Online Cash Registers in Kazakhstan in 2026: Who Must Use a KKM, What a Receipt Must Contain from 19 September, and What Is Left of the TIS Benefits

A cash register (KKM, контрольно-кассовая машина) is mandatory in Kazakhstan for every monetary settlement for goods, works and services (денежные расчёты — the Tax Code term covering cash, card and mobile payments) by every taxpayer except the eight categories listed in Article 110(2) of Tax Code No. 214-VIII, which has been in force since 1 January 2026. The same date brought new Rules for the Application of Cash Registers (Ministry of Finance Order No. 626 of 24 October 2025) and new Requirements for the three-component integrated system (TIS) (Ministry of Finance Order No. 606 of 15 October 2025), and 19 September 2026 brings the amendments of Order No. 595 of 1 September 2026: a medical provider’s receipt must show the IIN of the recipient of the medical services (the patient), cash-register registration records are kept in the “ISNA” digital system, and the fiscal data operator must store receipt data for the tax limitation period. The change that matters most to business in 2026 is economic: the TIS-linked uplifts to the VAT registration threshold and to the simplified-declaration income limit have been abolished, the VAT threshold is 10,000 MCI (KZT 43,250,000), and the simplified-declaration limit is 600,000 MCI for everyone, TIS or no TIS.

Important. A first offence under Article 284 of the Code of Administrative Offences — trading without a cash register, failing to issue a receipt, issuing a receipt without mandatory details — carries only a warning, but a repeat offence within a year of the penalty costs a small business 15–20 MCI (KZT 64,875–86,500), a medium business 30 MCI (KZT 129,750) and a large business 40–50 MCI (KZT 173,000–216,250). Not having POS equipment and refusing payment cards in the 18 activities on the Government’s list are penalised separately (Article 195: repeat 40, 60 and 80 MCI; Article 194: repeat 40, 60 and 100 MCI). And any customer who attaches a video of a receipt not being issued, or a bank slip for a mobile transfer, receives a KZT 1,000 reward for a confirmed report (Article 56(16) of the Tax Code; Government Resolution No. 716 of 12 August 2026).

The Legal Framework: Which Acts on Cash Registers, Receipts and TIS Apply in September 2026

The legal framework for cash registers in Kazakhstan in 2026 has four layers: Tax Code No. 214-VIII, which sets the obligation, the exemptions and the definitions; the Ministry of Finance orders that govern the procedure for using a KKM, the content of a receipt, the requirements for fiscal data operators and for TIS; the Law on Payments and Payment Systems together with the Government’s list, which oblige businesses to accept non-cash payments; and the Code of Administrative Offences, which sets the sanctions. Every act on the subject issued in 2017–2019 was repealed with effect from 1 January 2026 and cannot be cited as current law.

The chain of acts on cash registers runs: Order No. 208 of 16 February 2018 (repealed) → Order No. 626 of 24 October 2025 → the Order No. 595 wording from 19 September 2026. The TIS chain is shorter: Order No. 953 of 2 September 2019, with its 2020 amendments, was repealed from 1 January 2026 by Ministry of Finance Order No. 586 of 9 October 2025, leaving Order No. 606 as the only act in force. On the date of writing, the consolidated text of Order No. 626 on the Adilet legal portal still shows a single version; the Order No. 595 amendments are reproduced here from the annotation in the Paragraph legal database and the zakon.kz review, so until Adilet publishes the consolidated wording, the citation is Order No. 595 itself.

It is also worth recording that the old Tax Code No. 120-VI of 25 December 2017 lost force on 1 January 2026 (apart from transitional provisions), taking with it Article 82(4) and Article 683(2)(2), which granted the TIS uplifts to the thresholds. Any material that still promises, in 2026, to “raise the VAT threshold by 124,184 MCI with a TIS” describes a right that no longer exists.

What a KKM, a KKM Receipt and a TIS Are: the Article 19 Definitions

A cash register under Article 19(3) of the Tax Code is an electronic device with a fiscal memory block and a hardware-software complex without a data-transfer function, or an electronic device and a hardware-software complex with a function of recording and/or transmitting data, which register and display information on monetary settlements. Two classes of cash register follow from that definition: the KKM with a data recording and/or transmission function (an “online cash register”) and the KKM without a data-transfer function, which is permitted only where there is no public telecommunications network (Article 110(3)).

Monetary settlements under Article 19(1) are settlements for goods, works or services made in cash and/or with payment cards and/or by mobile payments. That definition answers the main practical question of 2026: a card payment through a POS terminal and a QR payment through a bank’s mobile app are monetary settlements in exactly the same way as banknotes, and both require a KKM receipt. The only ways to take money from a customer without a KKM are a settlement that falls outside the definition altogether (a bank transfer to the company’s current account against an invoice, for instance) or one of the Article 110 exemptions.

A KKM receipt under Article 19(5) is the primary accounting document of the cash register confirming a monetary settlement between seller and buyer, issued on paper or electronically. A sales slip (товарный чек, Article 19(8)) is a primary document used only when the KKM is technically faulty or the power is out; a sales-slip book (Article 19(9)) is a set of such slips. The fiscal attribute (Article 19(11)) is the distinctive symbol on a receipt confirming that the cash register works in fiscal mode; for an online cash register it is generated by the fiscal data operator’s server using a hash function (para 80 of the KKM Rules).

A fiscal data operator (OFD) under Article 19(14) is a legal entity on the OFD list that transmits settlement data to the tax authorities in real time over public telecommunications networks. Without an OFD contract an online cash register cannot be registered: under Article 111(3)(1) the registration of a KKM with a data-transfer function is itself performed on the basis of the OFD’s data.

A three-component integrated system under Article 19(10) is an integrated system consisting of a KKM with a data recording and transmission function, a system (device) for accepting non-cash payments, and equipment fitted with a system for automating the management of trade, services, works and stock accounting — or a hardware-software complex that replaces all three components. The definition repeats Article 1(1)(72-1) of the old Code word for word, but the new Code uses it in only four places: the definition itself, Article 111(6) (the Ministry of Finance, in agreement with the informatisation authority and the National Bank, sets the TIS requirements and installation procedure), and two thematic-audit grounds in Article 156 — compliance with the procedure for applying a KKM and/or TIS, and the presence of a KKM and/or TIS.

Who Must Use a KKM in 2026 and Who Is Exempt under Article 110

The obligation to use a KKM under Article 110(1) of the Tax Code covers every monetary settlement in Kazakhstan: they “are made with the mandatory use of a cash register with a data recording and/or transmission function, the models of which are included in the register of cash registers”, unless Article 110 itself provides otherwise. The rule draws no distinction by legal form, tax regime or turnover: an LLP on the general regime, a sole trader on the simplified declaration and a branch of a foreign company all follow the same rule.

Eight categories are exempt from the KKM under Article 110(2), and the list is exhaustive. They are: individuals (non-entrepreneurs); private enforcement agents, advocates and professional mediators; persons, in respect of passenger carriage on urban public transport where tickets are issued in the form approved by the transport authority; the National Bank; second-tier banks; religious associations; the National Postal Operator, except for settlements in places without a public telecommunications network; and persons settling through the special mobile application. Private notaries are absent from the exemption list — they are expressly named among the persons liable under Article 284 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

Two further provisions of Article 110 do not exempt but change the type of register or add an obligation. Under Article 110(3), a taxpayer whose activity is in a place without a public telecommunications network uses a KKM without data transfer — with a fiscal memory block, a tax-authority seal, a cash-accounting book for the register (книга учёта наличных денег) and a sales-slip book. Under Article 110(4), vending machines and payment terminals that accept cash must be fitted with a KKM with a data recording and/or transmission function: a vending operator whose machines are not fiscalised breaches Article 110 just as a shop without a register does.

