Kazakhstan

Special Economic Zones in Kazakhstan

A participant in a Kazakhstan Special Economic Zone (SEZ) can reduce corporate income tax to nil on income from priority activities, pay no land tax, property tax or land use fees on assets used for those activities, and bring goods in under the free customs zone procedure. The tax relief runs for 7, 15 or 25 years depending on project value, and never beyond the activity contract or the life of the zone. Status comes from an activity contract with the zone's management company and entry in the single register. Being located in a zone is not enough.

There are 18 SEZs. This guide lists them and sets out who can join, the preferences, land, the procedure and how status is lost. The two zones at the Chinese border are covered in Khorgos Eastern Gate SEZ. For other incentive routes, see Investment Incentives & SEZs in Kazakhstan.

Legal Framework

The core instrument is the Law on Special Economic and Industrial Zones No. 242-VI of 3 April 2019 (the SEZ Law). It was last amended by Laws No. 321-VIII and No. 324-VIII of 24 June 2026, which took effect sixty calendar days after publication. Law No. 324-VIII changed Articles 18, 20, 39, 41 and 42, so older commentary on those points should be read with care.

Each zone also has a founding act and a Regulation. The Government now creates, extends and abolishes zones (Art. 10). Older zones were created by presidential decree and keep their status until it decides otherwise (Art. 58).

The Ministry of Industry and Construction is the authorised body. The single coordination centre keeps the register, issues certificates and monitors contracts (Arts. 36 and 37). Each zone's management company signs and terminates activity contracts and allocates land (Arts. 38 and 39).

A zone is created for up to 25 years. The Government may extend it, for no longer than its original term, if more than 20% of its territory is undeveloped or potential investors exist (Art. 17). On expiry its territory becomes an industrial zone of national significance, and participants become industrial zone participants (Art. 24).

The 18 Special Economic Zones

The figure of 18 was reported from a Ministry of Industry and Construction statement in October 2026. We checked it against the founding acts in the official legal database, and the count matches. Four zones date from 2025 and 2026: Aktobe, Korkyt Ata, Atyrau and Industrial Trade and Logistics Complex Alatau. The former Burabay zone had a term ending on 1 December 2017 and is not counted.

Terms come from the founding acts and from Resolutions No. 903 of 29 October 2024 (Seaport Aktau), No. 595 of 24 July 2024 (Petrochemical Technopark) and No. 538 of 22 June 2026 (Almaty), whose extensions depend on target indicators being met. The focus column is a summary. The priority list decides eligibility.

Who Can Become a Participant

A participant is a legal entity that carries out priority activities in the zone and is entered in the single register (Art. 1). For the preferences, it must also be registered as a taxpayer in the zone and, where the zone has the necessary infrastructure, have no branches outside it other than representative offices (Tax Code Art. 734).

The following cannot apply (SEZ Law Art. 18; Tax Code Art. 734):

• subsoil users;
• makers of excisable goods, with one limited exception;
• taxpayers on special tax regimes;
• gambling businesses;
• organisations carrying out an investment priority or investment strategic project;
• parties to an investment agreement, an investment commitment agreement or a solid minerals processing agreement;
• Astana Hub participants and AIFC participants.

Foreign persons are barred outright only from the SEZ whose boundaries coincide with the EAEU customs border (Art. 18). Elsewhere the document list and the Tax Code conditions still assume a locally registered entity, so the working route is a Kazakhstan LLP or JSC, which may be wholly foreign-owned. See Company Formation in Kazakhstan and Foreign Investment in Kazakhstan.

Requirements and Investment Thresholds

Priority activity. The activity must be on the priority list for that zone, and activities within a single technological process count as part of it (Art. 1). Do not rely on old copies of the list. Order No. 516 of 16 October 2026 removed the list from Order of the Minister of Industry and Construction No. 72 of 22 February 2024, and Article 19 requires it to be published on the coordination centre's website. A potential participant or management company may apply to add an activity (Art. 19; Order No. 72, Rules).

Manufacturing test. A manufacturing project must make a product that is not made in Kazakhstan, or one whose local output does not cover demand (Art. 18). Its activity contract must also contain a counter-obligation of the participant.

Financing. The law sets no general minimum investment. It sets a financing test instead. On application the applicant must show financial security of at least 10% of project value, through cash, a bank guarantee, a surety, a pledge, an insurance contract or a combination. The remainder must be confirmed within two years of gaining status, or three years if project value exceeds 15,000,000 MCI (KZT 64.875 billion at the 2026 monthly calculation index of KZT 4,325) (Art. 18). Failure means the contract is to be terminated (Art. 20).

Project value categories. Project value sets how long the tax relief lasts (SEZ Law Art. 51; Tax Code Art. 735). This applies to contracts concluded after 1 January 2024.

The lower Category B entry point applies to food, textiles, clothing, leather goods, computers and electronic and optical equipment, and electrical equipment. The relief period is capped by the term of the activity contract and of the zone. A Category C project in a zone that expires in ten years gets ten years, unless the zone is extended.

Documents. Article 18 requires an application form, registration certificate, head's identity document, charter, corporate decision to operate in the zone, last annual financial statements, a feasibility study, bank statement and credit report, tax debt certificate, proof of financial security, and a sketch design if construction is needed.

Tax and Customs Preferences

Income from other activities is taxed in the ordinary way, and participants must keep separate tax accounts (Art. 735(6) and (7)). A participant cannot also use another Tax Code provision giving a 100% corporate income tax reduction (Art. 735(8)). Tax stability is limited: if the relief is later cut or removed, the rules at the contract date continue during the contract, but for no more than ten years from the first such change (Art. 735(12)).

