Importing into Kazakhstan from Third Countries in 2026: Customs Value, EAEU Tariff Duties, 16% Import VAT and What Errors Actually Cost

Importing goods into Kazakhstan from a country outside the EAEU means the customs procedure of release for internal consumption, under which import duty, import VAT, excise and the customs fee are all paid before the goods are released — not after they are sold. The duty rate comes from the EAEU Common Customs Tariff as it stands on the day the declaration is registered, and import VAT is charged at 16% on the customs value increased by duty and excise. The declaration fee is a flat 6 MCI — KZT 25,950 in 2026 — whatever the consignment is worth.

Important. Importing from a third country and bringing goods in from the EAEU are two fundamentally different regimes, and confusing them is expensive. On a third-country import, VAT is recoverable on the date the goods are released (article 481(2)(1) of the Tax Code); on an EAEU import it is recoverable only on the date of payment into the budget, and no earlier than the 20th of the month following the reporting period. On top of that, accumulated excess input VAT cannot be set against tax on imported goods (article 510(1), second paragraph): import VAT always has to be paid in cash.

The second point that is routinely underestimated: any person importing goods is a VAT payer, but only a registered VAT payer can recover the tax. Article 447(1)(2) of the Tax Code makes every importer a taxpayer, while article 480(1) confines recovery to persons on the VAT register. A company on a special tax regime pays import VAT and never gets it back.

Key parameters as at September 2026

Parameter	Value	Provision
Customs procedure	release for internal consumption	arts. 134–136 EAEU Customs Code
Object of duty	goods moved across the customs border of the Union	art. 51(1) EAEU CC
Duty base	customs value and/or a physical cha­racte­ristic of the goods	art. 51(2) EAEU CC
Types of tariff rate	ad valorem, specific, combined	art. 42(3) EAEU Treaty
Rate applied as at the day of	registration of the customs declaration	art. 53(1) EAEU CC
Ka­za­khstan’s simple average applied rate (2025)	5.5% (agricultural 8.6%, non-a­gricu­ltural 5.0%)	WTO World Tariff Profiles 2026
Simple average bound rate	6.4% (agricultural 9.5%, non-a­gricu­ltural 5.9%)	WTO World Tariff Profiles 2026
Preference for developing countries	75% of the tariff rate	art. 36(2) EAEU Treaty
Preference for least developed countries	zero rate	art. 36(3) EAEU Treaty
Beneficiary countries	33 developing + 46 least developed	EEC Council Decision No. 8 of 28.01.2026
Threshold below which no duty or tax arises	EUR 200 per consignment under one transport document	art. 136(2) EAEU CC
Import VAT rate	16%	art. 503(1) Tax Code
Reduced VAT rate on imported medicines and medical devices	5% in 2026, 10% from 2027	art. 503(2) Tax Code
Import VAT base	customs value plus duties and taxes, excluding VAT itself	art. 466(1) Tax Code
Import VAT payment deadline	the deadline set by customs legislation — before release	art. 506(2) Tax Code, art. 136(9) EAEU CC
Date import VAT becomes recoverable	the date the goods are released	art. 481(2)(1) Tax Code
Customs declaration fee	6 MCI = KZT 25,950	Government Resolution No. 171 of 05.04.2018
Fee for an advance cla­ssifi­cation ruling	9 MCI = KZT 38,925	Government Resolution No. 171 of 05.04.2018
Release time	4 hours; where complications arise, 1 working day	art. 119(1), (3) EAEU CC
Temporary storage period	4 months	art. 172(1) Code No. 123-VI
Advance cla­ssifi­cation ruling	10 working days; a repeat ruling 5	art. 46(1) Code No. 123-VI
Duty deferral with interest	up to 1 month	art. 92(1) Code No. 123-VI
Deferral without interest	up to 6 months on five grounds	art. 92(2) Code No. 123-VI
Interest on a deferral	1/360 of the National Bank base rate per day	art. 93(2) Code No. 123-VI
National Bank base rate	16.75%, decision of 24.07.2026	National Bank of Kazakhstan
Late payment interest	1.25 times the base rate per day	Code No. 123-VI
Limitation period	3 years; for certain categories and for WTO rates, 5 years	art. 89 Code No. 123-VI
Penalty for misde­clara­tion	25% of the unpaid payments; 50%on repetition	art. 551 Admi­nistra­tive Code
Ka­za­khstan’s share of distributed import duties	6.955%	para. 12 of Annex No. 5 to the EAEU Treaty
MCI for 2026	KZT 4,325	art. 7(4) of the Republican Budget Law for 2026–2028

The legal framework: four levels of regulation that must not be conflated

Importing from third countries into Kazakhstan is governed simultaneously at four levels: the Union treaties, EEC supranational acts, the national customs code and the national tax code. A rule at one level does not displace a rule at another, and the most expensive mistakes arise precisely at the joins — where an EAEU rule is applied to a question left to national law, or the other way round.

What governs what

Level	Instrument	What it governs	Status
Union treaty	Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (Astana, 29 May 2014)	purposes of the tariff, types of rate, tariff exemptions, preferences, distribution of duties	in force; ratified by Law No. 240-V of 14.10.2014
Union treaty	Treaty on the Customs Code of the EAEU of 11 April 2017, Annex No. 1 — the EAEU Customs Code	customs value, calculation of duties and taxes, declaration, procedures, release times	published 12.04.2017, in force from 1 January 2018
EEC supranational act	EEC Council Decision No. 80 of 14.09.2021 — the EAEU commodity nomenclature and Common Customs Tariff	commodity codes and import duty rates	in force; most recent amendments EEC Board Decisions No. 102 and No. 104 of 11.08.2026
EEC supranational act	Customs Union Commission Decision No. 130 of 27.11.2009on unified customs tariff regulation	tariff exemptions, lists of preferential countries and goods	in force; most recent amendments of 30.01.2026 No. 72 and 09.07.2026 No. 79
EEC supranational act	EEC Council Decision No. 59 of 14.10.2015	the exemption list and the WTO rates Kazakhstan applies	in force in the redaction of 21.02.2025
National customs level	Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Customs Regulation of 26.12.2017 No. 123-VI	customs fees, payment deadlines, deferral, limitation, the declarant, conditional release	in force; amended in 2026 by Laws No. 256-VIII, No. 306-VIII and No. 311-VIII, while Law No. 333-VIII is enacted but not yet in operation
National tax level	Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 18.07.2025 No. 214-VIII	taxable import, base, VAT rates, exemptions, recovery, excise	in force from 01.01.2026; amended by Law No. 308-VIII of 11.06.2026 from 01.07.2026
National admi­nistra­tive level	Admi­ni­strative Offences Code of 05.07.2014 No. 235-V	liability for misde­clara­tion, late payment, late filing	in force
National environmental level	Envi­ronme­ntal Code of 02.01.2021 No. 400-VI, article 386	extended produ­cer/i­mporter obligations and the recycling payment	in force

The three distinctions most often got wrong

First: the EAEU Customs Code sets the base for duties but leaves the base for taxes to national law. Article 51(2) of the Code makes the duty base the customs value and/or a physical characteristic of the goods, while article 51(3) states expressly that “the base for calculating taxes is determined in accordance with the legislation of the member states”. For Kazakhstan that is article 466 of the Tax Code, and it is built differently from the duty base.

Second: duty rates are supranational, tax rates are national. Article 53(2) of the Customs Code refers to the Common Customs Tariff; article 53(4) of the same article refers to the law of the member state in which the taxes are payable. The VAT rate on identical goods therefore differs between Kazakhstan and another EAEU state, while the duty rate does not.

Third: the deadline for paying duties and taxes on import is set by customs law, not tax law. Article 506, first paragraph, item 2 of the Tax Code fixes no deadline of its own but refers to customs legislation; article 136(9) of the Customs Code sets it at “before the goods are released”. The quarterly VAT return calendar has nothing to do with import VAT.

The e-commerce Protocol: enacted but not operative

As at September 2026 the EAEU Customs Code stands in its 2017 text as amended by the Protocol of 29 May 2019.A second Protocol — of 25 December 2023, on the regulation of external electronic commerce — was signed and published on 28 December 2023 but has not entered into force.

Kazakhstan has already passed its own implementing amendments: Law No. 333-VIII of 2 July 2026 amends Code No. 123-VI in 45 places. Every one of them carries the same commencement condition: “from the date of entry into force of the Protocol amending the Treaty on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union of 11 April 2017, signed on 25 December 2023”.

The practical consequence is that the provisions of Law No. 333-VIII are not in operation in 2026 and cannot be cited as law. They will switch on automatically on the day the Protocol enters into force — with no separate instrument and no transition period. It is an unusual case of a national legislature having fully prepared domestic law in advance for an international instrument that has not yet begun to operate.

The mechanics of bringing goods in from EAEU states, where a fundamentally different order applies — the import notification, form 328.00 and payment by the 20th — are covered separately in VAT on imports from the EAEU into Kazakhstan.

How a third-country import differs from bringing goods in from the EAEU

A third-country import is the movement of goods across the EAEU customs border, with a customs declaration and customs payments made to the customs authority; an EAEU arrival is mutual trade inside a single customs territory, where there is no customs border and indirect taxes are administered by the tax authority. The administering body, the document, the payment deadline, the recovery date and the set of payments are all different.

Article 451 of the Tax Code defines taxable import identically for both cases — as goods imported or brought into the territory of the EAEU member states that are subject to declaration under customs legislation. Beyond that point the regimes diverge completely.

