only for               to US$1,000 depending on the country                     • Italy                 • Switzerland
single use.                                           of residence of the invited party and the                • Japan                 • United Arab
                                                      type of visa requested. A visa should be                                            Emirates
                                                                                                               • Jordan
                                                      issued within five business days.
                                                                                                               • Korea (South)         • United Kingdom
                                                                                                               • Latvia                • United States
                                                                                                               • Liechtenstein

12 The MCI was established by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On the Budget of the Republic for 2021–2023» Effective on 1 January 2021, 1 MCI = KZT 2,917
   (approximately US$7)

                                                                                                                            Doing business in Kazakhstan     17
Kazakhstan has a visa-free regime with      Under this visa-free regime, citizens       The letter will then be forwarded to the
certain countries based on international    of the above countries may enter            IC for further consideration. The IC will
agreements (for example, Belarus and        Kazakhstan without a visa for a period      consider requests on a case-by-case
the Russian Federation).                    not exceeding 30 calendar days from         basis within 5 working days (although it
                                            the date of crossing the border and not     may take longer in practice). In the event
Kazakh migration law allows citizens of
                                            more than 90 calendar days in total in      of a favourable decision, the IC will issue
the following countries to enter and exit
                                            any 180-calendar day period. If a foreign   a protocol containing the name of the
Kazakhstan without visas:
                                            individual wishes to stay in Kazakhstan     company and the foreign individual and
                                            for a longer period, he or she may apply    he/she will be able to enter Kazakhstan
 • Australia           • Luxembourg         for a single-entry business or investor     based on that protocol provided that
 • Austria             • Malaysia           visa while in Kazakhstan. Investor          all other visas and work permits are in
 • Bahrein             • Malta              visas are issued to certain categories      place.
 • Belgium             • Mexico             of business immigration applicants
 • Bulgaria            • Monaco             (managers of companies that carry out
                                            investment activities in Kazakhstan and     Post-arrival procedures
 • Canada              • Netherlands
                                            members of their families) and provide      Until 10 January 2020, foreign
 • Chile               • New Zealand        certain privileges.                         individuals arriving in Kazakhstan for
 • Columbia            • Norway
                                            It should be noted that, due to the         more than five calendar days were
 • Croatia             • Oman                                                           normally required to register with
                                            coronavirus pandemic, the visa-free
 • Cyprus              • Philippines        regime with the above-listed 57             the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
 • Czech Republic      • Poland             countries has been suspended until          However, this has been replaced by an
 • Denmark             • Portugal           1 May 2021.                                 obligation on the part of the inviting
 • Estonia             • Qatar                                                          party to obtain a temporary stay permit
                                            In view of the pandemic and related         for the foreign citizen.
 • Finland             • Romania            quarantine measures, obtaining entry
 • France              • Saudi Arabia       to Kazakhstan is currently a more           In addition, the inviting party must
 • Germany             • Singapore          challenging and complex process             notify the MIA within three working days
                                            for foreigners. A separate written          of the arrival of the foreign individual in
 • Greece              • Slovak Republic
                                            approval from the Interdepartmental         Kazakhstan.
 • Hungary             • Slovenia
                                            Commission (“IC”) chaired by the            Immigration records are kept by the
 • Iceland             • Spain
                                            Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic       MIA based on information from inviting
 • Indonesia           • Sweden             of Kazakhstan is required for foreign       parties and by the National Security
 • Ireland             • Switzerland        individuals to enter the country. This      Committee of Kazakhstan based on
 • Israel              • Thailand           means that, when a foreign individual       information from Kazakh border control
 • Italy               • Turkey             seeks entry to Kazakhstan for work,         authorities.
 • Japan               • United Arab       business or other purposes, the inviting
                                            company must first prepare an official      A temporary stay permit allows a foreign
 • Korea (South)          Emirates
                                            request addressed to the head of the        individual to stay for a definite period
 • Kuwait              • United Kingdom
                                            administration of the respective city       (e. g., the length of an employment
 • Latvia              • United States                                                  agreement) and must be obtained by the
                                            (the city governor). That request must
 • Liechtenstein       • Vatican            set out the reasons why the company         inviting party. A temporary stay permit is
 • Lithuania           • Vietnam            needs the foreign employee in question.     issued based on applications from:

