Astana Hub Registration: How to Apply and Obtain Tax Preferences

This material was prepared on the basis of the Procedure for Registration of Astana Hub Participants, approved by decision of the Executive Committee of the Autonomous Cluster Fund Astana Hub dated 26 February 2026 No. 185 (as amended on 19 March 2026 No. 187 and 16 April 2026 No. 191), and the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 18 July 2025 No. 214-VIII ЗРК.

What Tax Preferences Does Astana Hub Participant Status Provide

List of preferences:

• corporate income tax;
• value added tax;
• individual income tax on resident employees;
• social tax on foreign employees;
• withholding income tax.

Pursuant to clause 1 of article 741 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, income from the provision of services in the field of informatisation includes income received by an Astana Hub participant as a result of carrying out the following priority activities:

• services for research, analysis, design, adaptation and configuration of software;
• technical support services;
• software testing services;
• services for training software users.

The Preference Is Tied to the Type of Activity, Not to the Status

Participant status in itself does not exempt from taxes. 'The preference applies only to income from priority ICT activities under the approved List', income from other activities is taxed in the general manner. Pursuant to sub-clause 4.4 of the standard Astana Hub agreement, failure to fulfil the obligation to carry out priority activities entails the competent tax authority refusing tax preferences on the grounds of the requirements of article 17 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Who May Register with Astana Hub

Pursuant to clause 5 of the Procedure for Registration of Astana Hub Participants, 'In accordance with clause 7 of the aforementioned Rules, Astana Hub Participants must meet the following requirements':

The applicant must be a legal entity that is a resident of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A foreign company cannot become a participant directly; it must first incorporate a ТОО in Kazakhstan. Foreign participation in the charter capital is not a disqualifying factor; the application form merely requires disclosure of a founder with foreign citizenship and their country.

How to Register with Astana Hub: Step-by-Step Procedure

The entire procedure is conducted electronically through the Fund's online platform. Personal attendance, paper originals and notarisation of the document package are not required.

Step 1. Verify Compliance with Requirements and Clear Tax Arrears

Tax arrears are permissible, but must not exceed six times the monthly calculation index. Exceeding this threshold blocks submission, since the certificate is issued as of a specific date.

Step 2. Determine the Declared Activity under the List

The project must correspond to a specific direction of the List of Priority ICT Activities, approved by order of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 20 October 2025 No. 521/НҚ, and to a specific work within that direction. A generic description such as 'we develop IT solutions' is an independent ground for refusal.

Step 3. Prepare the Business Plan

The business plan is completed on the portal using the form set out in Annex 1 to the Rules of Operation of the Autonomous Cluster Fund Astana Hub. This is the primary document by which the Commission evaluates the project.

Step 4. File the Application and the Accession Statement

This is where a detail most commonly overlooked lies. Pursuant to clause 21 of the Procedure for Registration of Astana Hub Participants, 'The accession statement is filed simultaneously with the Participation Application'. This means the company assumes all participant obligations before it knows the outcome of the review. There is no separate signing of an agreement after approval: the applicant is deemed to have acceded to the standard agreement from the date the Commission adopts a positive decision.

Step 5. Review and Issuance of the Certificate

Both documents are signed with the electronic digital signature (ЭЦП) of the first executive. The validity of the ЭЦП should be checked in advance.

Documents Required for Astana Hub Registration

Pursuant to clause 7 of the Procedure for Registration of Astana Hub Participants, 'The following information shall be submitted together with the Participation Application':

1. a business plan of the project containing the necessary information specified in Annex 1 to the Rules;
2. information on the absence of arrears recorded by the tax authorities exceeding six times the monthly calculation index, issued no earlier than 10 calendar days before the date of filing the application;
3. documents confirming the applicant's location at the address of the planned activity, including title documents for the property or other documents confirming lawful grounds for use of the premises, including a lease agreement, a gratuitous use agreement, a trust management agreement, or a notarially certified consent of the owner.

The charter, documents on beneficial owners, documents on intellectual property rights to the software and orders on intangible assets are not required at the filing stage. However, their absence becomes a problem later, at the monitoring and audit stage, when the Fund may request supporting documents with a deadline of 10 working days for submission. The evidentiary basis for ownership of product rights should be established in parallel with filing the application.

