Import Procedures

All goods entering the customs territory of Kazakhstan are subject to declaration and customs clearance at approved customs clearance points. A declaration must be filed within thirty days of the arrival of the goods to Kazakhstan, but a brief declaration and notification on arrival of goods shall be submitted to the customs body within 24 hours after the goods cross the border and are placed at a temporary storage warehouse. Except for private persons permitted to transfer goods under a simplified procedure, a customs declaration must be filed by a Kazakhstani entity - that is, a business organization registered under Kazakhstani law or its affiliate or representative located in Kazakhstan, an individual entrepreneur registered in Kazakhstan, or a permanent resident of Kazakhstan. Foreign entities cannot deal directly with customs officials in Kazakhstan and are legally required to use services provided by licenced customs brokers having the right to operate in Kazakhstan.
 
A party declaring commercial goods at a customs office in Kazakhstan for their release for free circulation is responsible for submitting the paper and electronic copies of customs declarations (one copy of each per shipment), as well as accompanying documents. The Customs Cargo Declaration (5 copies) must be completed in either the Kazakh or Russian language. Other documents may be submitted in a foreign language. A customs officer, however, has the authority to request a translation of such documents into Kazakh or Russian as well as a notarization of the translation. In addition to the Customs Cargo Declaration, a party declaring goods is required to submit a set of other documents including invoices, a contract for the supply of goods, an import/export transaction passport, and shipping documents (e.g., bill of lading, airway bill, etc.) The transaction passport is the primary tool used in the framework of the currency control system. The transaction passport represents a cross-agency document filled out by the exporter/importer and reviewed by customs officials and representatives of the exporter/importer’s bank.

For more information, please visit the website of the Kazakh State Revenue Committee.

Distribution market players

The main retail distributors of food products, clothing, perfumery, household and other consumer products are Magnum Cash&Carry, RAMSTORE, INTERFOOD, ESENTAI GOURMET, STOLICHNY and SILK WAY SUPERMARKET (MyGuideKazakhstan).

Foreign distributors have started to invest heavily in the country:

• Metro: the brand is present in the country with 6 stores since 2008 (according to the distributor's website)
• Fix Price: as stated by the Russian market player on its website, there are currently 3 stores in Kazakhstan in 2021

Grocery retailer chains such as Ramstore, Gourmet and Macrocenter are expected to continue to expand. Magnum Cash&Carry leads sales in Kazakhstan and is part of the most successful top 10 companies in the country. According to Euromonitor International, its success can be attributed to its offering of good products at affordable prices. The company’s stores offer various consumer goods, including bakery products, meat, fish, gastronomy, grocery, cookery, confectionery, dairy, baby food, salads, bread, dough, cakes, and semi-finished products. It operates through 89 shopping centres in Almaty, Astana, Kaskelen, Karaganda, Taldykorgan, Shymkent and Petropavlovsk. To find out more about the Grocery Retailers in Kazakhstan, you can consult the country report by Euromonitor International.

Consumption Taxes

Nature of the Tax

Value added tax (VAT) - Қосылған құн салығы (ҚҚС)

Tax Rate

12%

Reduced Tax Rate

Several goods and services are VAT exempt, including turnover associated with land and residential buildings; specified financial services; services rendered by non-commercial organizations; services in the areas of culture, science and education; goods and services related to medical and veterinary activities; import of certain assets (a list is issued by the government); goods imported by individuals not for entrepreneurial purposes (subject to certain limitations); turnovers related to international transportation services; import of goods from the territory of a Eurasian Economic Union member country within the same legal entity (e.g., intra-entity transaction).
Zero-rated items include export sales of goods, except for those that are exempt from VAT; international transportation services; sale of oil and lubricants by airports when fuelling aircraft of a foreign air carrier performing international flights; sale of fine gold; sale of goods to the territory of Special Economic Zones.