The two regimes side by side

Parameter	Import from a third country	Arrival from an EAEU member state
Administering authority	the customs authority (State Revenue body acting in its customs function)	the tax authority
Principal document	the goods declaration (DT)	the notification of import and payment of indirect taxes, form 328.00
Import customs duty	payable at the Common Customs Tariff rate	not payable — single customs territory
Customs declaration fee	6 MCI = KZT 25,950	not payable
VAT base	customs value plus duties and taxes other than VAT (art. 466(1) Tax Code)	the value of the goods acquired, under chapter 52 of the Tax Code
VAT payment deadline	before the goods are released (art. 136(9) EAEU CC)	by the 20th of the month following the month of taking the goods onto the books
Date VAT becomes recoverable	the date of release (art. 481(2)(1) Tax Code)	the date of payment into the budget, but no earlier than the 20th (art. 481(2)(2) Tax Code)
Excise on unmarked goods	on the day customs payments fall due (art. 553(1) Tax Code)	by the 20th of the following month (art. 553(3) Tax Code)
VAT by the offset method	article 508 of the Tax Code	article 509 — a separate provision with the same list of goods
Accompanying consignment note (SNT)	issued under national rules	issued, with EAEU-specific features
Liability for unde­rsta­tement	25% of the unpaid payments (art. 551 Admi­nistra­tive Code)	under the tax provisions of the Admi­nistra­tive Code

The key practical consequence: on a third-country import the VAT cash gap is minimal, whereas on an EAEU arrival it is structural. In the first case the tax is paid and recovered on the same day — the money turns over inside one quarter. In the second, recovery is deferred to the 20th of the following month even where the tax was paid earlier.

The other side of the coin: a third-country import attracts payments that do not exist in intra-Union trade at all — import duty, the customs fee and, for certain goods, special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, which under article 466(1) of the Tax Code also form part of the VAT base.

A separate category is goods that physically travel from an EAEU state but are of foreign origin and have not been released for free circulation. Such goods remain foreign goods for customs purposes, and bringing them into Kazakhstan is a third-country import rather than mutual trade, whatever the route. Getting the characterisation wrong costs both the duty and the penalty.

Customs value: six methods and what must be added to the price

Customs value is the base from which almost everything follows: the ad valorem duty and, through it, import VAT.Chapter 5 of the EAEU Customs Code is, by the express terms of article 38(1), built on article VII of GATT 1994 and the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII — an international standard, not a local methodology.

Article 38(3) of the Customs Code names the procedures under which customs value is not determined at all:customs transit, the customs warehouse, destruction, abandonment to the state and the special customs procedure.

Six methods in strict sequence

Method	Name	Provision	When it applies
Method 1	transaction value of the imported goods	art. 39 EAEU CC	the primary method, where the four conditions in paragraph 1 are met
Method 2	transaction value of identical goods	art. 41 EAEU CC	where method 1 is unavailable
Method 3	transaction value of similar goods	art. 42 EAEU CC	where methods 1 and 2 are unavailable
Method 4	deductive value	art. 43 EAEU CC	working back from the resale price inside the Union
Method 5	computed value	art. 44 EAEU CC	working up from the cost of production
Method 6	fall-back method	art. 45 EAEU CC	on the principles of chapter 5, applied with reasonable flexibility

The four conditions for method 1

Article 39(1) of the Customs Code permits the transaction value method only where four conditions hold together.First, there are no restrictions on the buyer’s rights to use and dispose of the goods, other than three expressly permitted kinds. Second, neither the sale nor the price is subject to conditions or obligations whose effect on price cannot be quantified. Third, no part of the proceeds of any subsequent resale accrues to the seller, save where an addition falls to be made under article 40. Fourth, buyer and seller are not related, or are related in a way that still leaves the transaction value acceptable.

Article 39(4) expressly forbids treating relatedness, of itself, as a ground for refusing method 1. The customs authority must analyse the circumstances surrounding the sale, and the declarant is entitled to prove that the relationship did not influence the price. Article 39(5) requires the authority to notify the declarant, in writing or electronically, of the indications it has found.

What article 40 adds to the price

Article 40(1) of the Customs Code lists the additions to be made to the price actually paid or payable where they are not already included in it. The main categories are as follows.

First, costs incurred by the buyer: commissions to intermediaries and brokers, other than buying commission paid to the buyer’s own agent outside the customs territory of the Union; the cost of containers treated as one with the goods; and packing costs, including the cost of packing materials and of the packing work.

Second, the value of goods and services supplied by the buyer free of charge or at reduced cost: raw materials, parts and components incorporated in the goods; tools, dies and moulds used in production; materials consumed in production; and engineering, development, artwork, design work, plans and sketches undertaken outside the customs territory of the Union.

Third, any part of the proceeds of resale accruing directly or indirectly to the seller.

Fourth, the transport element: the cost of carriage to the place of arrival of the goods in the customs territory of the Union, the cost of loading, unloading and handling to that place, and insurance in connection with those operations.

The practical consequence is that Incoterms drive the size of the additions. On EXW and FOB terms, carriage to the Union border is added to the price; on DAP terms to a place inside Kazakhstan, the portion attributable to carriage beyond the place of arrival is instead deducted — but only where it is separately documented. Inland freight that is not separately stated stays in the customs value and bears both duty and VAT.

A distinct risk: article 466(1) of the Tax Code requires customs value to be determined “having regard to the transfer pricing legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan”. An import from a related non-resident is therefore tested twice — by the customs authority for the influence of the relationship on price, and by the tax authority for conformity with an arm’s length range. How the second control works is set out separately in transfer pricing in Kazakhstan.

Import duty: what it actually costs and why the tariff changes every month

The import duty rate is taken from the EAEU Common Customs Tariff as in force on the day the customs authority registers the declaration. That is the express rule in article 53(1) of the Customs Code, and it means the tariff in force at the date of the contract, of shipment, or of the goods’ arrival has no legal significance.

Article 42(3) of the EAEU Treaty provides for three types of rate: ad valorem, as a percentage of customs value; specific, by reference to a physical characteristic such as quantity, weight or volume; and combined, blending the two.

Article 42(4) of the Treaty: tariff rates are uniform and do not vary according to the persons moving the goods, the origin of the goods, the type of transaction or any other circumstance. Individual arrangements over a rate are therefore impossible; only tariff preferences, tariff exemptions, tariff quotas and the Union’s international agreements can change it.

What importers actually pay

Kazakhstan’s simple average applied rate in 2025 was 5.5%, and the trade-weighted average 5.2%. The figures come from World Tariff Profiles 2026, published jointly by the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD.

Measure	Total	Agricultural	Non-a­gricu­ltural
Simple average final bound rate	6.4%	9.5%	5.9%
Simple average MFN applied rate (2025)	5.5%	8.6%	5.0%
Tra­de-wei­ghted applied rate (2025)	5.2%	10.4%	4.6%
Imports, US$ billion (2024)	60.3	6.5	53.8
Binding coverage	100%	—	100%
Duty-free share of applied tariff lines	—	11.9%	28.7%

The practical conclusion is that duty is rarely the main payment. With an average rate around 5% and VAT at 16%, VAT dominates the import bill. Duty nonetheless enters the VAT base under article 466(1) of the Tax Code, so it is taxed a second time — the tax-on-tax effect adds roughly 0.8 of a percentage point to the total burden at the average duty rate.

Why the rate has to be checked for every shipment

The Common Customs Tariff was approved by EEC Council Decision No. 80 of 14 September 2021 and, as at September 2026, stands in a redaction produced by 105 amending decisions. Of those, 61 are decisions of the EEC Board and 44 decisions of the EEC Council. The most recent are Board Decisions No. 102 and No. 104 of 11 August 2026 and Council Decision No. 76 of 9 July 2026.

That is an average of more than twenty tariff changes a year. Combine that frequency with the “rate as at the date of registration” rule, and a rate checked when the contract was signed may well have changed by the time the declaration is filed. Code and rate should be checked immediately before filing, not when the purchase is being planned.

Tariff quotas are a separate mechanism for certain agricultural goods. Under article 44 of the EAEU Treaty a quota may be set where like goods are produced within the customs territory of the Union; within the quota the corresponding reduced tariff rate applies, and above it the ordinary rate.

Tariff classification is the single most common source of dispute. Code No. 123-VI offers a tool for reducing that risk: an advance classification ruling, issued under article 46(1) not later than ten working days from registration of the application, or within five working days where rulings have already been given on goods with the same name, brand, model, article number and modification. The fee for an advance ruling is 9 MCI, or KZT 38,925.

Tariff preferences and exemptions: who genuinely pays less

A tariff preference is a reduced or zero import duty rate granted by reference to the origin of the goods; a tariff exemption is a relief from, or reduction of, duty granted irrespective of origin. They are two different institutions, and the evidence each requires is fundamentally different.

The unified system of tariff preferences

Article 36(2) of the EAEU Treaty: preferential goods originating in developing countries that are beneficiaries of the Union’s unified system of tariff preferences bear import duty at 75 per cent of the Common Customs Tariff rates.

Article 36(3) of the EAEU Treaty: preferential goods originating in least developed beneficiary countries bear the zero rates of the Common Customs Tariff.

A preference is granted only where three conditions hold together (paragraph 3 of the Regulation on the conditions and procedure for applying the unified system of tariff preferences, approved by EEC Council Decision No. 47 of 6 April 2016 as amended by Decisions No. 122 of 19.12.2019 and No. 102 of 27.11.2025): the country appears on the relevant list; the goods appear on the list of preferential goods; and the rules of origin for developing and least developed countries are satisfied.

Category	Rate	Number of countries	Provision
Developing beneficiary countries	75% of the tariff rate	33	art. 36(2) EAEU Treaty
Least developed beneficiary countries	0%	46	art. 36(3) EAEU Treaty
All other countries	the full tariff rate	—	art. 42(4) EAEU Treaty

The lists were approved by Customs Union Commission Decision No. 130 of 27 November 2009 and stand in the redaction of EEC Council Decision No. 8 of 28 January 2026. The developing-country list includes, among others, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Cuba, Lebanon, Morocco, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tunisia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The least developed list includes Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Ethiopia and forty further states.

