Rebates & Guidelines

Eligible productions must be in one of the following formats:

• Television programmers' and series: a stand-alone programme or series, each episode being no less than one broadcast half-hour in length, which is intended for initial commercial distribution in a medium other than cinema, the subject matter comprising:
• Documentaries
• Tele-movies
• Episodic (drama/comedy)
• Reality TV and Game shows

A project will be deemed to be a series or a season if the episodes feature a common theme or themes and/or contain dramatic elements that form a narrative structure. Each series or season shall only be entitled to one Rebate.

A commercial/advert: no minimum duration requirement but the content will be primarily concerned with the promotion of products (including goods and services), companies, ideas, or any combination of these:

• Magazine shows, Infotainment, talk shows and lifestyle programming
• Training or in-house corporate advertising/promotions
• Animation
• Music videos

The Applicant must be able to demonstrate that the production budget is primarily provided by financier's resident, and the principal place of business of which is located, in a jurisdiction outside of the Kyrgyzstan, except in the case of:

• Feature Films and Tele-movies
• Long-form episodic drama or comedy of minimum 13 episodes, each episode being no less than one broadcast half-hour in length

The Interim Certificate confirms eligibility of the project for a Rebate in principle only and the estimated amount of the Rebate payment which, at this stage, should be viewed as a preliminary indication only, subject to final assessment and issue of the Final Certificate as outlined below.

Applicants must obtain an Interim Certificate during pre-production i.e. before commencing principal photography.

In order to obtain an Interim Certificate, the following documentation must be included with each Application Form:

• Latest draft of the shooting script, treatment or format, as applicable, with all available story boards and synopses.
• Shooting schedule for the full production in Kyrgyzstan
• Total itemized indicative budget for the full production in Kyrgyzstan, covering the complete production expenditure. The budget may be presented in any industry-recognized format (e.g. Movie Magic) preferred by the Applicant but must specify the expected Kyrgyzstan Qualifying Production Expenditure and be accompanied by a Kyrgyz film commission worksheet.
• A copy of the executed agreement(s) between the Applicant (and the Producer, as applicable) and the international financier(s) of the production (or evidence of intention to conclude the same)
• Where the Producer and the Applicant are different entities, a copy of the agreement between the Applicant and the Producer covering the production and the Rebate application
• Copy of relevant production insurance binder, including proof of Public Liability Insurance and Workers Compensation Liability (or evidence of an intention to obtain the same) (not applicable for post-production applications only)

Once Kyrgyz film commission is in receipt of a fully completed Application Form together with all required supporting documentation, including the necessary content approval, an Interim Certificate should be issued within twenty (20) working days.

Principal photography must commence within 60 days of issue of the Interim Certificate by Kyrgyz film commission, subject to extension in the discretion of Kyrgyz film commission by up to 90 days as the result of delays caused by bona fide events.

Where an Applicant holds an Interim Certificate and material elements of the production subsequently change (e.g. changes to creative personnel, cast, and/or filming locations), at the time of making such changes the Applicant must notify by Kyrgyz film commission in writing and confirm with by Kyrgyz film commission whether implementing them may affect the eligibility of the production for a Rebate.

An Applicant that has already received an Interim Certificate shall notify by Kyrgyz film commission in writing promptly if the production is cancelled or otherwise becomes ineligible for the Rebate.

The Applicant shall (and where applicable shall procure that the Producer shall) maintain proper books of account, receipts and records in accordance with the norms of the international production industry.

Upon written request by Kyrgyz film commission, the Applicant shall supply to by Kyrgyz film commission statements of cost and production progress reports together with full explanations of any other information that by Kyrgyz film commission may reasonably request from time to time.

Final confirmation from Kyrgyz film commission of the amount of Rebate payable to the Applicant shall be evidenced by issue by committee of a final certificate of Rebate eligibility (the "Final Certificate").

To be eligible for the grant of a Final Certificate, each production must have completed principal photography (or post-production where applicable) in Kyrgyzstan.

In order to obtain a Final Certificate, within 180 days of completion of principal photography (or post-production) work in Kyrgyzstan, the Applicant must provide to Kyrgyz film commission:

• A written statement summarizing all Kyrgyzstan Qualifying Production Expenditure, provided by a suitably qualified auditor that conforms to international accounting standards, setting out the Rebate claimed (the "Audited Expenditure Statement"). The auditor must be approved in advance by Kyrgyz film commission and may not be an officer, partner or employee of the Applicant or any affiliated entity, or any other entity involved in the production.
• Sample footage or rushes in DVD format if requested by Kyrgyz film commission, which will be retained by them for the purposes of assessment only

Kyrgyz film commission will carry out the final assessment of the Rebate application within 14 days of receipt of all required documentation and Audited Expenditure Statement.

Kyrgyz film commission reserves the right to require any further information deemed necessary from the Applicant prior to issuing the Final Certificate.

If there are no questions or additional information required, the Rebate should be paid to Applicant within 45 days of issue of the Final Certificate.

Kyrgyzstan Production Expenditure is expenditure incurred by the Applicant (or Producer as applicable) wholly in respect of the applicable production and attributable to the categories of goods and services sourced and/or provided in Kyrgyzstan as set out below.

The Applicant is advised to monitor minimum Kyrgyzstan Production Expenditure and other eligibility criteria (such as number of episodes and episode length) during production to ensure that the production continues to meet eligibility requirements.

The Applicant must provide evidence that, at all times relevant to production in Kyrgyzstan, all cast, crew and other relevant individuals engaged on the production have a valid Kyrgyzstan visa in order for fees or expenses paid to them to qualify as Kyrgyzstan Production Expenditure.

In the event that Kyrgyzstan film commission deems any transaction in respect of which Kyrgyzstan Production Expenditure is claimed to have been conducted in a manner other than at arm's length (i.e. at a reasonable commercial rate and not a related-party transaction), Kyrgyzstan film commission may apply a market rate to the cost of the applicable goods or services or exclude the costs from Kyrgyzstan Production Expenditure. All related-party transactions should be declared separately in the audit report.

All claims of Kyrgyzstan Production Expenditure will be subject to proof that each payment has been incurred and discharged in full prior to finalization of the Audited Expenditure Statement.

Kyrgyzstan film commission reserves the right to report any fraudulent submissions to the appropriate authorities and a reasonable belief held by the committee of the presence of fraud or willful negligence or misconduct may result in the cancellation of any Certificate and the Rebate at Kyrgyzstan's complete discretion.