The Monitoring Service of the Autonomous Cluster Fund "Park of Innovative Technologies" (hereinafter referred to as the Fund, Technopark) regularly publishes explanatory materials with an analysis of identified cases related to violations of the terms of participation and going beyond the scope of priority activities (hereinafter referred to as the List of LDPE).

The purpose of these publications is to create a culture of fair participation and reduce the risks associated with the loss of participant status and tax preferences. One of the key monitoring focuses is the compliance of the actual activities carried out with the stated business plan and the approved List of LDPE.

Typical case: non-compliance of the activity with the declared LDPE

Let's consider an example from practice: during the monitoring of the activities of one of the Participants of the Technopark (conventionally, the EyAy company), the risk of operating outside the framework of LDPE was identified. According to the business plan, the company was supposed to provide services for the development and implementation of an AI platform, a software package designed to create voice assistants, which fully complies with item 1 of the LDPE List: "development, implementation, maintenance, development, modification or individual stages of development [...] technologies and artificial intelligence systems".

However, during the audit, it was established that the actual income was received for performing technical support, testing and updates of the automated voice assistant system, the copyrights of which belonged to an international group of companies. At the same time, the transfer of exclusive property rights to the software package was not carried out, despite the fact that this was provided for in the framework of the project.

Thus, the company actually derived income not from its own AI development, but from the operation of a third-party product, without having rights to it. This violates both the conditions of participation in Astana Hub and the norms of paragraphs 2), paragraphs 4-3, Article 293 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to which benefits are provided exclusively in the implementation of priority activities.

According to the monitoring results, the Participant who violated the conditions provided for in this paragraph applies the generally established taxation procedure from the date of the beginning of the tax period in which the violation was committed.

To avoid such situations, it is recommended for current and future participants.:

Ensure the legal registration of the rights to the product: all property rights to the software product specified in the business plan must be registered with the Participant (or transferred for use on the basis of an agreement with clear exclusivity conditions). In the absence of rights, the activity will be considered not to comply with the LDPE.

Regularly review the business plan and actual activities: in case of a change in the monetization model, the business plan must be updated and sent for approval to the Astana Hub.

To report within the framework of the stated LDPE: in the reporting documents, it is important to clearly reflect the relationship of activities with priority types, avoiding generalized formulations ("technical support", "testing", etc.), especially in the absence of patent or copyright protection.

Astana Hub provides unique tax and administrative preferences aimed at supporting high-tech startups and IT companies. However, compliance with the conditions of participation and compliance of activities with the List of Priority Types is a key factor for sustainability in the status of a participant. Preventive measures, legal purity and transparency of processes are the basis of a long—term partnership with the Technopark.