The criterion for inclusion on the developing-country list is classification by the World Bank, for three consecutive years, as a low-income or lower-middle-income country (paragraph 4 of the Regulation). Paragraph 5 sets out four grounds for non-inclusion or removal: upper-middle or high income for three consecutive years; a share of world exports of one per cent or more for three consecutive years; an existing preferential trade agreement with the Union or a member state; and inclusion on the least developed list.

Paragraph 6 gives a country being removed a transition period: a decision removing a country from the developing-country list takes effect not earlier than six months after it is adopted.

Tariff exemptions

Article 49(1) of the EAEU Customs Code divides reliefs from customs payments into four kinds: relief from import duty (tariff exemptions), relief from export duty, relief from taxes, and relief from customs fees. Article 49(2) assigns the first kind to the Union Treaty, article 49(3) assigns the other three to the law of the member states, and article 49(4) separates tariff preferences, which are granted under the Union Treaty and free trade agreements.

Article 43 of the EAEU Treaty: tariff exemptions take the form of relief from, or a reduction of, import duty; they may not be individual in character and apply irrespective of the origin of the goods. The procedure is set out in Annex No. 6 to the Treaty, and the lists and application rules in Customs Union Commission Decision No. 130 of 27 November 2009 (as amended by Decisions No. 72 of 30 January 2026 and No. 79 of 9 July 2026) and Decision No. 728 of 15 July 2011 (as amended by Decision No. 72 of 30 January 2026).

The key difference from a preference: an exemption needs no proof of origin, but it usually comes coupled with restrictions on the use and disposal of the goods. Goods imported under such an exemption become conditionally released under article 202(1)(1) of Code No. 123-VI — with all the consequences described below.

WTO rates: an exemption mechanism unique to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan is the only EAEU member that, under its WTO commitments, applies import duty rates below the Common Customs Tariff on part of the tariff schedule — and it pays for that with a conditional release regime.Goods imported at a WTO rate may be used only within Kazakhstan and may not be moved on to other member states.

Kazakhstan has been a member of the WTO since 30 November 2015, on the World Trade Organization’s own record. The State Revenue Committee’s WTO page puts it less precisely, as “December 2015”; the discrepancy resolves in favour of the date published by the organisation itself.

How the mechanism works

The State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance states that the exemption list comprises 2,475 tariff positions across 58 of the 97 chapters of the commodity nomenclature — agricultural produce, light industry, vehicles and others.

The legal construction has three elements. First, the Protocol on certain questions of the import and circulation of goods in the customs territory of the EAEU, signed by the heads of state on 16 October 2015. Second, EEC Council Decision No. 59 of 14 October 2015, which approved the list itself and the reduced rates; it stands in the redaction of 21 February 2025. Third, EEC Council Decision No. 18 of 26 January 2018, carrying the list of exempted goods.

Article 202(1)(3) of Code No. 123-VI expressly classes goods imported at rates lower than the Common Customs Tariff under international agreements as conditionally released goods.

Article 202(6) of Code No. 123-VI: conditionally released goods within article 202(1)(3) may be used only within the territory of the member state whose customs authority released them. That is the legal basis of the prohibition on moving them to other EAEU countries.

What this means in practice

Import scenario	Rate	May the goods go to the EAEU	Documents required on despatch
Goods on the exemption list, imported at the WTO rate	reduced	no	despatch prohibited
Goods on the exemption list, imported at the tariff rate	full	yes	certified copies of the e-invoice and the goods declaration
Goods on the list, produced in Kazakhstan	—	yes	a certified copy of the e-invoice and the original CT-1 certificate of origin
Goods on the list, brought in from an EAEU state	—	yes	certified copies of the e-invoice and the impo­rt/indi­rect-tax notification

Control runs through the Electronic Invoices information system. The accompanying documents record the goods, their quantity, the number of the declaration or import notification, the item number within that document and, separately, which rate was applied — WTO or Common Customs Tariff. Issuing an e-invoice for the despatch of listed goods requires an electronic digital signature. How the e-invoice system and the virtual warehouse work is covered separately in e-invoices and the virtual warehouse in Kazakhstan.

A carrier is entitled to refuse carriage of a consignment lacking the required documents — expressly provided for in the Protocol, which means the commercial risk does not sit with the importer alone.

The hidden price of a lower rate: five years instead of three

Article 89(3) of Code No. 123-VI extends the limitation period to five years — irrespective of the category of payer — for goods released for internal consumption on which rates lower than the Common Customs Tariff were applied.

The saving on duty is therefore bought by doubling the window in which the customs authority may reassess the payments. The general period under article 89(2) is three years; five years also applies to payers subject to tax monitoring, to subsoil users in the fuel and energy sector and to authorised economic operators.

Economically, the WTO rate only pays where two conditions hold together: the goods are genuinely consumed or processed inside Kazakhstan, and the importer is prepared to keep those consignments separately identified for five years. For a company selling across the whole EAEU market the WTO rate is usually a false economy: it locks the goods into a single market.

EAEU trade agreements: what is in force and what is merely signed

As at September 2026 the EAEU has four preferential trade agreements in force — with Vietnam, Serbia, Iran and Mongolia — and one non-preferential agreement with China that confers no tariff benefit at all. Three further instruments have been signed but are not in force.

The EAEU’s agreement with China grants no tariff preferences. It is an Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, signed on 17 May 2018 and in force from 25 October 2019; it covers customs cooperation, intellectual property protection, e-commerce and sectoral engagement, but it reduces no tariff rate. Goods from China are imported at the full tariff rate.

Status of EAEU trade agreements

Partner	Type of agreement	Signed	In force	Tariff preferences
Vietnam	free trade agreement	29.05.2015	05.10.2016	yes
Serbia	free trade area agreement	25.10.2019	10.07.2021	yes
Iran	full free trade agreement	25.12.2023	15.05.2025	yes
Mongolia	interim trade agreement	27.06.2025	22.07.2026	yes
China	trade and economic cooperation agreement	17.05.2018	25.10.2019	no
UAE	economic partnership agreement	27.06.2025	not in force	—
Indonesia	free trade agreement	21.12.2025	not in force	—
Singapore	free trade agreement and framework agreement	—	not in force	—

The Iran agreement of 25 December 2023 replaced the Interim Agreement leading to the formation of a free trade area of 17 May 2018. Citing the interim agreement in 2026 is citing a superseded instrument.

The interim trade agreement with Mongolia was signed in Minsk on 27 June 2025 and entered into force on 22 July 2026 — the Union’s newest preferential agreement, and as at September 2026 the practice of applying it is only beginning to form. The Eurasian Economic Commission confirms that all procedures required for entry into force have been completed. The preferential rates for goods from Mongolia are published by the Eurasian Economic Commission.

The agreements with the UAE (signed in Minsk on 27 June 2025) and with Indonesia (signed in St Petersburg on 21 December 2025) are not in force. Work is under way on entry into force for both. Import planning cannot be built on their rates in 2026.

Agreements with Egypt and India are under development, and the case for an agreement with Tunisia is being studied. That is a negotiating stage, not law.

How agreement preferences interact with the preference system

An existing preferential agreement with the Union is itself a ground for removing a country from the developing-country list (paragraph 5(c) of the Regulation on the conditions and procedure for applying the unified system of tariff preferences). Agreement preferences and the general preference system therefore do not stack: a country gets one or the other.

Iran and Mongolia nonetheless remain on the developing-country list in the redaction of EEC Council Decision No. 8 of 28 January 2026, even though preferential agreements are in force with both. For any given consignment, then, it is necessary to check which basis produces the lower rate and what origin evidence it requires — a Form A certificate for the preference system, or a certificate in the form prescribed by the relevant agreement.

The practical conclusion for structuring purchases: where the supplier sits in a country with neither an agreement nor beneficiary status — which covers China, Türkiye, India, the EU, the United States, South Korea and Japan — the goods always come in at the full tariff rate, and the burden can only be reduced through tariff exemptions, tariff quotas or a change in the supply model itself.

Customs fees: three types and the full tariff

A customs fee is a compulsory payment levied by the customs authorities for customs operations connected with the release of goods, for customs escort of vehicles, and for other actions prescribed by the Code. The definition is in article 76(1) of Code No. 123-VI.

Article 76(3) of Code No. 123-VI sets a ceiling: customs fees may not exceed the approximate cost to the customs authorities of the actions for which they are charged. That is why the Kazakh fee is a flat amount rather than an ad valorem charge.

Article 77(1) names three types of customs fee: for the customs declaration of goods; for customs escort; and for the issue of an advance ruling.

The full customs fee tariff

The rates were approved by Government Resolution No. 171 of 5 April 2018 and stand in the redaction of Government Resolution No. 631 of 2 August 2023. They are expressed in MCI, the monthly calculation index set by the budget law and in force on 1 January of the relevant financial year; for 2026 the MCI is KZT 4,325.

Type of fee	Rate in MCI	Amount in 2026
Declaration using a goods declaration	6 MCI	KZT 25,950
Declaration using a transit declaration	6 MCI	KZT 25,950
Declaration using an application as a goods declaration	0 MCI	KZT 0
Declaration using a list as a goods declaration	0 MCI	KZT 0
Declaration using a goods declaration for express consignments	0 MCI	KZT 0
Goods moved in international postal items	0 MCI	KZT 0
Issue of an advance ruling	9 MCI	KZT 38,925
Customs escort, up to 50 km	1 MCI	KZT 4,325
Customs escort, 50–100 km	2 MCI	KZT 8,650
Customs escort, 100–200 km	3 MCI	KZT 12,975
Customs escort, 200–400 km	13 MCI	KZT 56,225
Customs escort, 400–600 km	22 MCI	KZT 95,150
Customs escort, 600–800 km	34 MCI	KZT 147,050
Customs escort, 800–1,000 km	35 MCI	KZT 151,375
Customs escort, 1,000–1,500 km	58 MCI	KZT 250,850
Customs escort, 1,500–2,000 km	79 MCI	KZT 341,675
Customs escort, 2,000–2,500 km	93 MCI	KZT 402,225

The declaration fee does not depend on the value of the consignment. Six MCI per declaration is the same amount for a consignment worth two hundred thousand dollars and for one worth five thousand. The economics are plain: splitting one delivery across several declarations is expensive, and consolidating is cheap.

