Export Free Zones are the mainstay of Costa Rica’s export and investment strategy. The Free Zones are, by definition, areas of extra-territoriality for customs and fiscal purposes. These facilities are created specifically to receive imported inputs or raw materials that are manufactured, assembled or marketed as products or services and subsequently re-exported.
Ease of operation, fiscal incentives, monetary and exchange facilities, excellent communications, reliable utilities, access to basic services, and a highly educated labor force provide a firm foundation for the dynamic development of companies set up under the Free Zone system.
Some of the advantages of operating in the Free Zones of Costa Rica are:
- 100% exemption from taxes on capital and assets
- Exemption from taxes on profits
- Independent management of foreign currency
- Streamlined processing of documentation required for installation and operations
The Export Free Zone Corporation provides investors with centralized services to carry out standard procedures. The Corporation is located in the Center of Foreign Trade.
In addition to the Free Zone system, Costa Rica beckons investors and businesses with its geographical location in the center of the Western Hemisphere, and with the productivity of its labor force. Education has always been a national priority in Costa Rica. With schooling both compulsory and free up to the high school level, the tiny nation’s 94% literacy rate is the highest in the Third World.
