Benque Viejo Free Zone will be known as the leader in the management of the promotion, operation, and development of the Free Zones in Belize. Our mission of Benque Viejo Free Zone is to promote Belize's local and international trade through its Industrial and Trade Free Zone, satisfying its customers by means of reliable and efficient services, adding value to entrepreneurs' security and stability, benefiting its employees and the community.

Benque Viejo Free Zone is located in Benque Town, Cayo District near the Belize/Guatemala Border approximately 82 miles from Belize City, which is the commercial center of the Country. Topography of the property is a combination of flats and hills as it moves from northwest to southeast and can be separated in two sections with the lower area making up 50 percent of the site and a plateau thirty feet above making up the remaining 50 percent. The lower portion is gently undulating from the highway in the northwest toward the hilly section in the south.

The objectives for Benque Viejo Free Zone are to establish and operate industrial estates, commercial free zones, export-processing zones, bonded warehouses, and other areas for the manufacture of goods and commodities and to export and deal with such goods and commodities.

Exemptions and Benefits

• no restrictions on foreign exchange out of or within a CFZ, including the sale of foreign currency or the transfer of foreign exchange;
• no Government charges and taxes on foreign currency use within a CFZ;
• all merchandise, articles and goods that enter a CFZ for commercial purposes are exempt from import duties, revenue replacement and stamp duties;
• all fuel and goods, including buildings materials, equipment, furniture, supplies, etc., needed for the functioning of a CFZ business are exempt from all duties and taxes;
• a Social fee of 1.5% is charged on all goods and services imported into the CFZ, except for fuel (on fuel it makes 10%);
• no quotas for imports and exports;
• it is possible to open an account in any currency with a duly registered bank of CFZ business choice located in the CFZ;
• no import or export license is required for imports or exports;
• imports and exports are exempt from all custom duties, consumption and excise taxes, and export duties;
• During the first 5-year period of business functioning in a CFZ, it is exempt from income tax, or capital gains tax, or any new corporate tax levied by the Government of Belize; any dividends paid by this business are exempt from tax for the first 20-year period of its operation;
• The loss incurred over the 5years' tax holiday by a CFZ business may be carried forward and deducted against profits in the 3 years after the tax holiday period;
• Any proceeds from the sale of stock or other ownership interest in a CFZ business are exempt from the above-mentioned tax.