18   Doing business in Kazakhstan
1.	Individuals inviting foreign              Various sanctions are prescribed for         Limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
    individuals for family reunion            non-compliance with immigration              The main difference between a JSC
                                              requirements. Please refer to the            and an LLP is that an LLP does not
2.	Individuals or legal entities that
                                              relevant section for details.                issue shares; instead, participants hold
    have concluded an employment
    agreement with a foreign individual                                                    interests in the partnership. An LLP may
                                              Should you require assistance in             be formed by one or more participants.
3.	Educational organizations                 planning and managing your human             Generally, the participants in an LLP are
                                              capital needs, EY can assist with            not liable for the LLP’s debts beyond the
4. Medical organizations
                                              business and work visas, work permit         value of their contributions. There are a
5. Religious organizations                    applications for foreign employees,          number of exceptions to this rule under
                                                                                           Kazakh law.
6.	Local authorities inviting individuals    tax registration, tax and legal compli-
    to engage in entrepreneurial              ance for expatriate individuals and the      The minimum capital requirement for
    activities (business immigrants).         drafting of secondment agreements.           an LLP is 100 MCI (approximately
                                                                                           US$694), with the exception of small
However, foreign individuals in posses-                                                    businesses, for which the minimum is
sion of a visa issued after 1 July 2018                                                    set at zero. Participants’ interests are
do not need to obtain a temporary stay        Types of legal entities                      proportional to their contributions to the
permit. Relevant data will be automati-       Under the Civil Code, foreign and            charter capital, unless the foundation
cally recorded in the Berkut electronic       local investors may use a number             documents provide otherwise.
database based on information provided        of organizational forms to do                Participants have pre-emptive rights to
in the letter of invitation. For foreigners   business in Kazakhstan, including            each other’s interests.
entering Kazakhstan under a visa-free         simple partnerships, limited liability
regime, the new rule described above                                                       Importantly, LLPs in Kazakhstan are
                                              partnerships, additional liability limited
will apply. The period of stay in Kazakh-                                                  separate legal entities that are distinct
                                              partnerships, production cooperatives
stan ends upon the expiry of the visa or,                                                  from their participants. As a legal entity,
                                              and joint stock companies.
for visa-free visitors, after 30 calendar                                                  an LLP is subject to state registration
days or the period indicated in the tem-      In this section we give details of those     and taxation in its own right, i. e., it is
                                              types of business vehicles that are most     not tax-transparent.
porary stay permit.
                                              widely used in practice.
                                                                                           In addition, Kazakh law allows a foreign
Starting from 2020, the temporary stay
                                              Joint stock companies (JSCs)                 company to establish branches and
of foreign individuals arriving in Kazakh-
                                                                                           representative offices. Under the Civil
stan under a visa-free regime (including      A JSC is a legal entity that issues shares
                                                                                           Code, branches and representative
the 57 countries listed above) must not       in order to attract investments to
                                                                                           offices are not considered separate legal
exceed 30 calendar days from the day          finance its activities. A JSC is separate
                                                                                           entities.
of crossing the Kazakh border and must        and distinct from its shareholders,
not exceed 90 calendar days in any            i. e., shareholders are not liable for       Representative office
180-calendar day period unless other-         the JSC’s liabilities. It may have one
                                                                                           A representative office is established
wise provided in an agreement between         or more shareholders. The minimum
                                                                                           to represent a foreign entity’s interests
Kazakhstan and the foreign country con-       capital required for a JSC is 50,000 MCI
                                                                                           in Kazakhstan. A representative office
cerned or decided by the Government of        (approximately US$350,000).
                                                                                           protects and represents the interests
Kazakhstan. This rule does not apply to                                                    of the foreign legal entity and carries
individuals who have a temporary stay                                                      out preparatory and auxiliary activities,
permit as described above.

