Several residents are now registered at Astana Hub every day. The total number of active IT companies in the international technopark is approaching 1,000. The reasons for the attractiveness of Astana Hub for Kazakhstani and foreign startups and IT businesses, as well as how to become a technopark resident, in his commentary for Digital Business, told the managing partner of the international consulting ASER company Oleg Ilyin.
Astana Hub today is by far the best location for the implementation and development of IT projects. Deducting 1% of revenue, Astana Hub residents receive tangible support from the state: a number of tax and migration benefits, as well as image advantages and PR support from the technopark.
For example, residents are exempt from corporate income tax, VAT, individual income tax payable by employees, etc. At the same time, residents’ dividends are taxed at the rate of 5% for the first three years, and at the rate of 0% after their expiration. For foreign workers and members of their families, there is a simplified procedure for obtaining a visa, it is possible to obtain a work visa category C3 for up to 5 years instead of 3 years, etc.
Only legal entities can become participants of the technopark, but not all. There are a number of conditions and restrictions. For example, a subsoil user or a FEZ resident cannot become a technopark resident, just like a company that has branches. A detailed list of restrictions is available on the Astana Hub website.
If the company is not characterized by criteria prohibiting the possibility of obtaining resident status, and is ready to submit an application for consideration at Astana Hub in order to become a member of the technopark, the following points should be taken into account to obtain resident status.
1. The company will have to receive revenue from activities that comply with the List of Priority Activities approved by Order of the Minister of Digital Development, Defense and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 11, 2019 No. 37/НҚ.
A company may operate under one or more of the 19 priority activities.
2. Register a legal entity in the Republic of Kazakhstan, if you have not already done so. The Technopark is interested in attracting promising projects and helps foreign businessmen quickly launch a business in Kazakhstan, advising on issues of interest and providing a number of instructions and guides on regulatory and legal features (features of entry and registration in Kazakhstan, how to get an IIN, how to open a legal entity, etc.) .
3. The company has the opportunity to become a resident and take advantage of the legal regime of Astana Hub, being in any city of Kazakhstan – today the principle of extraterritoriality operates in Astana Hub.
4. Draw up a business plan for the project, which is planned to be implemented by the Astana Hub resident. The business plan is drawn up in any form, but in compliance with the requirements for the content and structure of the document. As a rule, a business plan reflects key information about the company: the history and strategy of its development, the main projects and developments planned for implementation, an analysis of potential sales and promotion markets, a roadmap and the planned results of financial and economic activities (company turnover, forecasted profit indicators, profitability), workforce and expansion plans. All the mentioned and other data are comprehensively reflected in the document and form an idea of its potential effectiveness.
A company can develop a business plan on its own or contact specialists if before that there was no experience in developing such documents and it is important to save time.
5. It is possible and necessary to prepare documents and submit an application remotely – it is enough to send all the necessary documents through the applicant’s personal account on the technopark website. You can fill out the forms in Kazakh, Russian or English (your choice). The total period for consideration by the Administration of Astana Hub of documents and making a decision is no more than 15 working days. The procedure for registering a company as a technopark resident is free for the applicant.
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