Other Consumption Taxes

Excise duties on all types of spirits, alcohol (up to KZT 11,000 per litre) and tobacco products, petrol (except for aircraft), diesel fuel oil, and certain motor vehicles.

Corporate Taxes

Company Tax

20%

Tax Rate For Foreign Companies

Residents are taxed on their worldwide income, while non-residents are taxed only on Kazakhstan-sourced income (in the form of corporation tax if they have a permanent establishment or withholding tax if they do not have a permanent establishment).

Capital Gains Taxation

Capital gains are treated as normal income and taxed at the standard corporate tax rate of 20%. Capital gains realised from the sale of shares and participation interests in Kazakhstan that do not derive their value from subsurface use property and are held for more than three years may be exempt.

Main Allowable Deductions and Tax Credits

Documented expenses incurred to generate income are generally deductible.
Depreciation of tangible and intangible assets is tax-deductible (at rates ranging from 10% to 40%); however, the Kazakh Tax Code does not provide any arrangements for the amortisation of goodwill. Start-up costs, although not explicitly defined by the Kazakh Tax Code, are generally deductible.

Interest, receivables not recovered after a three-year deadline, fines (except those that go directly to the state budget) and taxes (except corporation tax, excess profits tax and taxes paid in jurisdictions with preferential tax treatment) are all tax-deductible. Donations to charitable organisations give rise to a reduction of the tax base, up to 4% of annual taxable income (3% for large taxpayers subject to monitoring). Payments to foreign affiliates are also deductible if they allow the company to earn income in Kazakhstan.

Tax losses can be carried forward for up to 10 years. The carryback of losses is not permitted.

Kazakhstan also offers investment incentives in free-trade zones in the form of total exemption from corporation tax and social tax as well as zero-rated property taxation. These incentives have specific expiry dates depending on the free trade area (between 2027 and 2043).

Other Corporate Taxes

Oil and gas companies are subject to excess profits tax at rates ranging from 10% to 60%. The tax base is the portion of net income that exceeds 25% of the deductions for this tax.
Employers are required to pay a social tax equal to 9.5% of the employee's gross salary (the monthly minimum base is 14 times the minimum calculation index - KZT 42,882 for 2022 -  and there is no maximum).
Furthermore, the employer pays a surcharge equal to 5% of the gross wage when the employee is engaged in a hazardous activity). Contributions paid by the employer to the Social Security Fund are at an effective rate of 3.5% (capped at KZT 420,000) while those paid to the Health Insurance Fund amount to 3% (the monthly base is capped at KZT 600,000).

A property tax is levied at rates varying between 0.1% and 1.5% (the most common rate) of the average net book value of the immovable property, depending on the taxpayer's activity.
A land tax is also levied at varying rates according to the size, quality and use of land.

There is no stamp duty, however, the Kazakh authorities reserve the right to impose a levy on the distribution of certain legal documents by public institutions.
A mineral extraction tax applies to the monetary value of the extracted volume of crude oil, gas condensate, natural gas, minerals, and groundwater. Rates for crude oil and gas condensate range from 5% to 18% (with a 50% reduction for hydrocarbons supplied to domestic refineries); that for natural gas is set at 10% (reduced to 0.5%-1.5% for domestic sales); and those for coal and minerals that have undergone initial processing are between 0% and 18.5%.

Other Domestic Resources

Consult the Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the taxes and mandatory contributions.

Double Taxation Treaties

Countries With Whom a Double Taxation Treaty Have Been Signed

List of countries that have signed a Double Taxation Agreement with Kazakhstan.

Withholding Taxes

Dividends: 0 (resident companies)/5% (resident individuals)/15% (non-residents without a PE)/20% (dividends paid to entities registered in tax havens), Interest: 15% (resident companies)/10% (resident individuals)/20% (tax haven), Royalties: 0 (resident companies)/10% (resident individuals)/15% (non-residents without a PE)/20% (tax haven).