Documents are submitted in Kazakh, Russian or English. Where submitted in English, translation is provided by the Fund itself.

Application Review Timelines

Pursuant to clause 9 of the Procedure for Registration of Astana Hub Participants, 'The period for consideration of the Participation Application and the adoption of a decision thereon shall not exceed 15 (fifteen) working days'. This period does not include the time granted to the applicant to remedy deficiencies, so the actual duration of the procedure on a first submission with shortcomings increases significantly.

The decision is taken by vote of Commission members on the Fund's online platform by a simple majority. The Commission may request additional documents and information.

Grounds for Refusal of Registration

The list of grounds set out in clause 15 of the Procedure is exhaustive.

1. non-compliance of the applicant with the requirements of clause 7 of the Rules and clause 5 of the Procedure;
2. provision of false information or failure to provide information required by the Rules and the Procedure;
3. non-compliance of the business plan with the requirements of Annex 1 to the Rules;
4. non-compliance of the applicant's project with one or more directions of priority ICT activities, and within one priority activity with one and/or several works provided therein in accordance with the List.

In practice, the last two grounds account for the overwhelming majority of refusals. A weak technical description in the business plan and a vague link to the List — that is the typical reason. The Commission assesses not the idea but the justification: does the declared team size match the volume of work, is the qualification adequate, is the cost estimate realistic.

Refusal is not final. It does not prevent re-application once the grounds for refusal have been remedied, and may be challenged in court. For those who have received a refusal, it is important to understand: re-application follows the standard procedure, meaning the review timelines run from the beginning.

How to Obtain Tax Preferences After Registration

The participant's certificate is not a tax document. The right to a preference arises when the conditions established by tax legislation are simultaneously met.

Conditions for Applying the CIT Reduction

A 100 per cent reduction of corporate income tax on income from the provision of services in the field of informatisation is applied by an Astana Hub participant when the following conditions are met:

1. the agreement (contract) for the provision of services in the field of informatisation is not contrary to the requirements of the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
2. employment agreements with employees are concluded in accordance with the Labour Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
3. the number of employees of the Astana Hub participant is sufficient to provide the informatisation services in respect of the income from which the corporate income tax reduction is applied;
4. the employees of the Astana Hub participant have the necessary qualifications and/or work experience and/or practical experience to provide informatisation services;
5. the volume of expenditure incurred by the Astana Hub participant corresponds to the actually required volume of expenditure for providing the informatisation service.

What Causes Loss of the Right to the Preference

• Earning income from activities not included in the List. Such income is taxed in the general manner.
• Divergence of actual activities from the business plan approved at registration.
• Reporting revenue in tax returns under generalised descriptions that do not correspond to reality.
• Absence of primary documents confirming the provision of precisely those services that give rise to the right to the preference.

Participant Obligations: The Cost of the Status

Membership Fees

An Astana Hub participant is obliged to pay the Fund membership fees of 1% (one per cent).

Reporting

Grounds for Loss of Participant Status

The grounds for early termination are listed in clause 43 of the Procedure. Some require a Commission decision; others occur automatically.

The missed renewal deadline deserves particular attention. The renewal application must be filed no later than 10 working days before the expiry of the participation period. If this deadline is not observed, the company must go through the registration procedure from the beginning, with all review timelines and the risk of refusal. A break in status means a break in the application of preferences.

Legal Assistance

TAX LAW Alibayev & Khassanov provides support for Astana Hub registration at all stages: compliance verification, preparation of the business plan for a specific direction of the List, compilation of the document package, support in remedying the Fund's deficiencies, representation in challenging a refusal. A separate service line covers tax support for active participants: establishing separate accounting, preparation for audit when the 100 million tenge threshold is reached, and protecting the right to preferences during tax audits.

This material is for informational purposes only and reflects the state of legislation as of August 2026. Assessment of a specific situation requires analysis of the company's documents.

Authors

Alibayev Yerkebulan

Director

Khassanov Yerbolat

Managing partner