Three zero-rated entries — express consignments, international postal items, and declaration by application or list — make declaration legally free of charge. The declaration format, however, is determined by the nature of the movement, not by the importer’s preference.

When the fees fall due

Article 77(2): the declaration fee is paid before or at the same time as the customs declaration is filed. The rates used are those in force on the day the customs authority registers the declaration.

Article 77(3): the escort fee is paid after the customs authority decides on escort, and not later than the day escort begins, including the day the decision is taken.

Article 77(4): the advance ruling fee is paid not later than the day the application is filed, including the day of filing.

Article 77(7): late or incomplete payment of fees attracts late payment interest on the same basis as customs duties and taxes.

Article 80 of Code No. 123-VI lists the exemptions from fees — among them vehicles engaged in regular international carriage, together with the supplies and fuel needed to operate them; banknotes, coins and securities; and goods imported as humanitarian aid, other than excisable goods.

Import VAT: base, rate and payment deadline

Value added tax on taxable import is charged at 16 per cent — article 503(1) of the Tax Code applies the standard rate expressly to both taxable turnover and taxable import.

Article 503(2) sets a reduced rate on imported medicines and medical devices: 5 per cent from 1 January 2026 and 10 per cent from 1 January 2027. The rate applies to supplies and to imports of medicines (other than goods within article 474(28) and article 479(1)(17)), medical devices, their components, and technical assistive (compensatory) devices. The list is approved by the Government.

Article 503(3) — the 10 per cent rate on domestic periodicals — does not apply to imports, being framed for supplies only. This is a standard error when printed matter is imported.

How the base is built

Article 466(1) of the Tax Code: taxable import comprises the customs value of the imported goods, determined under customs legislation and having regard to transfer pricing legislation, together with the taxes and customs payments and the special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties payable to the budget on import, excluding import VAT itself.

The formula that follows from the provision is:

VAT base = customs value + import duty + excise + special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties + customs fees.

Article 466(2) deals separately with imported processed products: where they are placed under the procedure of release for internal consumption, taxable import is measured as the value of the processing operations carried out outside the customs territory of the EAEU.

A worked example

Item	Amount
Customs value of the consignment	KZT 50,000,000
Import duty rate (assumed)	5%
Import duty	KZT 2,500,000
Customs declaration fee (6 MCI)	KZT 25,950
VAT base	KZT 52,525,950
VAT at 16%	KZT 8,404,152
Total payable before release	KZT 10,930,102
Effective burden on customs value	21.86%

At an average duty rate of around 5 per cent the total import burden is roughly 21.9 per cent of customs value, of which almost 17 percentage points is VAT. Because duty enters the VAT base, every percentage point of duty adds 1.16 percentage points to the burden, not one.

When it is paid

Article 506, first paragraph, item 2 of the Tax Code: VAT on imported goods is paid within the deadlines set by the customs legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Tax Code sets no deadline of its own here.

Article 136(9) of the EAEU Customs Code: for goods placed under the procedure of release for internal consumption, the obligation to pay import duties and taxes must be discharged before the goods are released, unless another deadline is set by the Code.

Article 136(1) of the Customs Code: the obligation arises for the declarant at the moment the customs authority registers the goods declaration.

Article 510(1), second paragraph of the Tax Code: excess input VAT is not set against tax on imported goods, nor against tax on works and services acquired from a non-resident. A company carrying a multi-million VAT credit still pays import VAT in cash.

The VAT tax period is the calendar quarter (article 504); the return is filed no earlier than the 15th of the month following the reporting quarter and no later than the 15th of the second month (article 505(1)); and ordinary VAT is paid by the 25th of the second month (article 506, first paragraph, item 1). None of that calendar touches import VAT, which is paid before release. The general registration rules and the 10,000 MCI threshold are covered separately in VAT in Kazakhstan 2026.

Recovering import VAT: the date of release, not the date of payment

On imports from states that are not EAEU members, value added tax becomes recoverable in the tax period in which the goods are released under customs legislation. That is article 481(2)(1) of the Tax Code, and it is built on a fundamentally different principle from the EAEU rule.

Article 481(2)(2), for imports from the territory of an EAEU member state, puts recovery at the date of payment into the budget but no earlier than the 20th of the month following the tax period for which the tax was calculated.

What the difference means in practice

Situation	Third-country import	EAEU arrival
Recovery date	the date the goods are released	the date of payment, but no earlier than the 20th of the following month
Does early payment accelerate recovery	not applicable — the tax is paid before release	no — the 20th remains the cut-off
Does late payment defer recovery	no release means no goods	yes — recovery moves to the date of actual payment
Cash gap	contained within one quarter	up to six weeks and more

The logic is that a third-country import cannot be released without payment, so the release date and the payment date effectively coincide. On an EAEU arrival there is no customs control, and the legislator tied recovery to payment with a hard cut-off at the 20th so that recovery cannot precede the due date.

Who may recover

Article 480(1) of the Tax Code: the VAT recoverable is the tax borne by a recipient of goods, works or services who is a VAT payer registered in the taxpayer database, where the goods are used or will be used for taxable supplies.

Article 447(1)(2) makes every person importing goods into the Republic of Kazakhstan a VAT payer. No registration is needed for that.

The asymmetry is plain: the obligation to pay falls on every importer, the right to recover only on registered ones.

Article 99(3) of the Tax Code lists expressly those not subject to VAT registration: a state institution; a structural subdivision of a resident legal person; a person in private practice; a taxpayer applying a special tax regime; and an individual.

The practical consequence: an importer on a special tax regime pays import VAT at 16 per cent and can never recover it. For such a company import VAT is not a pass-through but an irrecoverable 16 per cent uplift on the base. That is the strongest argument for moving an importing business to the general taxation regime; how the special regimes themselves work and where their limits lie is covered separately in Kazakhstan’s special tax regimes 2026.

The registration threshold is 10,000 times the MCI in force on 1 January of the relevant financial year (article 99(4)(2)). For 2026 that is KZT 43,250,000. Article 101(3) requires the tax application to be filed within five working days of crossing the threshold; article 101(4) requires it before the supply where a single transaction will cross it.

Voluntary registration is available before the threshold is reached to everyone outside article 99(3) (article 100). For a company planning regular imports, registering voluntarily before the first shipment is the cheapest available solution.

Paying VAT by the offset method under article 508: nine categories and a five-year commitment

The offset method is a mechanism under which VAT on imported goods is entered in the return simultaneously as an assessment and as a recovery — so that no cash actually moves. For third-country imports it is established by article 508 of the Tax Code; for EAEU arrivals there is a separate article 509 with the same list of goods.

Article 508(1) allows the offset method only to VAT payers within article 447(1)(1) — that is, registered payers only — and only for goods placed under the customs procedure of release for internal consumption.

The nine categories of goods

No.	Category of goods
1	equipment
2	agricultural machinery
3	goo­ds-ca­rrying road rolling stock
4	helicopters and aircraft
5	seagoing vessels
6	railway locomotives and wagons
7	spare parts for items 2 to 6
8	breeding animals and artificial insemination equipment
9	live cattle

The specific list of goods and the procedure for compiling it are approved by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Article 508(1) states the selection criterion directly: the list includes goods that are not produced in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and for items 8 and 9 goods that do not meet the country’s requirements.

The three conditions of use

Article 508(2) allows the offset method for goods imported by a registered VAT payer that are: not intended for onward sale or for transfer under an international finance lease; or intended for transfer under a finance lease other than an international one; or — in the case of spare parts — used in the production of agricultural machinery on the list set by the authority responsible for agro-industrial development.

The mandatory holding period

Article 508(3): where the requirements of article 508(2) are breached during the mandatory holding period, VAT on the imported goods becomes payable together with late payment interest running from the deadline set for paying VAT on imported goods.

The mandatory holding period runs from the date the goods are released for internal consumption and is five years for imported goods and 18 months for poultry.

Four circumstances are expressly not breaches, under article 508(3): the forced slaughter of animals within items 8 and 9 and the sale of the resulting meat and meat products, or losses within natural wastage norms; export of the goods under the re-export procedure where its conditions are met; deregistration for VAT after the goods have been released; and disposal or write-off of the goods following an accident, wreck or defect, supported by a document confirming that they cannot be restored.

Article 508(4): the sale of goods on which VAT was paid by the offset method, after the mandatory holding period has expired, is not subject to VAT on imported goods. After five years the obligation closes for good.

Article 508(5): supplies of such goods on transfer under a finance lease are exempt from VAT.

The economics of the offset method: it does not reduce the tax, it removes the cash gap. On equipment worth, say, KZT 300 million the saving is not the tax itself but the cost of money for the interval between payment and recovery — at a base rate of 16.75% and a one-quarter gap, roughly KZT 2 million. The real value lies elsewhere: KZT 48 million need not be pulled out of working capital for the duration of clearance.

The price of that convenience is a five-year encumbrance. Selling the equipment in year four after import restores the tax in full, with interest running from the date the tax should have been paid on import — that is, for all four years.

Excise on imported excisable goods

Excise on excisable goods imported from states that are not EAEU members is paid on the day fixed by customs legislation for the payment of customs charges. That is article 553(1) of the Tax Code: excise, like duty and VAT, is paid before the goods are released.

Article 553(2) creates an exception for marked goods: excise on excisable goods subject to marking under article 175 of the Tax Code is paid before the identification means and control stamps are obtained. That is, before the goods physically arrive, not on declaration.

Article 553(2) adds a truing-up rule: on the import of marked excisable goods the excise is subject to adjustment, and the excise rate in force at the date of import applies. Stamps are bought in advance at the then-current rate, and the final calculation is made at the rate applicable on the date of import.