The exemption for a person using the special mobile application needs careful reading. Under Article 717(2), the application receipt is the document confirming settlements between a buyer and a taxpayer applying the special tax regime for the self-employed or the simplified-declaration regime. For the self-employed (individuals without employees earning up to 300 MCI a month, i.e. up to KZT 1,297,500 in 2026, under Article 718) the application is compulsory and its receipt fully replaces the KKM receipt. For a sole trader on the simplified declaration, the literal text of Article 110(2)(8) and Article 717(2) also permits an application receipt, but the Rules for using the application (Order No. 647) describe the receipt as an income-accounting tool rather than a substitute for a register in retail, and no official State Revenue Committee clarification of normative force on the point had been identified as of September 2026. A business planning to use application receipts instead of a KKM on the simplified declaration should obtain a written clarification from the tax authority under Article 36(1)(2) of the Code before it starts trading; UPPERSETUP’s legal team can prepare the request and assess the risk.

The KKM obligation does not depend on the tax regime — but the choice of regime depends on turnover, and the 2026 simplified-declaration limit is 600,000 MCI with no uplifts of any kind. How the three special regimes work after the reform is set out in Kazakhstan’s Special Tax Regimes 2026: Three Regimes Instead of Six, the Simplified Declaration, the Self-Employed Regime and the End of Retail Tax.

How an Online Cash Register Works: the OFD, the Fiscal Attribute, 15 Minutes and 72 Hours Offline

An online cash register in Kazakhstan works along the chain “KKM → fiscal data operator → authorised body” (para 85 of the KKM Rules): the register sends data on every settlement to the OFD’s server, the server assigns a fiscal attribute to the receipt and returns it for printing, and then passes the data to the State Revenue Committee’s digital system. The model of register must be in the State Register of KKM, and the register itself must be registered with the tax authority at the place of use before settlements begin (Article 111(1)(1) and (3)). The scale of the system is visible in Committee figures reported by the uchet.kz portal in January 2026: 1,182.3 thousand registers are in use in the country, 96% of them (1,139.1 thousand) online registers.

The OFD must transmit settlement data to the state revenue authorities daily, in real time, no later than 15 minutes after receipt (para 73(3) of the Rules). The register is identified on the OFD server by a token for each message; the token is built from the register’s registration number with the tax authority and the registration number assigned by the OFD (para 78). In return the register receives an acknowledgement, the generated fiscal attribute for each receipt and a refreshed token (para 79). The fiscal attribute or the offline code of a receipt is verified on the OFD portal (para 82) — the mechanism that lets a customer or an inspector confirm the authenticity of a receipt from its QR code.

When the connection to the OFD server is lost, the register switches to offline mode, which may not last longer than 72 hours (para 81 of the Rules). Once the connection is restored, the OFD server receives a message from the register on the length of its offline operation, accepts every accumulated receipt and Z-report mark in sequence and answers each with a valid fiscal attribute. Offline mode is a deferral of fiscalisation, not an exemption from it: a receipt issued offline carries an offline code and acquires its fiscal attribute after synchronisation.

The OFD server stores the taxpayer’s and the register’s registration data, the information on each settlement, the current token value and the fiscal attribute of each settlement for the tax limitation period (para 83 of the Rules as amended by Order No. 595). Under Article 65 of the Tax Code the limitation period is three years for most taxpayers and five years for large businesses, subsoil users, persons with controlled-foreign-company obligations and VAT payers using the offset method on imports; para 79 of the Rules separately requires processed settlement data to be kept in the OFD’s storage for five years.

The list of fiscal data operators is maintained by the State Revenue Committee: inclusion and exclusion follow the Rules in Annex 2 to Order No. 626, the application is accompanied by documents proving ownership or a right of use (for at least three years) of the hardware-software complex and of real estate in Kazakhstan, an information-security test report and an ST RK ISO/IEC 27001-2023 certificate (para 3 of Annex 2); the inclusion decision is taken within 30 working days, and the list is published on the Committee’s website within three working days of the decision (paras 5–6 of Annex 2). The qualification requirements (Annex 3) include a telecommunications licence or a contract with a licensee, Kazakhstan residency, an owned or leased hardware-software complex and real estate in Kazakhstan, certified cryptographic protection, a test site for cash-register developers, a free round-the-clock support service, a web resource on the operator’s own domain and hosting in a data centre. According to the official State Revenue Committee notice of 19 September 2025, ten operators are on the list: Kazakhtelecom JSC, Transtelecom JSC, Kar-Tel LLP, Kaspi Bank JSC, IT ANALYTICS LLP, Bukhta.kz LLP, Smartcontract LLP, Jusan Mobile JSC, Comrun LLP and Vaipoing LLP; on the same date the State Register held 174 KKM models, 118 of them online registers, and 1,105 thousand online registers were registered. The current composition of the list should be checked on the Committee’s website: an operator’s exclusion forces re-registration of all its registers.

The technical backbone of the exchange is version 2.0.3 of the Protocol for transmitting data from a KKM to the OFD server, published by the Committee on 20 June 2025; migration to it was mandatory for software registers by 15 October 2025 and for hardware registers by 15 November 2025, and the previous version 2.0.2 was switched off from 17 November 2025. Protocol 2.0.3 contains a mandatory field for the product code under the National Goods Catalogue (NTIN) and a service for determining the register’s geolocation on the OFD side; software registers are updated automatically, hardware registers through service centres.

Until 31 December 2026 a pilot project runs in parallel (Ministry of Finance Order No. 666 of 3 November 2025, adopted under Article 68(1-1) of the previous Tax Code and in force ten calendar days after its first official publication; the new Article 92 of Code No. 214-VIII on pilot projects comes into force only on 1 January 2027 under Article 848): taxpayers and cash-register manufacturers that sign an agreement with the Committee may transmit KKM data through the “Fiscal Data Base” information system of Electronic Finance Centre JSC using the electronic goods catalogue, bypassing the “e-government” gateway. The pilot is voluntary, does not cancel the OFD contract requirement for other registers, and ends with 2026 unless the Ministry extends it by a separate order.

An online cash register is also the first link in the chain of digital tax administration that includes electronic invoices, the virtual warehouse and consignment notes for goods. How those instruments fit together in 2026 is explained in E-Invoices and the Virtual Warehouse in Kazakhstan in 2026: Order No. 629, Biometrics on Issuance and the New Deadlines.

Registering a KKM, Amending Its Data and Deregistering It: Deadlines and Channels

Registering a KKM in 2026 is the state service “Registration and deregistration of cash registers”, provided by the territorial bodies of the State Revenue Committee under the Rules in Annex 1 to Order No. 626, free of charge and, for online registers, entirely electronically. A register is registered at its place of use; registers used through non-stationary or mobile retail outlets are registered at the taxpayer’s location (para 9 of the Rules).

Registration takes 2 working days, amending the registration card 1 working day, and deregistration 1 working day (paras 15, 21 and 25 of the Rules). For a KKM with a data-transfer function the taxpayer submits the data electronically to the “ISNA” system through the OFD’s web resource or the “e-government” web portal (paras 10, 18, 22); from 19 September 2026 those paragraphs apply in the Order No. 595 wording, with the terms “ISNA digital system” and “digital government web portal”, and the procedure itself does not change. The basis for registering an online register is the OFD’s data, not the taxpayer’s application (Article 111(3)(1) of the Code): in practice registration starts in the OFD’s personal account, where the register is linked to the organisation, receives a token and, after the Committee’s confirmation, a registration number.