                                                                                                       Doing business in Kazakhstan   19
such as marketing and advertising.
                                    Generally, a representative office may
                                    not engage in commercial activities.

                                    Branch
                                    A branch is a subdivision of a foreign
                                    legal entity that performs all or part
                                    of the foreign entity’s functions. In
                                    particular, it may engage in commercial
                                    activities.
                                    Should you require more information
                                    on the nature and uses of the various
                                    types of business entities in Kazakhstan,
                                    EY offers tax and legal advice on how
                                    to structure a business, as well as a
                                    full range of company formation and
                                    registration services.

                                    Establishing a legal
                                    presence
                                    As a rule, all legal entities, branches and
                                    representative offices in Kazakhstan
                                    must be registered with the state. It is
                                    important to determine whether any
                                    specific approvals and/or consents
                                    must be obtained from government
                                    authorities before proceeding with state
                                    registration.

                                    State registration
                                    State registration in Kazakhstan
                                    follows a “one-stop shop” principle:
                                    all registration documents must be
                                    submitted to a single government
                                    authority, the Government for Citizens.
                                    Under the law on state registration,
                                    the procedure should take from 1 to
                                    5 business days. In practice, general
                                    registration can take up to one month.

20   Doing business in Kazakhstan
The law prescribes a standard set of         If entities are not actually present            National Bank of Kazakhstan of the
documents that must be submitted for         at their legal address, i.e., the state         opening of a bank account abroad by
the state registration of a company.         revenue authorities cannot find anyone          applying for a registration number to
Having all the right documents is key to     representing an entity at the time of           be assigned to the bank account by
a successful registration process. It is     observation, they may be penalized.             the National Bank of Kazakhstan
essential to ensure that the documents       Specifically, they may be deregistered
                                                                                           • Kazakh legal entities, branches and
have been duly signed, sealed, notarized     for VAT purposes or their bank accounts
                                                                                             representative offices of Kazakh legal
and legalized, or apostilled if they         may be frozen. It is therefore important
                                                                                             entities are required to provide the
were executed abroad; otherwise,             for entities to be actually present at the
                                                                                             National Bank of Kazakhstan with
the registration process may be              legal address stated in their foundation
                                                                                             information on any transactions
considerably delayed.                        documents and registration records, or
                                                                                             on bank accounts held with foreign
                                             at least to ensure that, if the authorities
The state registration fee is currently                                                      banks
                                             visit (or if they send correspondence
6.5 MCI (approximately US$43).
                                             or call the contact telephone number),        • Kazakh legal entities, branches and
Location (legal address)                     there is someone who can confirm the            representative offices of Kazakh legal
                                             validity of the legal address.                  entities are required to notify the
A legal entity’s location is the address
                                                                                             National Bank of Kazakhstan of the
indicated in its foundation documents        Kazakh law stipulates that entities
                                                                                             closure of or changes in details of
(e.g., its charter). Under Kazakh law,       that are not present at their registered
                                                                                             bank accounts held abroad.
a legal entity is located in the same        address for one year or more may be
place as its permanently operating           liquidated/deregistered based on a court      See the “Banking regulations” and
governing body (i. e., its director or       decision.                                     “Currency regulations” sections for
board of directors). Location plays                                                        more details.
an important part in a legal entity’s        Opening a bank account
registration and other legal events, such    (legal entities and individuals)              Categories of work immigrants,
as the determination of the court with       Bank accounts may be opened with a            work permits and secondment
which an appeal against such entity          local bank in Kazakhstan in the national
should be filed (usually a court in the                                                    The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan
                                             currency and/or in a foreign currency.        on Population Migration, adopted on
defendant’s location) and the state          Branches and representative offices
revenue authority to which tax and                                                         22 July 2011, establishes the following
                                             of foreign legal entities may opt to use      categories of immigrants entering the
other payments must be made.                 offshore (foreign) bank accounts.             country for employment purposes:
Under Kazakh law, government                 Kazakh legal entities are permitted to
authorities, including state revenue                                                       • Foreign immigrant workers, i. e.,
                                             hold bank accounts outside Kazakhstan           persons who come to Kazakhstan to
authorities, require legal entities,         without restrictions.
branches and representative offices                                                          engage in independently arranged em-
(“entities”) to be present at the legal      Under currency law, the rules for               ployment in high demand occupations
addresses indicated in their foundation      notifying the National Bank of                  in priority economic sectors (business
documents and registration records. The      Kazakhstan of the opening of a bank             areas), and persons who are engaged
state revenue authorities may visit them     account with foreign banks are as follows:      by employers to work in Kazakhstan,
at their legal address under the so-called                                                   including by intra-corporate transfer
                                             • Kazakh legal entities, branches and
“observation procedure”.                       representative offices of Kazakh legal      • Business immigrants, i. e.,
                                               entities are required to notify the           persons who come to engage