Excise payment deadlines compared

Category of goods	Excise payment deadline	Provision
Third-country import, unmarked goods	the day customs charges fall due	art. 553(1) Tax Code
Import of any origin, marked goods	before the stamps are obtained, with subsequent adjustment	art. 553(2) Tax Code
EAEU arrival, unmarked goods	by the 20th of the month following the month of taking the goods onto the books	art. 553(3) Tax Code
EAEU arrival, marked goods	under the rules in article 553(2)	art. 553(3) Tax Code
Import by individuals of goods within article 536, first paragraph, item 10	by the 20th of the month following the month of import	art. 553(3) Tax Code

Article 552 of the Tax Code sets the base: for imported excisable goods it is the volume, value and quantity of the goods in physical terms.

The key interaction with VAT: excise forms part of the VAT base under article 466(1). For excisable goods the effective burden compounds along the chain — customs value, then duty, then excise, and only on that total is VAT charged at 16 per cent.

Excise exemptions on import

Article 554(1): excise is not charged on excisable goods imported by individuals within the allowances set by customs legislation.

Article 554(2) exempts, among others: goods needed to operate vehicles engaged in international carriage, while in transit and at intermediate stopping points; goods that, through damage sustained before crossing the EAEU customs border, have become unfit for use as products or materials; goods imported for the official use of foreign diplomatic and equivalent missions, and for the personal use of their diplomatic and administrative-technical staff; and goods moved across the EAEU customs border that are exempt from excise in Kazakhstan.

A practical note: the list of excisable goods and the excise rates sit in a separate chapter of the Tax Code and are outside the scope of this material. Before planning an import of alcohol, tobacco products, petroleum products or vehicles, the excise rate must be checked separately as at the intended date of import.

When no duty or tax arises: EUR 200, eighteen exemptions and personal-use allowances

There are three fundamentally different mechanisms under which no payment obligation arises on import, and they are constantly conflated: the commercial EUR 200 threshold in article 136 of the EAEU Customs Code, the eighteen VAT exemptions in article 479 of the Tax Code, and the duty-free allowances for goods for personal use.

Mechanism one: the commercial EUR 200 threshold

Article 136(2) of the EAEU Customs Code: no obligation to pay import duties and taxes arises for goods placed under the procedure of release for internal consumption that are consigned to one recipient from one consignor under one transport document and whose total customs value does not exceed the equivalent of EUR 200 — at the exchange rate in force on the day the customs authority registers the goods declaration.

For this threshold the customs value excludes the cost of carriage to the place of arrival, the cost of loading, unloading and handling, and insurance in connection with those operations. The threshold is therefore measured on the “clean” value of the goods, not on CIF.

The Commission is entitled to set a different amount, so the figure should be checked as at the date of declaration.

Three conditions must hold together: one recipient, one consignor, one transport document. Splitting a consignment across several waybills within a single delivery does not save the position — the risk of being recharacterised as splitting is obvious, and declaration is required in any case.

Note that the threshold relieves duty and tax, not declaration. The goods are still placed under a customs procedure, and the declaration fee is payable on ordinary terms unless the declaration format falls within the zero-rated entries in the fee tariff.

Mechanism two: the eighteen VAT exemptions

Article 479(1) of the Tax Code contains eighteen sub-paragraphs exempting imports from VAT. The ones that matter most in commercial practice are the following.

Sub-paragraph 3 — goods imported by individuals within the duty-free allowances approved under customs legislation.

Sub-paragraph 5 — goods subject to customs declaration that are placed under a customs procedure providing for relief from taxes. This is the referring provision through which the customs warehouse, temporary admission, processing and free customs zone procedures operate.

Sub-paragraph 7 — investment gold imported by the National Bank, a second-tier bank or a legal person that is a professional participant in the securities market.

Sub-paragraph 11 — goods imported by participants in Astana Hub, subject to three cumulative conditions(inclusion on the list approved by the authority responsible for informatisation; documentation of the import under customs legislation; and import exclusively for priority ICT activities). The exemption runs to 1 January 2029 under article 848(2)(3) of the Tax Code.

Sub-paragraphs 13 and 14 — humanitarian aid and goods imported through states, governments and international organisations for charitable assistance and technical support, in both cases excluding excisable goodsand on production of the documents the provision lists.

Sub-paragraph 15 — goods imported using grant funds provided through states, governments and international organisations.

Sub-paragraph 16 — technological equipment, components and spare parts under an agreement on the processing of solid minerals.

Sub-paragraph 17 — medicines within the guaranteed volume of free medical care and compulsory social health insurance. This is a fundamentally different regime from the reduced 5 per cent rate in article 503(2): within those two schemes the outcome is not a reduced rate but a full exemption.

Article 479(2) adds a separate exemption for a legal person that has concluded a special investment contract, on the import of goods forming part of finished products manufactured in a special economic zone or a free warehouse, subject to three conditions.

Mechanism three: personal-use allowances

The duty-free allowances for goods for personal use are set by EEC Council Decision No. 107 of 20 December 2017 and have nothing to do with commercial imports. The figures currently applicable in Kazakhstan are published by the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance.

Method of import	Value allowance	Weight allowance	Rate on the excess
By air, accompanied and unaccompanied baggage	EUR 10,000	50 kg	30% of value, minimum EUR 4 per kgof excess
By other modes of transport or on foot	EUR 500	25 kg	30% of value, minimum EUR 4 per kgof excess
Sent in international postal items	EUR 200	31 kg	15% of value, minimum EUR 2 per kgof excess
Delivered by a carrier, including courier operators	EUR 200	31 kg	15% of value, minimum EUR 2 per kgof excess

The coincidence of the EUR 200 figure in article 136 of the Customs Code and in the personal-use allowances is a constant source of confusion, but they are different rules. The first applies to a commercial consignment placed under release for internal consumption, is measured per transport document and carries no weight limit. The second applies to goods for personal use, carries a 31 kg weight limit, operates on an “and/or” basis — exceeding either allowance triggers the charge — and cannot be used by a legal person for commercial import.

Attempting to import a commercial consignment as goods for personal use is misdeclaration under article 551 of the Administrative Code, carrying a penalty of 25 per cent of the unpaid payments.

Deferral and instalment payment of import duty: three regimes and the cost of money

Code No. 123-VI provides three distinct regimes for changing the deadline for paying import duty, differing in duration, in whether interest runs, and in the grounds required. The provision is article 92; interest is dealt with in article 93.

The three regimes

Regime	Maximum period	Interest	Basis
General deferral	1 month from the day after release	yes	art. 92(1) — no special grounds needed
Concessionary deferral or instalments	6 months from the day after release	no	art. 92(2) — five grounds
Deferral or instalments for industrial processing	6 months from the day after release	yes	art. 92(3)

The five grounds for interest-free deferral

Article 92(2) of Code No. 123-VI grants deferral or instalments without interest for up to six months where one of the following grounds is present.

First, damage suffered by the payer as a result of a natural disaster, a technological catastrophe or other force majeure.

Second, delay in the payer’s funding from the state budget, or in payment for a state order it has performed.

Third, supplies made under the international treaties of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Fourth, import by organisations of EAEU member states engaged in agricultural activity, or supply to such organisations, of planting or sowing material, plant protection products, agricultural machinery, breeding stock, breeding products and animal feed products. The list of such goods with their commodity codes is determined by the Commission.

Fifth, other grounds determined by the Commission.

Deferral for industrial processing

Article 92(3): deferral or instalments with interest are granted for up to six months on the import of goods for use in industrial processing, including raw materials, materials, technological equipment, components and spare parts.The Code defines industrial processing as the use of goods in production to obtain new goods under different commodity codes.

What it costs

Article 93(2): interest on a deferral or instalment arrangement accrues at 1/360 of the base rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan for each day of use. The base rate applied is the one in force during the periods in which the deferral was actually used.

Article 93(1): interest runs from the day after the goods are released until the day the import duty obligation ends.

The base rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan is 16.75% per annum, under the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee of 24 July 2026.

At a base rate of 16.75%, a one-month deferral of KZT 10 million of duty costs about KZT 140,000 in interest, and a six-month deferral about KZT 838,000. The arithmetic: 10,000,000 × 0.1675 ÷ 360 × 30 = KZT 139,583; over 180 days, KZT 837,500.

Late payment interest

Late payment interest accrues for each day of delay in paying customs charges and taxes, from the day after the payment deadline through to and including the day of payment, at 1.25 times the base rate of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan for each day of delay. It accrues and is payable regardless of any security arrangements for the debt.

The symmetry runs the payer’s way as well: overpaid and over-collected amounts are refunded within five working days of the payer’s application being registered with the customs authority, and if that deadline is missed the customs authority pays interest to the payer — at the same 1.25 times the base rate for each day of delay. The amount accrued is transferred to the payer’s bank account on the day the refund is made.

Payments that are not customs payments: the recycling charge and currency control

Beyond customs charges and taxes, an importer into Kazakhstan faces obligations that formally sit outside customs law but arise on import and can exceed the duty in size. The principal one is extended producer and importer responsibility.

Extended importer responsibility

Article 386(1) of the Environmental Code: natural and legal persons importing into the Republic of Kazakhstan certain types of products (goods) on the list approved by the environmental protection authority must arrange for the collection, transport, preparation for re-use, sorting, treatment, processing, neutralisation and/or disposal of the waste generated once those products lose their consumer properties.

Article 386(2) offers two ways of discharging the obligation: operating one’s own collection and disposal system, or concluding a contract with the operator of extended producer (importer) responsibility, filing an application and paying money into the operator’s bank account as a recycling payment.

Note the terminology: the Environmental Code uses the term “recycling payment”, not “recycling fee”. It is neither a customs fee nor a tax: it goes into the operator’s bank account, not the budget, and it is not administered by the customs authority.