For a KKM without a data-transfer function the paper procedure survives: a tax application in the approved form, a check of the model against the register, verification of the serial number, inspection of the cash-accounting book and sales-slip book, setting the fiscal mode, sealing, and issue of the registration card (paras 12–13 of the Rules). An incomplete set of documents is a ground for refusing to accept the application (para 15).

The registration card is issued on registration, kept for the whole life of the register and produced on demand to a tax official (para 16). Changes to the data on the card — address, name, OFD — must be initiated by the taxpayer within 5 working days of the change (para 20). Deregistration takes place in the six cases of Article 111(4) of the Code: cessation of the activity involving monetary settlements; liquidation, reorganisation or cessation of the taxpayer’s activity; a technical fault that precludes further use; exclusion of the model from the register; replacement of a working model with a new one; theft or loss, supported by a copy of the police report and/or a copy of a notice published in a nationwide periodical.

According to the notice of 6 May 2025, KKM records are kept in the “ISNA” information system (from 19 September 2026, the “ISNA digital system”) rather than in the former INIS; the two systems are not synchronised, so a taxpayer whose register was registered before the migration and who deregisters it with the OFD must complete the procedure at the territorial office — as the notice of the Pavlodar Region State Revenue Department expressly states. Whether a particular register is on the books can be checked through the Committee’s official KKM registration check, and whether a model is permitted through the State Register of KKM Models.

For a company entering the market, registering the cash register is one of the last steps after incorporating the LLP, opening the bank account and choosing the tax regime. The procedure for a foreign founder to register an LLP in 2026 is described in LLP (TOO) in Kazakhstan for Foreigners 2026: Registration, Visa, Taxes, and AIFC Comparison, and accounting support for customer settlements, including cash-register and OFD set-up, is part of UPPERSETUP’s accounting services.

What a KKM Receipt Must Contain: the 16 Details of Para 56 and What Changes on 19 September 2026

A KKM receipt in Kazakhstan must contain the 16 details listed in para 56 of the KKM Rules (Annex 1 to Order No. 626), two of which — the OFD’s verification details and the barcode — are mandatory only for online registers. From 19 September 2026 para 56 applies in the Order No. 595 wording: the list of details is preserved, the wording on identification means for marked goods is refined, the sentence on displaying the product name “in electronic form” is deleted, and a new requirement for medical services is added.

Receipts issued by currency exchange offices, scrap-metal and glass-container collection points and pawnshops additionally show the sale amount and the purchase amount, and from 19 September 2026 an online register’s receipt for medical services must display the IIN of the recipient of the medical services (para 56 of the Rules as amended by Order No. 595). The medical-receipt rule is the only substantively new requirement of Order No. 595 for retail; the remaining amendments align terminology with the Digital Code (“digital system” instead of “information system”, “digital government” instead of “e-government”, and the “Smart Data Finance” digital system instead of the Committee’s information system).

Under para 57 of the Rules the receipt additionally contains the details provided for in the manufacturer’s technical documentation, including the VAT amount; at the buyer’s request an online register’s receipt displays the buyer’s identification number; and at the buyer’s request all receipt information is shown and printed in Kazakh and/or Russian. The “buyer’s IIN/BIN” detail has tax significance: under Article 491(2)(1) of the Tax Code a VAT payer need not issue an invoice for a settlement accompanied by a KKM receipt, but “at the buyer’s request such a receipt must contain the identification number of that buyer”, and the buyer may demand an invoice within 15 calendar days (Article 491(4)). Article 208(2)(1) contains the same rule for non-VAT payers.

The product name and code under the National Goods Catalogue (details 7 and 8) tie the register to the marking and traceability system: the register must scan the identification means of marked goods (tobacco, alcohol, footwear, medicines and other groups as marking is phased in) and carry it in the receipt. Which goods are subject to marking and how that links to certification and the National Catalogue is covered in Product Certification for Kazakhstan in 2026: When You Need a Declaration of Conformity, the EAC Mark and What a Mistake Costs.

The product code under the National Catalogue (NTIN) entered the receipt together with Protocol 2.0.3: according to a State Revenue Committee clarification reproduced by the uchet.kz portal, the paper receipt form is unchanged while a mandatory NTIN field has been added to the electronic form of the receipt; if a product has no catalogue card yet, a temporary XTIN identifier is used, after which the market participant must apply for a permanent code within 30 calendar days, and no administrative liability is set for failing to use the catalogue as such. Industry publications also report that Order No. 595 fixed the format of the QR code on the receipt; the Paragraph annotation does not disclose that item, so the format should be checked against the order’s text and the OFD protocol.

An electronic receipt is a fully valid form of receipt: Article 19(5) of the Code allows issue “on paper or electronically”, and para 38 of the Rules does not treat a register as faulty if it does not print but issues the receipt electronically. An online register that sends the receipt to the customer’s e-mail or messenger complies with Article 111 provided all 16 details are present.

Operating the Register: Shifts No Longer Than 24 Hours, Z-Reports, Refunds, Breakdowns and Retention Periods

Operating a KKM under para 29 of the KKM Rules requires five things of the taxpayer’s responsible person: to enter the settlement data in accordance with the operating manual; to fill in and issue a sales slip during a power outage or breakdown; to use the online register’s offline mode during a temporary loss of the OFD network; to fill in the cash-accounting book (except for online registers); and to close the shift with a shift report — the Z-report.

A KKM shift may not exceed 24 hours (para 29 of the Rules) and an online register’s offline mode may not exceed 72 hours (para 81); a TIS, in turn, blocks stock movements if a shift on the register has been open for more than 24 hours or the register has been offline for more than 72 hours (para 15(10) of the TIS Requirements). An unclosed shift is the most common cause of discrepancies between the OFD’s data and the seller’s own records, because the next day’s receipts land in the previous day’s report.

A refund of a monetary settlement is processed in accordance with the manufacturer’s technical requirements and requires the original receipt: for a register without data transfer, the original receipt and an entry in the cash-accounting book; for an online register, the original receipt or a receipt printed from the OFD’s website together with another document showing the name, price, purchase date and seller (para 30 of the Rules). The rule does not apply to refunds for unused rail, bus and air tickets issued by automated means. A cancellation or refund without the original receipt is a separate offence under Article 284(15)–(16) of the Code of Administrative Offences.

Breakdowns follow two different procedures. For a register with a fiscal memory block whose repair requires breaking the seal, the taxpayer files an application and a service-centre report within 5 working days, receives permission on the day of filing and returns the register for re-sealing within 15 working days at most (paras 33–36). For an online register the taxpayer contacts the service centre within 3 working days of the fault and keeps the centre’s report for 5 years (para 37). A register is deemed faulty if it does not print or prints illegibly (except for electronic receipts), cannot release data from the fiscal memory or the fiscal data storage, has lost its seal or manufacturer’s marking, or cannot transmit data while the OFD connection is working (para 38). Settlements during the fault are documented with sales slips.

Shift reports, cash-accounting books and sales-slip books, cancellation and refund receipts for registers without data transfer are kept for 5 years from the date of printing or completion (para 29 of the Rules); sales-slip books of any register are kept for the limitation period from the date of completion (Article 36(3)(2) of the Code). The Code frames the same duty for registers without data transfer by reference to the limitation period (Article 36(3)(3)), while the Rules say five years; with a three-year limitation period, five years is the safer benchmark. For an online register the duty to keep shift reports and books is lifted, because the OFD holds all the data, but service-centre reports and the registration card must still be kept. Breaching retention periods is an offence under Article 284(13)–(14).