                                                                                                       Doing business in Kazakhstan   21
in entrepreneurial activities in         agreements, which are commonly used          There is, however, a restriction on the
  accordance with Kazakh law               around the world) and (iii) transfer         number of foreign employees that
• Seasonal foreign workers, i. e.,         of a foreigner to a local branch/            may be hired by a Kazakh employer/
  immigrants hired to perform              representative office/subsidiary from        local host entity — the so-called “ratio
  seasonal work during specific periods    a parent company based in a WTO              requirement”. Currently, the total
  (seasons) determined by climatic or      country (intra-corporate transfer).          number of foreign employees of a
  other natural conditions, but not for    A work permit is obtained by submitting      Kazakh employer/local host entity must
  more than one year                       documents to the local authorities under     not exceed:
                                           one of two procedures: the standard
• Labour immigrants who come to                                                         • 30% of the total number of Category
                                           procedure or intra-corporate transfer.
  Kazakhstan as domestic workers                                                          1 and 2 employees
                                           The latter option is available as a result
  to perform household-based work
                                           of Kazakhstan joining the World Trade        • 10% of the total number of Category
  (services) for individuals (employers)
                                           Organization (WTO).                            3 and 4 employees
  under a labour immigrant permit.
Work permits                               Standard procedure                           An exemption from the ratio requirement
                                           Work permits are issued by local             applies for small businesses, state
There are two types of permits
                                           authorities within the quota allocated       enterprises and agencies, self-employed
allowing foreign individuals to work in
                                           by the Ministry of Labour and Social         foreign individuals, permits issued within
Kazakhstan:
                                           Protection on an annual basis. The quota     the quotas for particular countries of
• A permit to engage foreign labour        is the maximum number of foreign             origin and branches and representative
                                           individuals who can be hired to work in      offices of foreign legal entities with no
• A permit issued to a foreign
                                           Kazakhstan in particular regions. Quotas     more than 30 employees.
  individual who independently came
  to Kazakhstan to work in a particular    are determined mainly on the basis of        To obtain a work permit, each foreign
  occupation. The Kazakh government        annual applications from employers,          individual must meet the set qualification
  approves the list of such occupations.   which must be submitted by 1 October.        requirements.

As in many other countries, employers      The government may decide to reduce          A work permit under the standard
in Kazakhstan must obtain a permit to      the overall quota for a particular year      procedure is issued for the following
employ foreign citizens.                   (for instance, the quota for 2020 was        durations:
                                           reduced by 40% compared with 2019).
There is a reasonable amount of                                                         • Category 1 — 1, 2 and 3 years with
flexibility in the process of hiring       For the purposes of work permits issued        annual extension by 1, 2, or 3 years
foreigners in Kazakhstan. Unlike           under the standard procedure, foreign
                                           individuals are divided into the following   • Category 2 — 12 months with annual
many countries where employers
                                           categories:                                    extension by 12 months, but no more
are required to sign employment
                                                                                          than 3 times
contracts with foreign nationals to hire   • Category 1 — CEOs and deputy CEOs
them as local employees, Kazakhstan          of companies                               • Category 3 — 12 months with annual
offers different options, including (i)                                                   extension by 12 months, but no more
employing a foreigner directly as a        • Category 2 — Leaders of business             than 3 times
local employee, (ii) engaging foreign        divisions/department
                                                                                        • Category 4 — 12 months with no
specialists through a service contract     • Category 3 — Professionals                   option to extend
with a foreign contractor not present
in Kazakhstan (including secondment        • Category 4 — Skilled workers