Article 386(3) removes the choice for two categories: the own-system route is unavailable to producers and importers of motor vehicles and self-propelled agricultural machinery. For them the recycling payment is compulsory.

The rates of the recycling payment are set separately and are outside the scope of this material; they should be checked as at the date of import. For vehicles the payment has historically exceeded duty and VAT combined, and planning a vehicle import without calculating it is pointless.

Article 386(4): the requirements for a producer’s or importer’s own system are set by the environmental protection authority.

Currency control over the import contract

An import contract with a non-resident falls within the currency regulation regime, and contracts above the prescribed threshold require a registration number. This is a self-standing set of obligations, unconnected with customs clearance but checked alongside it, and breaches of its deadlines are penalised separately. How registration numbers and deadlines work is set out in currency regulation in Kazakhstan 2026.

Technical regulation and mandatory permits

Article 135(1)(3) of the EAEU Customs Code makes compliance with the prohibitions and restrictions under article 7 of the Code a condition of placing goods under release for internal consumption.

Article 135(1)(4) adds compliance with internal market protection measures imposed otherwise than as special, anti-dumping or countervailing duties.

The practical consequence: paying everything does not guarantee release. A missing certificate or declaration of conformity with an EAEU technical regulation, licence, permit, phytosanitary or veterinary document blocks release regardless of whether duty and VAT have been paid. Applicable prohibitions and restrictions have to be checked when the supplier is chosen, not when the declaration is filed.

Article 202(1)(2) of Code No. 123-VI permits conditional release where compliance with prohibitions and restrictions can be confirmed after release, but article 202(5) prohibits transferring such goods to third parties, including by sale or other alienation — and, where the restrictions were imposed in connection with a safety check, prohibits any use of them at all. The list of goods for which conditional release on this ground is unavailable is set by the Government and may be temporary or permanent.

Timing: from arrival to release and beyond

The EAEU Customs Code sets an extremely short base release period — four hours — while giving the importer four months to prepare for declaration. Knowing which period applies to what determines the real delivery schedule.

The release period

Article 119(1) of the Customs Code: release must be completed by the customs authority within 4 hours of registration of the customs declaration or of one of the circumstances in article 119(2) arising. Where the declaration is registered less than 4 hours before the customs office closes, the period runs from the start of that office’s next working period.

Article 119(3): release must be completed not later than 1 working day following the day of registration where one of the listed circumstances arises within the four-hour window — in particular where the customs authority has requested documents or ordered forms of customs control.

Article 119(2) governs pre-arrival declaration: the release period runs from one of two events — the amendment of declared particulars, provided the customs authority has received notice that the goods have been placed in the customs control zone named in the declaration; or receipt of that notice, provided the authority has been told that no amendment is needed.

Temporary storage and the declaration deadline

Article 172(1) of Code No. 123-VI: the temporary storage period runs from the day after the customs authority registers the documents submitted for placing the goods in temporary storage, and is four months. The Commission may set a shorter period for particular categories of goods.

Article 181(1) of Code No. 123-VI: the customs declaration for imported goods is filed before the temporary storage period expires, or within another period set by the Code.

The deadlines at a glance

Action	Deadline	Provision
Payment of duties and taxes	before the goods are released	art. 136(9) EAEU CC
Payment of the declaration fee	before or at the same time as the declaration is filed	art. 77(2) Code No. 123-VI
Release of goods, base period	4 hours from registration of the declaration	art. 119(1) EAEU CC
Release where complications arise	1 working day following the day of registration	art. 119(3) EAEU CC
Temporary storage	4 months	art. 172(1) Code No. 123-VI
Filing the declaration	before the temporary storage period expires	art. 181(1) Code No. 123-VI
Advance cla­ssifi­cation ruling	10 working days; a repeat ruling 5 working days	art. 46(1) Code No. 123-VI
Duty deferral with interest	up to 1 month after release	art. 92(1) Code No. 123-VI
Deferral without interest	up to 6 months after release	art. 92(2) Code No. 123-VI
Refund of overpaid amounts	5 working days from registration of the application	Code No. 123-VI
Mandatory holding period under the offset method	5 years (poultry 18 months)	art. 508(3) Tax Code
Limitation period, general	3 years	art. 89(2) Code No. 123-VI
Limitation period for WTO rates and restricted reliefs	5 years	art. 89(3) Code No. 123-VI

The practical conclusion: the bottleneck is not release but preparation. Four hours for release means the customs authority moves quickly when the document set is complete and correct. The real delays occur before the declaration is filed: obtaining a certificate of conformity, a permit, proof of origin and, where classification is contentious, an advance ruling that takes up to ten working days.

A second practical conclusion: four months of temporary storage is not headroom, it is cost. Storage is charged daily by the temporary storage warehouse, and it is cheaper to file in the first few days than to use the full period available.

Step by step: importing from a third country

The sequence is fixed by articles 135, 136 and 119 of the EAEU Customs Code together with articles 77, 149, 172 and 181 of Code No. 123-VI: declarant status and VAT registration first, then classification and origin, then permits, and only then the declaration, the payments and release.

Step 1. Check that the company may act as declarant. Article 149(1) of Code No. 123-VI admits as declarant a person of an EAEU member state that is party to the transaction with the foreign person, or on whose behalf or instructions that transaction was concluded, or that has the right to possess, use and dispose of the goods where the movement is not under a transaction with a foreign person. A foreign person may be declarant only in limited cases — notably an organisation with a representative office or branch in a member state, and only for goods for that office’s own needs.

Step 2. Register for VAT before the first shipment if the company is on the general regime. Without registration, import VAT is paid but not recoverable (article 480(1) against article 447(1)(2) of the Tax Code). Voluntary registration under article 100 is available before the 10,000 MCI threshold is reached.

Step 3. Determine the commodity code and the tariff rate as at the expected declaration date. The rate is the one in force on the day the declaration is registered (article 53(1) of the Customs Code), and the tariff changes on average more than twenty times a year.

Step 4. Where classification is contentious, obtain an advance ruling. Ten working days, or five for goods already ruled on; the fee is 9 MCI, or KZT 38,925. That is cheaper than a penalty of 25 per cent of the unpaid payments under article 551 of the Administrative Code.

Step 5. Check the country of origin and the availability of a preference. Developing countries give 75 per cent of the rate and least developed countries zero, but only where three conditions hold together: the country is on the list, the goods are on the list of preferential goods, and the rules of origin are satisfied.

Step 6. Check whether a free trade agreement is in force. Agreements with Vietnam, Serbia, Iran and Mongolia are in force. The China agreement confers no preferences; the agreements with the UAE, Indonesia and Singapore are not in force.

Step 7. For goods on the exemption list, decide the rate — WTO or Common Customs Tariff — before filing. The WTO rate is cheaper but makes the goods conditionally released, locks them inside Kazakhstan (article 202(6) of Code No. 123-VI) and extends the limitation period to five years (article 89(3)).

Step 8. Check prohibitions and restrictions. Compliance with technical regulation, licensing, sanitary and veterinary requirements is an independent condition of placing goods under the procedure, under article 135(1)(3) and (4) of the Customs Code. Paying the charges is no substitute.

Step 9. Build the customs value. Method 1 under article 39 of the Customs Code where the four conditions are met, with the mandatory additions in article 40: intermediary and broker commissions, containers and packing, buyer-supplied materials and design work, any share of resale proceeds, and carriage, handling and insurance to the place of arrival. State inland freight beyond the place of arrival separately in the contract and the invoice, or it will enter the base.

Step 10. Put the import contract on a currency-regulation footing and obtain a registration number where the contract exceeds the prescribed threshold.

Step 11. Place the goods in temporary storage. Four months from the day after the documents are registered (article 172(1) of Code No. 123-VI); storage is charged for, so the declaration should be filed as early as possible.

Step 12. Calculate the full payment. The VAT base under article 466(1) of the Tax Code: customs value plus duty, excise, special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties and customs fees. The VAT rate is 16 per cent, or 5 per cent in 2026 for medicines and medical devices on the Government’s list.

Step 13. Test whether the offset method under article 508 of the Tax Code applies. Where the goods fall within one of the nine categories, appear on the Government’s list, are not intended for resale, and the company is a registered VAT payer, the tax is entered simultaneously as an assessment and a recovery. Keep the five-year mandatory holding period in mind.

Step 14. Pay the declaration fee before or at the same time as the declaration — 6 MCI, or KZT 25,950.

Step 15. Pay duty, excise and VAT before the goods are released. The obligation arises on registration of the declaration (article 136(1) of the Customs Code) and must be discharged before release (article 136(9)). Accumulated excess input VAT cannot be used for this (article 510(1), second paragraph, of the Tax Code).

Step 16. Where working capital is short, apply for a deferral. One month with interest at 1/360 of the base rate per day and no special grounds, or six months interest-free where one of the five grounds in article 92 of Code No. 123-VI is present.

Step 17. Obtain release. Four hours from registration of the declaration as the base period, or not later than the first working day following registration where documents are requested or forms of control are ordered.

Step 18. Recover the VAT in the tax period in which the release date falls (article 481(2)(1) of the Tax Code), and report it in the VAT return for that quarter.

Step 19. Keep the documents and separate records for the limitation period. Three years as a rule; five years where WTO rates or reliefs coupled with use restrictions were applied, or where the company falls within the categories in article 89(2) of Code No. 123-VI.

Step 20. Discharge extended importer responsibility where the goods are on the environmental authority’s list — make the recycling payment to the operator or, except for motor vehicles and self-propelled agricultural machinery, operate an own disposal system.

The wider tax context for an importing company — rates, reporting and how the regimes interact — is set out separately in Kazakhstan’s tax system 2026.

Common mistakes and what they cost

The eight mistakes below either follow directly from the text of instruments in force or constitute an administrative offence. Each carries a measurable price — from an extra KZT 25,950 in fees to 50 per cent of the unpaid charges.