A separate duty applies to catering and trade: under Article 36(4) of the Code a taxpayer in those sectors must display the taxpayer passport — an information card generated by the tax authority — where the registers stand and in publicly accessible places. A missing passport beside the register is noticed at the first on-site inspection.

TIS in 2026: What Is Left of the System after the Tax Uplifts Were Abolished

A three-component integrated system in 2026 is a tax-registered combination of an online cash register, a device for accepting non-cash payments and an accounting programme, whose requirements are set by Ministry of Finance Order No. 606 of 15 October 2025 — but which no longer confers any tax advantage. Until 31 December 2025 a TIS was installed for the sake of two uplifts to the thresholds of the old Tax Code No. 120-VI; the new Code contains neither.

In 2026 the simplified-declaration limit of 600,000 MCI (KZT 2,595,000,000) is 25 times the former base limit and almost 6.4 times the former limit with the TIS uplift, so the economic reason to install a TIS for the sake of the regime has disappeared for everyone. At the same time the VAT threshold has been halved to 10,000 MCI, and no accounting system raises it any more: a sole trader on the simplified declaration with non-cash turnover of KZT 100,000,000 a year could stay unregistered for VAT in 2025 with a TIS (base threshold KZT 78,640,000 plus an uplift of up to KZT 488,291,488), but must register in 2026 once turnover exceeds KZT 43,250,000. How turnover is measured against the threshold and what VAT registration entails is set out in VAT in Kazakhstan 2026: Registration, the 10,000 MCI Threshold, the 16% Rate, e-Invoices and Refunds.

Legally, the TIS has not disappeared. Order No. 606 approved the Requirements for the TIS and its registration (Annex 1) and the Rules for its installation and application (Annex 2), both in force from 1 January 2026. Under para 7 of the Requirements a TIS consists of three components: the control component — one or more online KKM from the State Register; the payment component — one or more systems (devices) for accepting non-cash payments, including POS terminals and banks’ mobile apps and web services for instant payments without cards; and the accounting component — a programme automating trade and stock accounting with modules for warehouse accounting, income and cash flow, payroll and HR, tax accounting and registers, integrations and communication with the central node (para 14). The accounting component must fiscalise sales through the register within a single transaction, prohibit editing of documents that carry a fiscal attribute, and block stock movements when the register is unavailable (para 15).

The architectural requirements are stricter than for an ordinary register: the TIS central node runs on at least two servers — main and standby — in data centres in Kazakhstan geographically distant from each other (para 12); the interface is in Kazakh and Russian with switching at the user’s request (para 13); the client module’s offline mode is capped at 72 hours (para 2(5)); the system performs daily backups and integrates with the e-invoice system, the virtual warehouse, the electronic goods-passport database and excise-stamp accounting (paras 9, 19, 25).

A TIS model is entered in the Unified TIS Register by the Expert Council at the State Revenue Committee within 15 working days after a Committee official checks the documents within 3 working days, and the user registers the TIS with the tax authority at its location within 3 working days, receiving a TIS registration card (para 26 of the Requirements; paras 6–8 of the Installation Rules). The Unified TIS Register is published on the Committee’s website (para 33 of the Requirements) — on the Unified Register of Three-Component Integrated Systems page, which by the site’s own metadata was last updated on 21 January 2022, itself a measure of how rarely the register grows; a TIS is applied “to all business facilities of the TIS user” (para 4 of the Installation Rules), so a TIS cannot be registered for one outlet while the others run on ordinary registers.

Who needs a TIS in 2026 if there are no benefits? Three groups. First, taxpayers who registered a TIS before 2026 and continue to use it: the presence and correct application of a TIS remain independent subjects of a thematic audit under Article 156(26)–(27) of the Code, so a registered system must either be operated correctly or deregistered by application under Annex 1 to the Installation Rules. Second, retailers that need end-to-end fiscalisation of stock movements and integration with e-invoicing and marking — for them the TIS remains a regulated standard rather than a vendor’s initiative. Third, developers of accounting systems: entry in the Unified TIS Register is the only official “integrated system” status for tax purposes (para 2(3) of the Requirements).

POS Terminals and QR Payments: Who Must Accept Non-Cash Payments and What Refusal Costs

The obligation to accept non-cash payments is set not by the Tax Code but by Article 25(11) of the Law on Payments and Payment Systems No. 11-VI: sole traders and legal entities, other than those in places without a public telecommunications network, that carry on listed activities must install and use card-acceptance equipment at their places of business and accept mobile payments through the interbank mobile payment system. Banks installing such equipment must enable payments through the interbank system with a barcode in the National Bank’s format — the legal basis for the single QR code.

The list of activities in which card-acceptance equipment and acceptance of mobile payments through the interbank mobile payment system are mandatory is approved by Government Resolution No. 457 of 1 July 2021 and, from 19 July 2026, applies in the new wording of Resolution No. 388 of 13 May 2026: 18 items instead of the previous 14. They are: wholesale and retail trade in cars and motorcycles, their repair and maintenance; wholesale and retail trade; hotels; restaurants and other catering; sale of air and rail tickets; cargo handling, warehousing, storage and transport; tour operators (excluding travel agents); insurance; healthcare; education; film distribution and cinemas; sports, recreation and entertainment (the former “fitness clubs, sports clubs, discotheques” item, widened); gambling and betting; bowling and billiards; and four new items — postal and courier services, hairdressers and beauty salons, specialised design services, and building maintenance and landscaping. The only exemption in the new wording is activity through non-stationary retail outlets (kiosks, stalls, mobile shops) located where there is no public telecommunications network; the former exemption for trade in the seller’s own agricultural and aquaculture produce has disappeared from the list. On the date of writing, the consolidated page of Resolution No. 457 on Adilet still shows the old list with a note about the new wording, so the text to rely on is the annex to Resolution No. 388.

The requirement of Article 25(11) does not apply to sole traders and legal entities that settle for goods, works and services “without using cash” — a wholesaler paid only by bank transfer against invoices need not install a terminal. But as soon as that wholesaler takes a card or a QR payment from a customer, the operation becomes a monetary settlement under Article 19(1) of the Tax Code and requires a KKM receipt.

The sanctions sit in two articles of the Code of Administrative Offences. Under Article 195, the absence of card-acceptance equipment at an obliged sole trader or legal entity carries a warning and, on repetition within a year, a fine of 40 MCI (KZT 173,000) for small businesses, 60 MCI (KZT 259,500) for medium and 80 MCI (KZT 346,000) for large. Under Article 194, refusing to accept payments and/or transfers by payment card carries a warning and, on repetition, 40, 60 and 100 MCI (KZT 432,500 for a large business). Both articles are worded around payment cards: as of September 2026 the Code contains no direct administrative sanction for refusing mobile payments through the interbank system, although the obligation itself is set in Article 25(11) of the Law. The presence of card-acceptance equipment is an independent ground for a thematic tax audit under Article 156(28) of the Tax Code, and information on a refusal to take a card falls within the informant-reward mechanism of Article 56(16).

The practical trap of 2026 is personal mobile transfers. A customer’s transfer to the seller’s or an employee’s personal account by phone number is not a payment through the interbank mobile payment system within the meaning of Article 25(11) and is not fiscalised; the Tax Code expressly names “bank receipts for money transfers made by mobile transfer” as evidence of a KKM breach (Article 56(16)). Opening a current account and connecting acquiring for a company with foreign shareholders is described in Opening a Bank Account in Kazakhstan for a Foreign Company and a Non-Resident: The 2026 Guide.