22   Doing business in Kazakhstan
An employer is charged a state duty          the transfer period, but not more than       new jobs for Kazakh citizens, retraining
for the issuance or extension of a work      3 years (36 months) with the option to       of Kazakh citizens, etc.). No special
permit. The amount of the duty is            extend it once by 1 year (12 months).        conditions are imposed on the host
established by the Kazakh government                                                      company when hiring executives.
                                             ICT-based work permits are issued free
and depends on the type of business
                                             of state duties and are not subject to the   Work permit exemptions
of the employer and the category of
                                             foreign labour quota.                        To encourage foreign investment,
the foreign employee. The amount of
state duty ranges from approximately         However, before hiring a foreign             Kazakhstan offers various exemptions
US$950 to US$3500 depending on               specialist to work in Kazakhstan under       from the requirement to obtain work
the sector and the category of the           ICT, the local host entity must carry out    permits for foreign workers. Exemptions
employee.                                    a search for suitable candidates on the      apply, for instance, to
                                             Kazakh labour market and obtain a work       • Business immigrants who come
Intra-corporate transfer                     permit only if no suitable candidates are      to Kazakhstan to engage in
An intra-corporate transfer (ICT) is         found. For each manager or specialist          entrepreneurial activities
a temporary transfer of a foreign            work permit received under ICT, the
individual from a legal entity established   employer must fulfil one of a number
in the territory of a WTO state other        of special conditions (e. g., creation of
than Kazakhstan to a branch, subsidiary
or representative office in Kazakhstan.
For the purpose of obtaining a work
permit under ICT, foreign individuals are
classified into:
• Specialists
• Managers
• Executives
Under the ratio requirement for ICT, the
number of foreign employees must not
exceed 50% of the total number of
mana­gers and specialists. No ratio
requirement applies in relation to ex-
ecutives. A foreign individual engaged
under ICT remains employed by the
home company but must comply with
the requirements of the host employer
in terms of work schedule and health
and safety requirements. The foreign in-
dividual must meet relevant qualification
requirements and have at least one year
of work experience with the entity based
in a WTO member state. Local authori-
ties issue a work permit under ICT for

