The 'Drawback' law no 5162 of 1972 encouraged the siting in Costa Rica of "screw driver" assembly plants. Enterprises wishing to assemble products in Costa Rica and re-export the finished products to other markets can import all their capital machinery and raw materials including the parts to be re-assembled free of all import duties. The final product which is re-exported is not assessed to any business income tax on profits.

• The Temporary Admission Regime, also under laws 7092 and 6955, allows goods or equipment to be imported for use in or during processing for subsequent export or re-export.

Free Zones, known as Export Processing Zones. The Government created Free Export Zones under law no 7210 (known as the "Export Processing Law"). Substantial tax incentives including 100% exemption from virtually all taxes and Government finance for the training of employees are available to companies which locate within one of the 12 free export zones (6 of which are privately managed). The Zones are located next to Calderas and Puntarenas (2 Pacific ports), Limon (an Atlantic port near Panama), Alajuela (the airport serving the capital city of Costa Rica) and Turrialba, as well as some other locations. All the free trade export zones have an infrastructure which facilitates companies engaged in exports; there are simplified customs and trade procedures.

• Export Contracts, under laws 7092 and 6955, are signed by the Government with individual enterprises, usually for a period of 10 years. See Law of Offshore for further details of the underlying legislation and application procedures. Export Contracts bring together incentives available under various laws, and typically include exemption from import duties; simplified procedures; special port tariffs; accelerated depreciation; tax credit certificates.
• An application for a license to operate within a free trade zone, the export contract, takes about 2 months to be processed and must be accompanied by a guarantee deposit for US$5,000. There are some requirements as to the minimum amount of capital that must be invested by an incoming company: the minimum investment required is US$150,000. The minimum investment required to set up a company anywhere in Costa Rica and receive free zone benefits is US$2m.
• The form D-151 is required for persons or companies that have income or payments in excess of 5 million colons in the fiscal year. To realize the price relative to your currency go here: http://www.xe.com/ucc