The Special Mobile Application and the Self-Employed: When an App Receipt Replaces a KKM Receipt

The special mobile application under Article 717(1) of the Tax Code is the State Revenue Committee’s tax mobile application (e-Salyq Business), designed for individuals on the special tax regime for the self-employed to meet their tax obligations, for sole traders on the simplified declaration to calculate and pay individual income tax and social payments, for registering as a sole trader by electronic document with a digital signature, and for generating the application receipt. The procedure for using the application and the content of its receipt are approved by Order of the Acting Minister of Finance No. 647 of 30 October 2025.

The self-employed apply their regime “with mandatory use of the special mobile application” (Article 719(4)), and the application receipt is their only document confirming a settlement; a person settling through the application is exempt from the KKM under Article 110(2)(8). The conditions of the regime under Article 718: an individual — a citizen of Kazakhstan or a kandas (an ethnic Kazakh repatriate holding that status), not a sole trader, without employees, with income of up to 300 MCI a month (KZT 1,297,500 in 2026), in activities on the Government’s list. The regime starts on the date of the first receipt generated in the application (Article 716(9)), and income is recorded in the application’s income register from application receipts, KKM receipts received from OFDs and amounts on bank accounts where the taxpayer consents to disclosure of bank secrecy (para 4(2) of the Order No. 647 Rules).

The special mobile application receipt contains 10 details (Annex 2 to Order No. 647): the taxpayer’s name; IIN; sequence number; the name and BIN/IIN of a buyer that is a legal entity or sole trader, filled in at its request to support deductions; date and time of payment; names of the goods, works or services; unit price; volume; total value; and a barcode with the receipt information. The receipt is issued at the moment of payment in cash or through a non-cash payment device, including to the buyer’s e-mail address (Article 717(3)), and authorised banks and internet-platform operators may generate receipts on the taxpayer’s behalf (Article 717(5)).

For a sole trader on the simplified declaration the application performs accounting and filing functions — automatic pre-completion of the simplified declaration, employee records, tax calculation at the Article 726 rate (paras 4(3)–(5) of the Rules). Whether a sole trader on the simplified declaration may issue an application receipt instead of a KKM receipt in retail is answered in the taxpayer’s favour by the text of Article 110(2)(8) and Article 717(2), but as of September 2026 there is no confirming act of the authorised body; a sole trader with employees, cashiers and a sales floor is safer using a KKM and reserving the application receipt for services the entrepreneur provides personally.

The transitional rule in Article 840 of the Code closed the old regimes: taxpayers who applied the patent regime or the old special-mobile-application regime before 1 January 2026 and did not file a notification of transition to the simplified declaration were automatically deregistered as sole traders on 1 March 2026, and for them the self-employed regime starts on the date of the first receipt in the application.

Fines under Article 284 of the Code of Administrative Offences: What a Register “in the Drawer” Costs in 2026

Administrative liability for breaches of the KKM rules is set by Article 284 of the Code of Administrative Offences (CAO), as amended by Law No. 232-VIII of 17 November 2025, and follows a single model: a first offence of any kind carries a warning; a repeat within a year of the penalty carries a fine graded by the category of business entity (small, medium or large under the Entrepreneurial Code), with private notaries and private enforcement agents treated as small businesses.

The maximum fine for a taxpayer under Article 284 in 2026 is 50 MCI, i.e. KZT 216,250, and only for a repeat offence within a year; for a fiscal data operator it is 150 MCI, i.e. KZT 648,750. The amounts are calculated at the MCI of KZT 4,325 set by Article 7 of the Law on the Republican Budget for 2026–2028; a repeat offence in 2027 is fined at that year’s MCI.

The wording of Article 284(1) deserves attention: it speaks of not using a KKM for settlements “in cash”, whereas the Article 110 obligation covers cards and mobile payments as well. Failing to issue a receipt for a card payment falls under part 3 (“failure to issue a cash register receipt”), which carries no cash limitation, so relying on the gap in part 1 is not a strategy. The real cost of a breach rarely stops at the fine: a thematic audit under Article 156(26)–(28) that starts with the register usually continues with a reconciliation of OFD turnover against the declarations and the VAT threshold.

Two penalties within a year against an OFD under Article 284(19)–(20) are a ground for excluding the operator from the list (para 7(6) of Annex 2 to Order No. 626); after exclusion the OFD stops accepting data from the day it receives the decision, notifies users within 24 hours and destroys the fiscal data together with backups (para 10). For the taxpayer that means re-registering every register with another operator — a risk worth weighing when choosing an OFD on price.

Enforcement in 2026: Thematic Audits, the Taxpayer Passport and the KZT 1,000 Reward

Enforcement of the KKM rules in 2026 rests on three instruments of the Tax Code: thematic tax audits under Article 156, the duty to give tax officials access to the register under Article 111(1)(3), and the citizen-reporting mechanism of Article 56(16) with a reward set by the Government. A further layer is desk control under Articles 136–137, which is conducted on the basis of tax forms and “other documents and information on the taxpayer’s activity” (Article 136(1)); the OFD’s settlement data are used by the state revenue authorities for tax administration (para 73 of the KKM Rules), and a discrepancy with the declarations is formalised as a notification.

A thematic tax audit under Article 156 may be conducted, among other things, on compliance with the procedure for applying a KKM and/or TIS (item 26), the presence of a KKM and/or TIS (item 27) and the presence of card-payment equipment (item 28). An audit on these grounds usually takes the form of a test purchase followed by a fiscal report: under para 27 of the KKM Rules fiscal reports are taken during tax audits, and the cash on hand is counted by the taxpayer in the presence of the inspector (para 32). A discrepancy between the cash-status report and the cash on hand, adjusted for operations unrelated to sales, is a separate offence under Article 284(11)–(12).

The informant mechanism works as follows. Any person with information on breaches of the KKM or POS rules may report to the tax authority facts confirmed by a video of a receipt not being issued, a photograph of a receipt that does not match the approved form, or a bank receipt for a money transfer made by mobile transfer (Article 56(16)). If the fact is confirmed, the informant receives a reward of KZT 1,000 (para 3 of the Rules approved by Government Resolution No. 702 of 29 August 2025, as amended by Resolution No. 716 of 12 August 2026); a knowingly false report earns nothing; where the report is confirmed, the business in breach is held liable under Articles 194, 195 and 284 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Video recording must comply with Article 145 of the Civil Code on the protection of a person’s image — with the person’s consent.

The taxpayer passport under Article 36(4) of the Code is mandatory for catering and trade and is displayed where the KKM stands and in publicly accessible places; it is an information card generated by the tax authority, and its absence is immediately visible to an inspector. How desk control works, what to do with a discrepancy notification and how to appeal audit results is set out in Desk Control, Tax Audits and Appeals in Kazakhstan in 2026: Tax Code 214-VIII, the Administrative Procedure Code and Three Routes to a Dispute.

Comparison: Online Register, Register without Data Transfer, TIS and the Mobile Application Receipt

The four fiscalisation instruments permitted by Kazakh law in 2026 differ in who may use them, how they are registered, what documents they produce and what they mean for tax accounting. The table brings the provisions of the Tax Code and Orders No. 626, No. 606 and No. 647 into one format for comparison.

For an outlet with internet access the choice comes down to an online register: a register without data transfer is available only where there is no network, a TIS confers no advantage, and the mobile application receipt fully replaces a register only for a self-employed person without employees earning up to 300 MCI a month. The one scenario in which a TIS remains a rational choice is a retailer that needs a regulated end-to-end integration of register, warehouse, e-invoicing and marking in a single registered complex.

Step-by-Step: How to Register an Online Cash Register and Stay Compliant

Registering an online cash register in Kazakhstan in 2026 takes nine steps, each resting on a specific provision of Articles 110–111 of the Tax Code and the KKM Rules; with the documents ready, the whole path takes three to five working days, two of which are the tax authority’s registration period.