                                                                                                      Doing business in Kazakhstan   23
• CEOs of local branches or                • Employees of companies registered in     Sanctions for non-compliance
  representative offices of foreign          one of Kazakhstan’s 10 free economic     with immigration legislation
  companies and CEOs and deputy              zones (FEZs) to implement projects       Kazakh law imposes severe sanctions
  CEOs of local wholly foreign-owned         worth more than KZT 2.917 million        on inviting parties and foreign citizens
  companies                                  (in 2021) or companies contracted        for non-compliance with immigration
                                             by an FEZ resident, for the period of    legislation. Administrative sanctions
• CEOs of companies that have
                                             construction and installation work       imposed on a company may be as high
  entered into agreements with the
                                             in the FEZ and during the first year     as US$6,900 (per foreign individual per
  Government of Kazakhstan to invest
                                             after the commissioning date of          violation). In the worst-case scenario,
  more than US$50 million in the
                                             the project facility, in accordance      the individual may be subjected to
  country, and CEOs of local companies
                                             with the list of employee categories     administrative detention for up to 15
  running investment projects in key
                                             and numbers adopted by a special         days or administrative deportation from
  industries under agreements with
                                             committee of competent authorities       the country and the company may be
  local competent authorities
                                           • Individuals working in a national man-   banned from hiring foreigners for up to
• Nationals of member countries of the                                                1 year, i.e., no work permit will be issued
                                             aging holding company in positions
  Eurasian Economic Union regardless                                                  and invitations from the company will
                                             not lower than heads of departments,
  of their position or the duration of                                                not be accepted for visa applications.
                                             holding a higher education and
  their employment in Kazakhstan
                                             possessing the required supporting       In addition, a foreign individual must
• Foreign nationals engaged by               documents, and individuals hired by a    personally attend the administrative
  participants or bodies of the Astana       national managing holding company        court in connection with an immigration
  International Finance Centre (AIFC)        as members of the board of directors     offence. Such foreign individuals are not
• Individuals working in the Astana        • Employees sent on business trips for     allowed to enter Kazakhstan for 5 years
  Hub international technology park          a period or periods totalling no more    after administrative deportation from
  or hired by park participants in the       than 120 calendar days in the course     Kazakhstan.
  positions of managers and specialists      of a calendar year.                      Residence permits
  with a higher education
                                                                                      Kazakhstan issues residence permits.
• Managers and professionals with a                                                   There is no quota system for immigration
  higher education working either with                                                into Kazakhstan under residence permits.
  local companies that have entered into
  contracts to implement investment
  projects in priority areas or with
  companies in the architectural, town-
  planning and construction industries
  contracted by such an investor, for
  the period until the end of the first
  year after the commissioning date
  of the project facility, or as skilled
  workers in accordance with the list of
  occupations and employee numbers
  approved as part of investment
  contracts

24   Doing business in Kazakhstan
Family members                              Incentives for investors                   2.	
                                                                                          Priority investment projects
The spouse of a holder of a Kazakh work                                                   involving the creation of new
                                            With the aim of creating a favourable         production facilities with investments
permit does not automatically receive
                                            investment climate, Kazakhstan provides       of no less than US$13,858,177
the same type of work permit. If he or
                                            various benefits for investors depending      or the expansion and upgrading
she wishes to take up employment, a
                                            on their area of activity.                    of existing production facilities
work permit application must be filed
independently.                                                                            with investments of no less than
                                            Investment contract
                                                                                          US$34,645,443
Secondment                                  In order to enjoy certain investment
                                            incentives, the investor must enter        3.	
                                                                                          Special investment projects
The secondment of foreign personnel is                                                    implemented by legal entities
                                            into an investment contract with the
currently a major issue on the Kazakh                                                     registered as participants of special
                                            Investment Committee of the Ministry
job market.                                                                               economic zones, or by owners of a
                                            of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of
The Tax Code provides a safe harbour        Kazakhstan (the “Committee”). The             free warehouse, or by legal entities
whereby a foreign entity providing          form of investment contract is approved       that have entered into an agreement
secondees from outside Kazakhstan may       by a Government Resolution.                   on the industrial assembly of motor
avoid being taxed in Kazakhstan. Certain                                                  vehicles.
                                            It is important to note that the
conditions must be met for this to apply.                                              All such investment projects must fall
                                            investment contract must be concluded
Under secondment, the local host            with a Kazakh legal entity, which may      within the list of priority areas of activity
company acts as a tax agent in relation     be a subsidiary of a foreign company.      approved by the Kazakh government.
to the income of the seconded personnel     The term of the investment contract        Below we outline types of incentives
and is responsible for shadow payroll       is determined by the effective period      provided to investors depending on the
tax calculation and reporting, including    of the investment incentives to be         type of investment project:
personal income tax and social tax          provided.                                  1. Regular investment projects
liabilities. However, it is important       The Entrepreneurial Code of Kazakhstan        • exemption from customs duties
to note that, besides tax legislation,      specifies three types of projects that
the secondment must also comply             may be implemented under investment           • exemption from import VAT
with relevant Kazakhstan labour law         contracts:                                    • in-kind grants (free land lease,
requirements.
                                            1.	
                                               Regular investment projects                  title to land plots and equipment)
                                               involving the creation of new or             up to a value not exceeding 30%
EEY can assist with                                                                         of total investment
                                               expansion and upgrading of existing
(i) the structuring of a secondment
                                               production facilities, including        2. Priority investment projects
arrangement that meets the applicable
                                               facilities created, expanded and/
legislative requirements;                                                                 • exemption from customs duties
                                               or upgraded through public-private
(ii) drafting secondment agreements
                                               partnerships, including concession         • in-kind grants (free land lease,
and other mandatory documents;
                                               projects.                                    title to land plots and equipment)
(iii) application for required permits,
registration, etc. in Kazakhstan                                                            up to a value not exceeding 30%
                                                                                            of total investment

