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Kazakhstan
We have a team of experienced professionals dedicated to supporting all your business requirements—ensuring smooth operations and full regulatory compliance. This strong foundation enables you to confidently establish and grow your business in Kazakhstan with efficiency and assurance.
WHY KAZAKHSTAN?
ADVANTAGES
Kazakhstan offers advantages like a strategic Eurasian location for market access, rich natural resources, a stable economy with pro-investment policies, streamlined registration, a skilled workforce, and growing infrastructure, making it an attractive hub for energy, tech, agriculture, and logistics, with increasing FDI and diversification efforts. In essence, Kazakhstan combines natural wealth with strategic positioning and a conscious effort to create a predictable, supportive environment for international business.
Strategic Location:
Bridges Europe and Asia, serving as a gateway to vast markets, including the EAEU (180+ million people).
Economic Stability & Growth:
A major Central Asian economy with stable growth, diversifying from oil into sectors like manufacturing, IT, and agriculture, attracting significant FDI.
Investment Incentives:
Offers tax holidays (CIT, land, property), exemptions, and support for priority sectors like manufacturing, tech, and renewables.
Business-Friendly Environment:
Simplified company registration, modern legal framework (Entrepreneurial Code), strong investor protection (contracts, dispute resolution), and eased repatriation of profits.
Rich Resources & Diversification:
Abundant natural resources (oil, gas, minerals, uranium) present opportunities, while the government pushes diversification into non-extractive industries.
- Skilled Workforce: Well-educated population, particularly in engineering and tech.
- Infrastructure Development: Heavy investment in modern transport (logistics) and communication networks.
TAX REGIME
Kazakhstan’s tax regime is regulated by the Tax Code and features various taxes, including Corporate Income Tax (CIT), Personal Income Tax (PIT), and Value Added Tax (VAT), with specific rates and special regimes for certain sectors and investment projects. A new Tax Code was adopted in July 2025, with most major provisions effective from January 1, 2026.
Corporate income tax:
The corporate income tax rate amounts to 20% in 2010, both for resident legal entities and non-resident legal entities operating in Kazakhstan through a registered permanent establishment (for non-residents also see branch profit tax below).
Value added tax:
The value added tax rate is 12% and applies to sales turnover in Kazakhstan and to imports of goods and services to Kazakhstan. The turnover threshold for registering as a value added tax payer is KZT 38,190,000 or, approximately EUR 195,000. Export of goods is subject to 0% value added tax rate.
Personal income tax:
Personal income tax is 10% for residents and 15% for non-residents.
Social tax:
The social tax rate is paid by legal entities and amounts to 11% of salaries and in-kind benefits of employees.
Branch profit tax:
A branch profit tax of 15% has to be paid on the net income after corporate income tax of permanent establishments of foreign legal entities operating in Kazakhstan.
Income tax withheld at source of payment:
Income tax withheld at source of payment is levied on the income of non-residents from Kazakhstani sources. The tax rate is currently 15% in most cases. For residents of “tax havens” the tax rate is 20%. A lower tax rate of 5% applies to income from insurance premiums payable in accordance with reinsurance risk agreements and to income from international transportation services
Property tax:
Property tax applies only to the buildings and the tax rate is 1,5% for legal entities.
Excise:
Excise tax applies to alcohol (up to EUR 3 per litre), liquors (up to EUR 2,5 per litre), tobaccos (up to EUR 0,5 per piece), gasoline (up to EUR 25 per ton), crude oil (EUR 0 per ton), gas condensate (EUR 0 per ton) vehicles with engine volume of over 3 litres (EUR 0,5 per cubic centimetre of engine volume) produced in Kazakhstan or imported to Kazakhstan.
Rental tax on exports:
The rental tax applies to export of crude oil, gas condensate and coal. The tax rate depends on the market price of crude oil and gas condensate (from 0% when the market price of one barrel is USD 20 to 32% when market price for one barrel is USD 200 or higher).
COMPANIES IN KAZAKHSTAN
COMMON COMMERCIAL ENTITIES –
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP):
The most common form, requiring at least two partners, offering limited liability (like LLCs elsewhere).
Joint Stock Company (JSC):
Issues shares, suitable for larger operations, with requirements for capital in some cases.
Partnership:
Includes General Partnerships (GP) and Limited Partnerships (LP).
Sole Proprietorship (IP):
For individuals, simple to set up but involves unlimited personal liability.
Production Cooperative:
Based on the former collective farm system, sharing profits among members.
FOREIGN COMPANY STRUCTURES –
Branch Office:
A structural subdivision of a foreign company, not a separate legal entity.
Representative Office:
A subdivision, used for market presence but restricted in commercial activities.
Subsidiary:
A legal entity controlled by a parent company, distinct from branches.
Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country and the economic powerhouse of Central Asia, with a population of around 20 million and an economy driven by oil, gas, and vast mineral resources. Strategically located on the New Silk Road, it plays a significant role in global trade and joined the WTO in 2015. The country accounts for nearly 60% of Central Asia’s GDP and ranks highest in the region on the Human Development Index. Its foreign trade is export-led, with exports contributing over 40% of GDP.
RELATED BLOGS
Kazakhstan’s economy is the largest national economy in Central Asia. The country’s business model is based on the production and export of natural resources and industrial goods. Oil and gas, mining, metallurgy, agriculture, manufacturing, and logistics are the most significant economic sectors of Kazakhstan. A major economic force in the Central Asian region, Kazakhstan is an attractive economy for investment.
Author: Chandrawat & Partners
Topic: Doing Business in Kazakhstan
Contact Us
Get in touch with the right people to get the right help in setting up your business in Kazakhstan.
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