1.       Decide whether a register is mandatory. Check the activity against the exhaustive exemption list in Article 110(2) of the Tax Code and against the definition of monetary settlements in Article 19(1): cash, cards and mobile payments require a receipt; bank transfers to the current account against invoices do not. A self-employed person earning up to 300 MCI a month needs no register — the special mobile application is compulsory instead.

2.       Decide whether a POS terminal is mandatory. If the activity is among the 18 items of Government Resolution No. 457 in the wording in force from 19 July 2026 (trade, catering, hotels, healthcare, education, courier delivery, beauty salons and others), sign an acquiring agreement with a bank and enable payments through the interbank mobile payment system by QR code in the National Bank’s format (Article 25(11) of Law No. 11-VI); the absence of equipment is penalised under Article 195 of the Code of Administrative Offences.

3.       Choose a model from the State Register. Verify the model in the State Register of KKM Models on the Committee’s portal; from 2026 only KKM with a data recording and/or transmission function are entered in the register (para 60 of the Rules). For vending machines and terminals that take cash, the register is built into the device (Article 110(4)).

4.       Sign a contract with an OFD on the Committee’s list. The contract must contain the OFD’s liability for the confidentiality of tax secrets, the taxpayer’s consent to the processing of registration data, and the termination procedure (para 77 of the Rules). Compare operators on resilience and support, not only on tariff: an OFD’s exclusion from the list forces re-registration of every register.

5.       Register the cash register via the OFD portal or e-government. The registration data go to the “ISNA” digital system electronically (para 10 of the Rules as amended by Order No. 595); registration takes 2 working days (para 15); the register receives a registration number and a token. A register for non-stationary trade is registered at the taxpayer’s location (para 9).

6.       Configure the receipt and the product directory. Enter all 16 details of para 56 of the Rules in the cash-register software, link the product range to the National Goods Catalogue, enable scanning of identification means for marked goods, set the VAT rate for VAT payers, add the patient IIN field for medical services (mandatory from 19 September 2026), and add sale and purchase amounts for currency exchange, scrap collection and pawnshop activities.

7.       Organise shifts and refunds. Close the shift with a Z-report at least once every 24 hours (para 29 of the Rules); process refunds only against the original receipt or an OFD-site receipt with a supporting document (para 30); on loss of connection, work offline for no more than 72 hours and monitor synchronisation (para 81); during a breakdown issue sales slips and contact the service centre within 3 working days (para 37).

8.       Keep amendments and deregistration on time. Changes to registration data — within 5 working days of the change (para 20); deregistration — on the grounds of Article 111(4) through the OFD; keep the registration card for the life of the register (para 16). In catering and trade, display the taxpayer passport by the register (Article 36(4)).

9.       Reconcile OFD revenue with the declarations and the VAT threshold. OFD data reach the Committee within 15 minutes and feed desk control; compare cumulative turnover with the 10,000 MCI threshold (KZT 43,250,000) and income with the 600,000 MCI simplified-declaration limit. A monthly reconciliation of OFD data, cash discipline and tax reporting is part of the support provided by UPPERSETUP’s accounting team.

For a TIS the algorithm gains two steps: checking the model against the Unified TIS Register on the Committee’s website, and filing an application to register the TIS with the tax authority at the taxpayer’s location, with a TIS registration card issued within 3 working days (paras 6–8 of the Installation Rules). A TIS should be registered in the knowledge that it applies to all of the taxpayer’s facilities (para 4 of the Installation Rules) and becomes an independent subject of thematic audit.

Typical Mistakes with Cash Registers in 2026 and What They Cost

The typical mistakes in applying a KKM in Kazakhstan in 2026 arise not from the absence of a register but from businesses still living by the 2018–2025 rules: counting on TIS uplifts, taking transfers to personal cards, leaving shifts open and not updating receipt details. Each mistake below has a specific price under the 2026 provisions.

1.       Planning turnover with the “TIS uplift” to the VAT threshold in mind. The cost is retrospective VAT registration: Article 82(4) of the old Code with its 124,184 MCI uplift has lost force, and Article 99(4)(2) of the new Code sets a single threshold of 10,000 MCI (KZT 43,250,000 in 2026) for everyone. Exceeding the threshold without applying leads to registration by decision of the tax authority, assessment of VAT at 16% and a fine of 50 MCI (KZT 216,250) for missing the deadline for the VAT registration application (Article 269(3) of the Code of Administrative Offences). The higher the share of non-cash revenue, the sooner a business used to the old formula crosses the line.

2.       Taking payment by transfer to an employee’s or the owner’s personal card. Such a transfer is not a payment through the interbank mobile payment system and does not pass through the register; the transfer slip is expressly named in Article 56(16) of the Tax Code as evidence of a breach, for which the informant receives KZT 1,000. The price is a warning, then 15–50 MCI under Article 284(1)–(2), a thematic audit under Article 156(26)–(28) and a reconciliation of receipts on personal accounts against the declarations.

3.       Leaving a shift open beyond 24 hours and ignoring offline mode. A shift longer than 24 hours breaches para 29 of the Rules and offline operation longer than 72 hours breaches para 81; receipts left without a fiscal attribute are not treated as transmitted to the tax authority, and a discrepancy between shift reports and the books creates a ground for Article 284(9)–(12) and for a desk-control notification. For a TIS the consequence is harsher: the accounting component must block stock movements (para 15(10) of the Requirements).

4.       Issuing a receipt without the product name under the National Catalogue, without the identification means of marked goods, or without the VAT rate. Missing receipt details fall under Article 284(7)–(8) (repeat: 20–40 MCI) and, for marked goods, also trigger a marking-compliance check; from 19 September 2026 the patient IIN on receipts of clinics, dental practices and laboratories joins the same list.

5.       Processing refunds and cancellations without the original receipt. A refund on an “internal memo” instead of a receipt breaches para 30 of the Rules and constitutes an offence under Article 284(15)–(16) (repeat: 30–50 MCI); for an online register the permitted substitute for the original is a receipt printed from the OFD’s website with a document confirming the purchase.

6.       Not completing deregistration after changing OFD or closing an outlet. A register deregistered with the operator but still on the books in “ISNA” or the old INIS remains attributed to the taxpayer; settlements on a register not registered at the place of use are an offence under Article 284(1), and missing the 5-day deadline for amending registration data falls under parts 5–6 (repeat: 30–50 MCI).

7.       Assuming a sole trader on the simplified declaration may trade on app receipts without a register. Article 110(2)(8) literally admits that reading, but there is no confirming act of the authorised body and the Order No. 647 Rules describe the app receipt as an income-accounting tool; a sales outlet with cashiers operating on app receipts risks a warning under Article 284(1) at a thematic audit, followed by a fine on repetition. The safe option is a register for trade and the app receipt for services the entrepreneur provides personally.

Who an Online Register, a TIS or the Mobile Application Suits, and When to Seek Professional Advice

An online cash register suits every taxpayer that takes cash, cards or QR payments and operates where there is connectivity; it is the only universal instrument that satisfies Article 110(1) of the Tax Code without further conditions. For trade and catering the register is complemented by a POS terminal and the taxpayer passport, for VAT payers by the tax rate on the receipt, and for sellers of marked goods by a scanner for identification means.

The special mobile application suits an individual without employees earning up to 300 MCI a month in an activity on the Government’s list — a tutor, a craftsman, a courier, a freelancer: the application is compulsory, its receipt replaces the register, and tax and social payments are calculated automatically. It does not suit anyone who hires staff, sells goods from a sales floor or exceeds 300 MCI a month: once the Article 718 conditions are exceeded the self-employed regime is unavailable and settlements must move to a register.