                                                                                                    Doing business in Kazakhstan   25
• tax incentives, and specifically:    concluded for one and the same mineral       Special economic zones
                                            processing project or production facility.   Special economic zones (SEZ) are
       • 100% CIT relief for up to 10
         years for new production           Furthermore, the state grants                specialized territories of Kazakhstan
         facilities and 3 years for the     investment incentives based on               with defined boundaries and a special
         upgrading of existing production   the principle of reciprocity, i.e., the      regulatory regime designed to support
         facilities                         subsurface user may be required to           certain priority activities. The list of
                                            fulfil a number of social and investment     priority activities is set by an Order
       • zero rate land tax for up to                                                    of the Minister for Investment and
                                            obligations, such as:
         10 years                                                                        Development. The Order specifies
                                            • the creation and preservation of           priority activities for 13 (thirteen)
       • zero rate property tax for up to
                                              jobs for citizens of the Republic of       different SEZs in Kazakhstan:
         8 years
                                              Kazakhstan in the extractive and/or
     • investment subsidies if the            processing industries                      1.    stana, New City (Nur-Sultan) —
                                                                                              A
       investments are no less than                                                           construction of industrial facilities
                                            • the creation, expansion and/or                  and infrastructure
       US$34,645,442 (compensation
                                              upgrading of processing facilities
       of up to 30% of expenditure                                                       2.	
                                                                                            National Industrial Petrochemical
       on construction works and            • obligations relating to the volume and        Technopark (Atyrau region) —
       procurement of equipment during        level of processing of solid minerals         manufacture of petrochemical
       the implementation stage).                                                           products and construction of
                                            • obligations relating to the volume
                                              of products sold as raw materials to          industrial facilities
3. Special investment projects
                                              entities operating on the domestic         3.	
                                                                                            Morport Aktau (Mangystau
     • exemption from customs duties          market                                        region) — metallurgy, construction
     • exemption from import VAT            • the financing of programs of Kazakh           of industrial facilities
                                              educational institutions for the train-    4.   Innovative Technologies Park
Agreement on the processing of solid
                                              ing of specialists in environmental              (Almaty) — IT services
minerals
                                              protection and applied sciences
The Subsurface Use Code currently                                                        5.    ntustik (South Kazakhstan
                                                                                              O
provides investment incentives for          • the financing of the construction and/          region) — production of textile and
subsurface users that implement a             or reconstruction of social and/or              other materials
priority investment project involving         cultural facilities
the processing of solid minerals in                                                      6.	
                                                                                            Saryarka (Karaganda region) —
                                            The termination of an agreement on the
Kazakhstan and have concluded relevant                                                      metallurgy, construction of
                                            processing of solid minerals also entails
agreements with the Committee.                                                              industrial facilities
                                            the termination of investment incentives
To enjoy investment incentives,             granted.                                     7.	
                                                                                            Khorgos Eastern Gates
subsurface users must invest no less                                                        (Almaty region) — production of
than US$48,503,620 and apply to the                                                         food, textiles, non-metallic minerals
Committee to conclude an agreement                                                          and other materials
on the processing of solid minerals                                                      8.	
                                                                                            Pavlodar (Pavlodar) — manufacture
through a negotiation and appraisal                                                         of chemical and petrochemical
process. It should be noted that only                                                       materials and construction of
one processing agreement may be                                                             industrial facilities

26     Doing business in Kazakhstan
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