Mistake 1. Importing while staying on a special tax regime

Article 447(1)(2) of the Tax Code makes every person importing goods a VAT payer; article 480(1) confines recovery to payers registered in the taxpayer database; and article 99(3)(4) excludes a taxpayer on a special tax regime from those subject to registration.

What it costs: 16 per cent of the taxable import base, irrecoverably. On a consignment with a customs value of KZT 50 million and a 5 per cent duty rate that is more than KZT 8.4 million, which for a special-regime company becomes part of cost of goods. The fix is to move to the general regime and register voluntarily under article 100 before the first shipment.

Mistake 2. Checking the tariff rate when the contract is signed rather than before filing

Article 53(1) of the Customs Code: duties are calculated at the rates in force on the day the customs authority registers the customs declaration. As at September 2026 the Common Customs Tariff stands in a redaction produced by 105 amending decisions — an average of more than twenty changes a year.

What it costs: the gap between the modelled rate and the actual one, multiplied by customs value. A move from 5 to 10 per cent on a consignment worth KZT 50 million adds KZT 2.5 million of duty plus KZT 400,000 of VAT on that duty.

Mistake 3. Counting on preferences under the EAEU–China agreement

The China agreement of 17 May 2018, in force from 25 October 2019, is an agreement on trade and economic cooperation, not a free trade agreement, and it reduces no rate of the Common Customs Tariff. China is also absent from the list of developing beneficiary countries in the redaction of EEC Council Decision No. 8 of 28 January 2026.

What it costs: the whole preference built into the model. Where a 75 per cent rate was expected and the full rate applies, the additional burden is 25 per cent of the duty plus VAT on that difference. Where origin has been misstated, a penalty of 25 per cent of the unpaid charges under article 551(1) of the Administrative Code is added.

Mistake 4. Importing at a WTO rate and shipping the goods on to Russia or Kyrgyzstan

Article 202(1)(3) of Code No. 123-VI classes goods imported at rates below the Common Customs Tariff as conditionally released; article 202(6) permits their use only within the territory of the member state whose customs authority released them.

What it costs: assessment of the difference between the WTO and tariff rates, VAT on that difference, late payment interest at 1.25 times the base rate for each day of delay, and a penalty under article 551 of the Administrative Code. Control is automated through the e-invoice system, which records which rate was applied, so detection is near-inevitable. A carrier is also entitled to refuse carriage of a consignment lacking the required documents.

Mistake 5. Failing to state inland freight beyond the place of arrival separately

Article 40(1)(4) and (5) of the Customs Code adds to the price the cost of carriage, loading, unloading and handling only as far as the place of arrival of the goods in the customs territory of the Union. Costs beyond that point are outside customs value — but only where they are separately documented.

What it costs: undisclosed delivery from the border to a warehouse in Almaty or Astana bears both duty and VAT. On an inland leg worth KZT 3 million at a 5 per cent duty rate the overpayment is KZT 150,000 of duty and about KZT 504,000 of VAT.

Mistake 6. Splitting one delivery across several declarations

The declaration fee for a goods declaration is 6 MCI regardless of the value or quantity of the goods — KZT 25,950 in 2026 for every declaration.

What it costs: every additional declaration costs KZT 25,950 in fees plus staff time. Separately: splitting a consignment to fall under the EUR 200 threshold in article 136(2) of the Customs Code does not work — the threshold requires one recipient, one consignor and one transport document together, and artificial division is misdeclaration.

Mistake 7. Planning to settle import VAT out of accumulated excess input tax

Article 510(1), second paragraph, of the Tax Code: excess input VAT is not set against tax on imported goods, nor against tax on works and services acquired from a non-resident.

What it costs: a cash gap equal to the whole import VAT bill at the moment the company expected to pay nothing. An exporter carrying a permanent VAT credit must still find cash for import VAT before release — otherwise there is no release, and the goods sit in chargeable temporary storage.

Mistake 8. Selling equipment imported under the offset method before five years are up

Article 508(3) of the Tax Code: where the requirements of article 508(2) are breached during the mandatory holding period, VAT on the imported goods becomes payable with interest running from the deadline set for paying VAT on imported goods. The holding period is five years from release for internal consumption, and 18 months for poultry.

What it costs: the full VAT plus interest for the whole period since import. On equipment worth KZT 300 million that is KZT 48 million of tax plus interest at 1.25 times the base rate per day — over four years the interest is a multiple of the tax itself. Four circumstances are not breaches: forced slaughter of animals, re-export, deregistration for VAT after release, and disposal following an accident where a supporting document exists.

How post-clearance control works and what appeal routes exist is covered separately in desk control, tax audits and appeals in Kazakhstan.

Who direct importing suits, who it does not, and when professional review is required

Direct importing from a third country makes economic sense where the company is registered for VAT, imports regularly, and can maintain documentary discipline for the whole limitation period. If any one of those three fails, buying from a Kazakh importer is cheaper even after the importer’s margin.

Who direct importing suits

Profile	Why it works	Key condition
Manufacturer on the general tax regime	import VAT is fully recoverable on the release date	VAT registration before the first shipment
Importer of equipment on the Government’s list	the article 508 offset method is available — the tax does not tie up working capital	the five-year holding period
Distributor with turnover above the 10,000 MCI threshold	VAT registration is mandatory in any event and recovery works	watching the filing deadlines
Company selling only inside Kazakhstan	WTO rates on the exemption list deliver a real saving	separate records of those consignments for five years
Importer from Vietnam, Serbia, Iran or Mongolia	free trade agreements in force confer preferences	a correct certificate of origin
Importer from developing and least developed countries	75 per cent of the rate, or zero	country and goods on the lists, Form A certificate

Who direct importing does not suit

Profile	Why it does not work	Provision
Company on a special tax regime	import VAT is paid but never recoverable	arts. 447(1)(2) and 480(1) Tax Code
Company without working capital at the moment of release	duties and taxes are paid before release and excess input VAT cannot be used	art. 136(9) EAEU CC, art. 510(1) Tax Code
One-off import of a small consignment	the 6 MCI fee, plus the time for permits and clearance	Government Resolution No. 171
Distributor serving the whole EAEU market, for goods on the exemption list	the WTO rate locks the goods inside Kazakhstan	art. 202(6) Code No. 123-VI
Company unable to keep records for five years	the extended limitation period for WTO rates and restricted reliefs	art. 89(3) Code No. 123-VI
Vehicle importer that has not costed the recycling payment	the payment is compulsory and the own-system route is closed	art. 386(3) Environmental Code

When professional review is required

Five situations need to be worked out before the contract is signed, not before the declaration is filed.

First, contentious tariff classification. The gap between adjacent codes can be tens of percentage points of duty, and liability under article 551(1) of the Administrative Code is 25 per cent of the unpaid charges, rising to 50 per cent on repetition within a year. An advance ruling under article 46 of Code No. 123-VI costs 9 MCI and removes the risk.

Second, importing from a related non-resident. Article 39(4) of the Customs Code requires analysis of the circumstances surrounding the sale, and article 466(1) of the Tax Code layers a transfer pricing test on top. These are two independent controls with different methodologies and different limitation periods.

Third, choosing between the WTO rate and the tariff rate for goods on the exemption list. The decision is taken once, at declaration, and determines the geography of sales for as long as the goods are held — while also extending the limitation period from three years to five.

Fourth, structuring a delivery with freight split out. Correctly separating costs beyond the place of arrival under article 40(1) of the Customs Code reduces the base for both duty and VAT, but it requires the contract terms, the invoice and the transport documents to agree with one another. Documents that disagree produce the opposite result.

Fifth, planning around the article 508 offset method. A five-year encumbrance is incompatible with plans to sell or reorganise, and the list of goods is approved by the Government and may change. Applicability must be checked as at the intended date of import, not by reference to past shipments.

For a comparison with another jurisdiction, the mechanics of import, customs clearance and import VAT in the UAE are set out separately in UAE import, customs and import VAT 2026.

If you are planning a structure for regular imports into Kazakhstan and want to size the tax and customs burden in advance, UPPERSETUP assists with company incorporation and ongoing support in Kazakhstan.

Frequently asked questions

What VAT is payable on importing goods into Kazakhstan from China?

16 per cent of the taxable import base, under article 503(1) of the Tax Code. The base under article 466(1) comprises the customs value, the import duty, excise, special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties and customs fees. There is no origin-based preference for China: the EAEU agreement with China of 17 May 2018 in force is an agreement on trade and economic cooperation, it grants no tariff benefit, and China is absent from the list of developing beneficiary countries under the unified system of tariff preferences.

When must duty and VAT be paid on a third-country import?

Before the goods are released under the procedure of release for internal consumption — article 136(9) of the EAEU Customs Code. The obligation arises for the declarant at the moment the customs authority registers the goods declaration (article 136(1)). Article 506, first paragraph, item 2 of the Tax Code refers the import VAT deadline expressly to customs legislation, so the quarterly VAT calendar does not apply here.

How much does customs clearance in Kazakhstan cost?

The customs fee for a declaration using a goods declaration is 6 MCI, or KZT 25,950 in 2026, whatever the consignment is worth. The fee for an advance ruling is 9 MCI, or KZT 38,925. The customs escort fee depends on distance, from 1 MCI up to 50 km to 93 MCI for 2,000 to 2,500 km. The rates were approved by Government Resolution No. 171 of 5 April 2018 in the redaction of Resolution No. 631 of 2 August 2023.

What is the average import duty rate in Kazakhstan?

The simple average applied rate in 2025 was 5.5 per cent: 8.6 per cent on agricultural goods and 5.0 per cent on non-agricultural goods. The trade-weighted average was 5.2 per cent, and the simple average bound rate 6.4 per cent. The figures come from World Tariff Profiles 2026, published jointly by the WTO, ITC and UNCTAD.

Can import VAT be recovered by a company on a simplified regime?