The free customs zone procedure applies in the whole zone or a part of it, which is a customs control zone (SEZ Law Art. 52). The relief covers goods while they remain in the zone, and removing them generally ends the procedure (Customs Code Art. 287). Port and logistics zones have their own entry rules (Arts. 283 and 284). For the wider position, see Exemption from Customs Duties and Tax Advisory in Kazakhstan.

Land in a Special Economic Zone

State land in a zone is leased to the management company for the term of the zone (Land Code Arts. 35 and 119-2; SEZ Law Art. 17). The management company then passes plots to participants under activity contracts free of charge. Persons carrying out auxiliary activities pay for theirs, and auxiliary use may not exceed 20% of the zone. For manufacturing projects, land outside the production area may not exceed 30% of that area.

Participants and management companies receive these rights without an auction (Land Code Art. 48). A participant's right is secondary land use, so it depends on the activity contract and ends with it (Art. 20). Purchase is possible in limited cases, at the cadastral value fixed when the activity contract was concluded (Land Code Art. 119-2). The cases are expiry of the zone, if contract obligations were met, or three years after all facilities are commissioned for manufacturing projects on state land. State land in a zone may not be sold to foreign legal entities (SEZ Law Art. 17). Land in the border zone cannot be owned by foreign persons or by Kazakhstan entities with foreign participation, and land in the border strip is not granted at all (Land Code Art. 23). For the general rules, see Land Use Rights in Kazakhstan.

Step-by-Step Procedure

Timings come from Article 18, which sets no application fee. Ask the management company what it charges for services, land and infrastructure. The activity contract must contain a project schedule, production capacity and deadlines for building and commissioning facilities (Arts. 17 and 18).

Foreign Workers

Foreign labour in a zone follows the general migration rules (SEZ Law Art. 54). Quota and employer permit rules do not apply to foreign staff of participants with projects above 1,000,000 MCI, or of their contractors, during construction and until one year after commissioning, within categories and numbers set by a commission (Migration Law Art. 36-1). See Work Permits in Kazakhstan.

Ongoing Obligations

• File an annual report on activities with the management company (Art. 41).
• Keep to the project schedule. It may be changed up to three times, if earlier stages were met (Art. 41).
• Keep separate tax accounts (Tax Code Art. 735) and customs records and reports (Customs Code Art. 283).
• Answer monitoring requests from the management company and the coordination centre (Art. 42).
• Re-register the right to participate after a merger, conversion, split or spin-off, in some cases through a fresh Article 18 application (Art. 25).

Loss of Status

For a breach affecting the project, the management company issues an act giving up to 60 calendar days to cure. It terminates the contract unilaterally if the participant, without good reason, runs more than three months late on design, construction or commissioning, suspends activity for more than two months without agreement, or fails to cure (Art. 20). Failure to confirm financing also leads to termination.

The consequences are heavy. The land sublease falls away with the contract. Land tax, property tax and land fee preferences are annulled from the start of the tax period of the breach, and an additional return is due within 30 calendar days of termination (Tax Code Art. 735(3)). Corporate income tax relief depends on participant status, so it falls away too (Art. 734). Tax stability is lost on unilateral termination (Art. 735(12)). The free customs zone procedure must be completed within six months of losing status (Customs Code Art. 287). Where goods were not used as required, they are treated as taxable imports from the date of entry, with penalty interest (Tax Code Art. 470).

Common Mistakes by Foreign Investors

• Ignoring the zone's term. Astana – New City runs to 2027 and Ontustik to 2030 under their founding acts, and relief cannot outlast the zone.
• Treating the whole business as exempt. Only priority activity income qualifies, and trading or service lines are taxed normally.
• Combining regimes. SEZ preferences cannot be stacked with an investment agreement. Compare both before signing either.
• Assuming VAT exemption. The general SEZ rule is a zero rate for listed goods supplied in and fully consumed, not an exemption of the zone.
• Treating the plot as owned. Secondary land use falls with the contract, which affects what lenders can take as security.

Bond Stone advises foreign investors on zone selection, applications, activity contracts and compliance. To discuss a project, write to [email protected] or use the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Special Economic Zones does Kazakhstan have?

Eighteen, on a Ministry statement reported in October 2026, and the founding acts match that count. Astana Hub is not an SEZ, and its participants are excluded from the SEZ tax regime (Tax Code Art. 734).

Is there a minimum investment to join a Kazakhstan SEZ?

The SEZ Law sets no general minimum. An applicant must show financial security of at least 10% of project value on application and confirm the rest within two or three years. Project value then sets the category and the length of the relief: 7, 15 or 25 years.

Can a foreign company be an SEZ participant directly?

Foreign persons are barred outright only from the SEZ on the EAEU customs border. Elsewhere the Tax Code conditions and the document list assume local registration, so the working route is a Kazakhstan LLP or JSC, which can be fully foreign-owned.

How long does admission take?

The management company must sign or refuse within 10 working days of filing. The coordination centre then has 5 working days to enter the participant in the register and issue the certificate after receiving the contract. These periods do not include preparing the feasibility study or arranging financing.

Do SEZ participants pay VAT?

Yes, under general rules with specific features. Listed goods supplied into a zone and fully consumed there are zero-rated. A separate exemption exists only for supplies within the zone on the EAEU customs border (Tax Code Art. 474).

Related pages

• Khorgos Eastern Gate SEZ
• Investment Incentives & SEZs in Kazakhstan
• Foreign Investment in Kazakhstan
• Land Use Rights in Kazakhstan
• Tax Advisory in Kazakhstan

Primary sources: Law No. 242-VI; Tax Code No. 214-VIII; Customs Code No. 123-VI; Land Code No. 442-II; Law No. 477-IV; Orders No. 72 of 2024 and No. 466 of 2025; founding acts of each zone, all at old.adilet.zan.kz.