A TIS suits chain retail and distribution that need a regulated combination of register, payment, warehouse, e-invoicing and marking in a single registered complex with servers in Kazakhstan, and developers of accounting systems that sell such a complex as a product. It does not suit a small business that installed one in 2025 for the sake of the thresholds: the benefits are gone while the architecture, redundancy and blocking requirements remain; the rational path for such a business is to deregister the TIS and keep the online register.

Professional advice is needed in four situations: when a business combines several settlement formats (retail, marketplace, transfers, payment links) and is unsure which operations must be fiscalised; when a company with a TIS is deciding whether to deregister it; when OFD turnover approaches the 10,000 MCI VAT threshold or income approaches the 600,000 MCI limit; and when a desk-control notification arrives about a discrepancy between OFD revenue and the declaration. In those cases UPPERSETUP’s legal team handles the legal assessment and the correspondence with the tax authority, and support for entering the Kazakh market — from company registration to cash-register registration — is described on the Kazakhstan page.

FAQ: Online Cash Registers, Receipts and TIS in Kazakhstan

Who is exempt from using a cash register in Kazakhstan in 2026?

Only the eight categories in Article 110(2) of Tax Code No. 214-VIII: individuals, private enforcement agents, advocates and professional mediators, urban public transport operators issuing tickets in the approved form, the National Bank, second-tier banks, religious associations, the National Postal Operator (except in places without connectivity) and persons settling through the special mobile application. Everyone else must use a KKM with a data recording and/or transmission function for settlements in cash, by card or by mobile payment.

Do I need a cash register if customers pay only by bank transfer to the company’s account?

A bank transfer to the current account against an invoice falls outside the definition of monetary settlements in Article 19(1) of the Code, so no register is needed for it. A card payment through a terminal or a QR payment through a bank’s mobile app is a monetary settlement requiring a KKM receipt. A transfer to the seller’s personal card by phone number is not processed through a register and is named in Article 56(16) of the Code as evidence of a breach.

What changed in the KKM receipt on 19 September 2026?

Order of the Acting Minister of Finance No. 595 of 1 September 2026 restated para 56 of the KKM Rules: the 16 details are preserved, the wording on details of identification means for marked goods is refined, the requirement to display the product name “in electronic form” is deleted, and a new rule requires an online register’s receipt for medical services to display the IIN of the recipient of the medical services. The remaining amendments replaced “ISNA IS” and “e-government” with “ISNA digital system” and “digital government” and named the Committee’s system the “Smart Data Finance” digital system.

Does a TIS raise the VAT threshold in 2026?

No. The 124,184 MCI uplift to the VAT threshold and the 70,048 MCI uplift to the simplified-declaration limit existed in Article 82(4) and Article 683(2)(2) of Tax Code No. 120-VI, which lost force on 1 January 2026. Code No. 214-VIII sets a single VAT threshold of 10,000 MCI (KZT 43,250,000 in 2026) and a simplified-declaration limit of 600,000 MCI with no uplifts. The TIS remains a registrable complex under Ministry of Finance Order No. 606 of 15 October 2025 and a subject of thematic audit under Article 156.

What is the fine for not using a KKM or not issuing a receipt?

A first offence — a warning (Article 284(1), (3) of the Code of Administrative Offences). A repeat within a year of the penalty: for not using a register — 15 MCI (KZT 64,875) for a small business, 30 MCI for a medium and 50 MCI (KZT 216,250) for a large one; for not issuing a receipt or issuing one for the wrong amount — 20, 30 and 40 MCI. Not having POS equipment is penalised under Article 195 (a warning, then 40, 60 and 80 MCI on repetition), and refusing a payment card under Article 194 (a warning, then 40, 60 and 100 MCI).

How long does registering a register take and what does it cost?

Registration — 2 working days from receipt of the OFD’s data or the tax application, amendment of data — 1 working day, deregistration — 1 working day (paras 15, 21, 25 of the KKM Rules). The state service is free; the paid items are the register itself, the OFD’s services at tariffs agreed under Article 20 of the Law on Communications, and the bank’s acquiring.

How many hours can an online register work without the internet?

No more than 72 hours of offline mode (para 81 of the KKM Rules). Once the connection is restored the register sends the OFD a message on the length of its offline operation, all accumulated receipts and Z-report marks, and the OFD returns a valid fiscal attribute for each receipt. The shift must still be closed at least once every 24 hours.

Does a KKM receipt replace an invoice for a corporate buyer?

Yes. Under Article 491(2)(1) of the Code a VAT payer need not issue an invoice for a settlement accompanied by a KKM receipt, but at the buyer’s request the receipt must contain the buyer’s IIN/BIN, and the buyer may demand an invoice within 15 calendar days. Article 208(2)(1) contains the same rule for non-VAT payers. A receipt bearing the buyer’s IIN/BIN is used by the buyer to support its expenses.

How do I verify a receipt and a register’s registration?

The authenticity of an online register’s receipt is verified by its fiscal attribute or offline code on the OFD’s web resource, whose details are printed on the receipt (detail 12 of para 56 of the Rules; para 82). A register’s registration is checked through the State Revenue Committee’s “KKM registration check” service on portal.kgd.gov.kz, and the admissibility of a model through the State Register of KKM Models on the same portal.

Can a sole trader on the simplified declaration work on mobile application receipts without a register?

The literal text of Article 110(2)(8) and Article 717(2) of the Code permits a taxpayer on the simplified declaration to issue special mobile application receipts, but the Rules for using the application (Order No. 647) describe the receipt as an income-accounting tool, and as of September 2026 there is no normative clarification that it replaces a register in retail on the simplified declaration. For trade with employees it is safe to use a KKM; before switching to app receipts, obtain a written clarification from the tax authority under Article 36(1)(2) of the Code.

What is an OFD, and can I operate without a contract with one?

An OFD is a legal entity on the State Revenue Committee’s list that receives data from the register, assigns the fiscal attribute to the receipt and transmits the data to the Committee within 15 minutes of receipt (Article 19(14) of the Code; para 73 of the Rules). Without the OFD’s data an online register cannot be registered (Article 111(3)(1)), so the OFD contract is mandatory; only registers without data transfer in places without connectivity can operate without an OFD.

Key Takeaways

A cash register in Kazakhstan in 2026 is mandatory for every monetary settlement — in cash, by card and by mobile payment — by every taxpayer except the eight categories of Article 110(2) of Tax Code No. 214-VIII; where there is no connectivity a register without data transfer is used, and vending machines taking cash must be fitted with a KKM. The procedure for using registers has been set since 1 January 2026 by Ministry of Finance Order No. 626 of 24 October 2025, and from 19 September 2026 its Order No. 595 wording applies: 16 receipt details, the patient IIN for medical services, records in the “ISNA” digital system, and OFD storage for the limitation period.

An online register is registered through the OFD in 2 working days, works offline for no more than 72 hours, closes its shift at least once every 24 hours, and the OFD forwards its data to the Committee within 15 minutes. The TIS under Order No. 606 of 15 October 2025 remains a registrable complex with servers in Kazakhstan and a subject of thematic audit, but it no longer confers tax uplifts: the VAT threshold is 10,000 MCI (KZT 43,250,000) and the simplified-declaration limit is 600,000 MCI for everyone.

Sanctions under Article 284 of the Code of Administrative Offences start with a warning and, on repetition within a year, reach 50 MCI (KZT 216,250) for a large business and 150 MCI for an OFD; not having POS equipment and refusing cards in the 18 activities of Resolution No. 457 cost up to 80 and 100 MCI under Articles 195 and 194. An informant with a video or a mobile-transfer slip receives KZT 1,000, and a self-employed person earning up to 300 MCI a month replaces the register with the special mobile application receipt.