No. Article 447(1)(2) of the Tax Code makes every person importing goods a VAT payer, so the tax must be paid. But article 480(1) confines recovery to payers registered in the taxpayer database, and article 99(3)(4) excludes a taxpayer on a special tax regime from those subject to registration. For such a company import VAT is an irrecoverable 16 per cent.

When does import VAT become recoverable?

On imports from states that are not EAEU members, in the tax period in which the date of release under customs legislation falls (article 481(2)(1) of the Tax Code). On EAEU arrivals the rule differs: the date of payment into the budget, but no earlier than the 20th of the month following the tax period for which the tax was calculated (article 481(2)(2)).

What does the EUR 200 threshold mean on import?

Article 136(2) of the EAEU Customs Code relieves from import duties and taxes goods placed under release for internal consumption where they are consigned to one recipient from one consignor under one transport document and their total customs value does not exceed the equivalent of EUR 200 at the rate on the day the declaration is registered. Carriage, loading, unloading and insurance to the place of arrival are excluded from that value. The threshold relieves the charges but not the declaration, and it is unrelated to the personal-use allowances, where the same EUR 200 figure operates under different rules and with a 31 kg weight limit.

Which EAEU free trade agreements are in force in 2026?

Preferential agreements are in force with Vietnam (from 5 October 2016), Serbia (from 10 July 2021), Iran (the full agreement of 25 December 2023, in force from 15 May 2025, replacing the 2018 interim agreement) and Mongolia (from 22 July 2026). The China agreement has been in force since 25 October 2019 but confers no tariff preferences. The agreements with the UAE, Indonesia and Singapore have been signed but are not in force.

Why can goods imported at a WTO rate not be shipped to Russia?

Because article 202(1)(3) of Code No. 123-VI classes them as conditionally released goods, and article 202(6) permits such goods to be used only within the territory of the member state whose customs authority released them. The legal foundation of the regime is the Protocol on certain questions of the import and circulation of goods in the customs territory of the EAEU of 16 October 2015. Control is automated through the electronic invoices system, which records which rate was applied — WTO or Common Customs Tariff.

What is the penalty for misdeclaration in Kazakhstan?

Article 551(1) of the Administrative Code: a fine of 25 per cent of the unpaid customs charges, taxes and special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties. Article 551(2): 50 per cent on repetition within a year of an administrative penalty being imposed. Separately, article 555 penalises late payment with a fine of 30 to 50 MCI depending on the category of business, and article 538 penalises failure to file a declaration on time with a fine of 20 MCI.

How long does customs release take?

Four hours from registration of the customs declaration, under article 119(1) of the EAEU Customs Code. If within that time the customs authority requests documents or orders forms of customs control, release must be completed not later than the first working day following the day of registration (article 119(3)). The temporary storage period before the declaration is filed is four months, under article 172(1) of Code No. 123-VI.

How long must import documents be kept?

Three years as a general rule under article 89(2) of Code No. 123-VI. Five years for payers subject to tax monitoring, subsoil users in the fuel and energy sector and authorised economic operators. Five years also applies irrespective of category to goods released for internal consumption under reliefs coupled with use restrictions, and to goods imported at rates below the Common Customs Tariff under WTO commitments (article 89(3)).

Key takeaways

A third-country import and an EAEU arrival are different legal regimes, not variants of one. The administering authority, the document, the payment deadline, the recovery date and the set of payments all differ. Getting the route wrong makes the whole calculation wrong.

Every charge is paid before the goods are released. Article 136(9) of the EAEU Customs Code does not allow release before the payment obligation is discharged, and article 510(1), second paragraph, of the Tax Code forbids settling import VAT out of accumulated excess input tax. The full amount of working capital is needed.

The duty rate is the one in force on the day the declaration is registered, and the tariff changes more than twenty times a year. The Common Customs Tariff was approved by EEC Council Decision No. 80 of 14 September 2021 and stands in a redaction produced by 105 amending decisions. The rate should be checked immediately before filing.

Duty is rarely the main payment in Kazakhstan: the average applied rate is 5.5 per cent while VAT is 16 per cent.Duty nevertheless enters the VAT base, so every percentage point of duty adds 1.16 percentage points to the burden.

Every importer is a payer of import VAT, but only a registered payer may recover it. For a company on a special tax regime import VAT is an irrecoverable 16 per cent uplift on cost.

On a third-country import, VAT becomes recoverable on the date of release, not the date of payment. That is the rule in article 481(2)(1) of the Tax Code, and it is the opposite of the EAEU rule.

Tariff preferences reach 79 countries, and China, Türkiye, India and the EU are not among them. Developing countries pay 75 per cent of the tariff rate and least developed countries zero; three conditions apply and must be met together.

The EAEU’s agreement with China confers no tariff preferences at all. The preferential agreements in force are with Vietnam, Serbia, Iran and Mongolia only; those with the UAE, Indonesia and Singapore are not in force.

The WTO rate is not a free saving. The goods become conditionally released, may be used only inside Kazakhstan, and extend the limitation period from three years to five.

The article 508 offset method removes the cash gap, not the tax, and costs five years of encumbrance. Breaching the mandatory holding period restores the tax in full with interest running for the whole period since import.

The EUR 200 threshold in article 136 of the Customs Code and the EUR 200 personal-use allowance are different rules that happen to share a figure. The first relieves a commercial consignment of charges but not of declaration; the second applies to goods for personal use and carries a weight limit.

The misdeclaration penalty is calculated not in MCI but as a percentage of what was left unpaid: 25 per cent, rising to 50 per cent on repetition within a year. That makes a 9 MCI advance classification ruling one of the best-value investments in customs planning.

Paying everything does not guarantee release. Compliance with prohibitions and restrictions is an independent condition of placing goods under the procedure, under article 135(1)(3) and (4) of the EAEU Customs Code.

Summary 

Importing goods into Kazakhstan from countries outside the EAEU is handled under the customs procedure of release for internal consumption in articles 134 to 136 of the EAEU Customs Code, in force since 1 January 2018. The importer pays import duty at the rate of the EAEU Common Customs Tariff in force on the day the declaration is registered, a customs declaration fee of 6 MCI (KZT 25,950 in 2026), excise on excisable goods, and import VAT at 16 per cent. All charges are paid before the goods are released. The VAT base under article 466(1) of Tax Code No. 214-VIII comprises the customs value, duty, excise, special, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and customs fees. A reduced VAT rate of 5 per cent in 2026 and 10 per cent from 2027 applies to imports of medicines and medical devices on the Government’s list. Kazakhstan’s simple average applied duty rate in 2025 was 5.5 per cent, per World Tariff Profiles 2026. Goods from developing beneficiary countries bear 75 per cent of the tariff rate and goods from least developed countries a zero rate, across 79 beneficiary countries in total. EAEU preferential agreements are in force with Vietnam, Serbia, Iran and Mongolia; the agreement with China grants no tariff preferences. No duty or tax obligation arises where a consignment’s customs value under one transport document does not exceed EUR 200. Import VAT becomes recoverable on the date of release, but only for a registered VAT payer. The penalty for misdeclaration is 25 per cent of the unpaid charges, rising to 50 per cent on repetition within a year.

Sources

Every link below points to an official legislative text or a regulator’s publication. The legal position was verified as at September 2026: the Tax Code in the redaction as amended from 01.07.2026, the Code on Customs Regulation as amended to 12.07.2026, and the Common Customs Tariff in the redaction of the EEC decisions of 11.08.2026.

1.        Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (Astana, 29 May 2014) — articles 26, 36, 42, 43, 44 and Annexes No. 5 and No. 6

2.        Treaty on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union of 11 April 2017 — document record showing the date of entry into force

3.        Eurasian Economic Commission. The EAEU Customs Code and the protocols amending it

4.        Protocol amending the Treaty on the EAEU Customs Code as regards the regulation of external electronic commerce, 25 December 2023

5.        The EAEU commodity nomenclature and Common Customs Tariff approved by EEC Council Decision No. 80 of 14.09.2021, with the full list of amending decisions

6.        Eurasian Economic Commission. Tariff exemptions and the unified system of tariff preferences — Customs Union Commission Decisions No. 130 and No. 728

7.        Eurasian Economic Commission. Tariff preferences for developing and least developed countries — the legal framework

8.        Lists of developing and least developed beneficiary countries of the EAEU unified system of tariff preferences, in the redaction of EEC Council Decision No. 8 of 28.01.2026

9.        Regulation on the conditions and procedure for applying the EAEU unified system of tariff preferences, approved by EEC Council Decision No. 47 of 06.04.2016

10.    Article 36 of the EAEU Treaty on tariff preferences — official EEC extract

11.    Eurasian Economic Commission. EAEU trade agreements and their status

12.    Eurasian Economic Commission. Crediting and distribution of import customs duties — the ratios under paragraph 12 of Annex No. 5

13.    Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Customs Regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan of 26 December 2017 No. 123-VI

14.    Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 18 July 2025 No. 214-VIII

15.    Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Administrative Offences of 5 July 2014 No. 235-V

16.    Environmental Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan of 2 January 2021 No. 400-VI — article 386

17.    Government Resolution No. 171 of 5 April 2018 approving the rates of customs fees levied by the State Revenue bodies

18.    Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the Republican Budget for 2026–2028 — article 7

19.    State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance. WTO: the conditions for the circulation of goods under the WTO and the EAEU, and the exemption list

20.    State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance. Duty-free allowances for individuals crossing the EAEU customs border

21.    State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance. Duty-free allowances for international postal items and carrier-delivered goods

22.    World Trade Organization. Kazakhstan — Member information

23.    WTO, ITC, UNCTAD. World Tariff Profiles 2026 — Kazakhstan tariff profile

24.    National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Reduction of the base rate to 16.75%, decision of 24 July 2026

Disclaimer

This material is provided for information only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, investment or consulting advice. Before acting on it, obtain individual professional advice that takes into account your particular circumstances, jurisdiction, corporate status and the regulators’ current requirements.

Publication date: September 2026.