Summary

In Kazakhstan in 2026 a cash register with a data recording and/or transmission function is mandatory for all monetary settlements made in cash, by payment card or by mobile payment under Article 110(1) of Tax Code No. 214-VIII (in force from 1 January 2026); only the eight categories of Article 110(2) are exempt, including individuals, advocates, banks and persons using the special mobile application (the self-employed earning up to 300 MCI a month). The procedure for using a KKM and the 16 receipt details are set by Ministry of Finance Order No. 626 of 24 October 2025 (reg. No. 37238), which from 19 September 2026 applies as amended by Order No. 595 of 1 September 2026: a receipt for medical services shows the patient’s IIN, registers are recorded in the “ISNA” digital system, and data are stored by the fiscal data operator for the limitation period (3 or 5 years under Article 65). Registration of a register takes 2 working days through an OFD or e-government, amendments and deregistration 1 working day, free of charge; the OFD forwards data to the State Revenue Committee within 15 minutes; offline mode is limited to 72 hours; a shift to 24 hours. The three-component integrated system (KKM + non-cash payment device + accounting programme) is governed by Ministry of Finance Order No. 606 of 15 October 2025 and is registered in 3 working days, but from 2026 gives no threshold uplifts: the VAT threshold is 10,000 MCI (KZT 43,250,000 at an MCI of KZT 4,325) and the simplified-declaration limit is 600,000 MCI (the former 124,184 and 70,048 MCI uplifts were abolished with Code No. 120-VI). Accepting payment cards and mobile payments is mandatory in 18 activities under Government Resolution No. 457 as amended by Resolution No. 388 of 13 May 2026 (from 19 July 2026). Sanctions under Article 284 of the Code of Administrative Offences: a warning, then on repetition within a year 15/30/50 MCI for not using a register, 20/30/40 MCI for not issuing a receipt, 150 MCI for an OFD; Article 195 — 40/60/80 MCI for not having POS equipment, Article 194 — 40/60/100 MCI for refusing cards; the informant reward is KZT 1,000 (Resolution No. 716 of 12 August 2026).

Sources

Level 1 — legislation and regulators

1.       Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 214-VIII of 18 July 2025 (Articles 19, 36, 56, 65, 99, 110, 111, 137, 156, 208, 491, 716–719, 723, 726, 840) — Adilet legal information system.

2.       Tax Code No. 214-VIII — consolidated text as amended to 1 July 2026 — zakon.uchet.kz mirror (used to verify the current wording).

3.       Order of the Minister of Finance No. 626 of 24 October 2025 “On certain issues related to the application of cash registers” — Adilet, reg. No. 37238 of 28 October 2025.

4.       Order No. 626 — original wording with Annexes 1–8 — zakon.mybuh.kz mirror.

5.       Order of the Minister of Finance No. 606 of 15 October 2025 “On approval of the Requirements for the three-component integrated system and its registration, and the Rules for its installation and application”— Adilet, reg. No. 37144 of 16 October 2025.

6.       Order of the Acting Minister of Finance No. 647 of 30 October 2025 “On approval of the Rules for using the special mobile application…” — Adilet, reg. No. 37269.

7.       Order of the Minister of Finance No. 606 of 8 September 2026 “On amendments to Order … No. 647 of 30 October 2025” — Adilet, reg. No. 39853 of 9 September 2026.

8.       Order of the Minister of Finance No. 666 of 3 November 2025 “On approval of the Rules and period for implementing the pilot project on transmission through the ‘Fiscal Data Base’ information system…” — Adilet, reg. No. 37359.

9.       Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 11-VI of 26 July 2016 “On Payments and Payment Systems” (Article 25(11)) — Adilet.

10.    Government Resolution No. 457 of 1 July 2021 “On approval of the list of activities and the use of equipment (devices) for accepting payments by payment cards and/or through the instant payment system” — Adilet, as amended by Resolution No. 388 of 13 May 2026.

11.    Government Resolution No. 388 of 13 May 2026 “On amendments to Resolution … No. 457 of 1 July 2021” (new wording of the list — 18 activities, from 19 July 2026) — Adilet.

12.    Government Resolution No. 716 of 12 August 2026 “On amendments to Resolution … No. 702 of 29 August 2025” — Adilet.

13.    Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Administrative Offences No. 235-V of 5 July 2014 (Articles 194, 284) — Adilet.

14.    Code on Administrative Offences — consolidated text of Article 284 as amended by Law No. 232-VIII of 17 November 2025 — zakon.uchet.kz mirror.

15.    Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 239-VIII of 8 December 2025 “On the Republican Budget for 2026–2028” (Article 7) — Adilet.

16.    State Register of KKM Models permitted for use in the Republic of Kazakhstan — State Revenue Committee portal.

17.    KKM registration check — State Revenue Committee portal.

18.    Important information for taxpayers: KKM records transferred to the new ISNA system (6 May 2025) — Pavlodar Region State Revenue Department.

19.    Transition of all cash registers to data-transfer protocol version 2.0.3 (19 September 2025) — the list of ten OFDs and register statistics — Akmola Region State Revenue Department.

20.    Unified Register of Three-Component Integrated Systems — State Revenue Committee.

Level 2 — professional and industry sources

21.    Amendments to the Order of the Minister of Finance “On certain issues related to the application of cash registers” (annotation to Order No. 595 of 1 September 2026) — Paragraph legal database.

22.    Cash registers: what has changed in the application rules (9 September 2026) — zakon.kz.

23.    KKM receipts and register records: new requirements take effect on 19 September (11 September 2026) — Profit.kz.

24.    KKM receipts and register records: new requirements take effect on 19 September (18 September 2026) — Uchet.kz.

25.    The National Goods Catalogue and KKM: the State Revenue Committee explains the rules — Uchet.kz (reproduction of a State Revenue Committee clarification).

26.    POS terminals to be equated with KKM (27 January 2026) — Uchet.kz (State Revenue Committee data).

27.    Kazakhstan: New Tax Code (September 2025) — Baker McKenzie.

28.    Overview of tax legislation submitted to the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan (13 May 2025) — EY Kazakhstan.

UPPERSETUP materials

29.    VAT in Kazakhstan 2026: Registration, the 10,000 MCI Threshold, the 16% Rate, e-Invoices and Refunds

30.    Kazakhstan’s Special Tax Regimes 2026: Three Regimes Instead of Six, the Simplified Declaration, the Self-Employed Regime and the End of Retail Tax

31.    E-Invoices and the Virtual Warehouse in Kazakhstan in 2026: Order No. 629, Biometrics on Issuance and the New Deadlines

32.    Desk Control, Tax Audits and Appeals in Kazakhstan in 2026: Tax Code 214-VIII, the Administrative Procedure Code and Three Routes to a Dispute

33.    LLP (TOO) in Kazakhstan for Foreigners 2026: Registration, Visa, Taxes, and AIFC Comparison

34.    Product Certification for Kazakhstan in 2026: When You Need a Declaration of Conformity, the EAC Mark and What a Mistake Costs

35.    Opening a Bank Account in Kazakhstan for a Foreign Company and a Non-Resident: The 2026 Guide

36.    Kazakhstan’s Tax System 2026: A Complete Breakdown — the New Tax Code, CIT, VAT, PIT, and AIFC Incentives

Disclaimer

This material is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, financial, investment or consulting advice. Before taking any decision, obtain individual professional advice that takes into account your specific situation, jurisdiction, company status and the current requirements of the regulators. Current as of September 2026.