Review Of The Draft Law «On Amendments And Additions To The Code Of The Republic Of Kazakhstan “On Customs Regulation In The Republic Of Kazakhstan”». Regulation Of E-commerce.

The purpose of this Review is to draw the readers’ attention to some, but the most important, in the author’s opinion, planned amendments and additions to the current Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Customs Regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan” dated December 26, 2017 No. 123-VI.

This publication is not legal advice.

Since March 18, 2026, the draft law «On amendments and additions to the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Customs Regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan”» (hereinafter - the “Draft Law”) has been under consideration of the Mazhilis of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

As understood, the Draft Law is aimed at comprehensive regulation of e-commerce within the framework of the customs legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with the purpose of forming a formalized, legislatively controlled and taxed system.

Thus, in accordance with Article 1 of the Draft Law, it is proposed to introduce amendments and additions to the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Customs Regulation in the Republic of Kazakhstan” (hereinafter - the “Customs Code of the RK”).

It is planned to include in Article 3 “Basic definitions” of the Customs Code of the RK such definitions as:

• goods of electronic commerce;
• goods of electronic commerce intended for sale to individuals;
• goods of electronic commerce acquired by individuals;
• customs duty in respect of goods of electronic commerce.

At the same time, it should be noted that the first three of the four definitions are currently contained in Article 392-1 of the current Customs Code of the RK, and the definition of “customs duty in respect of goods of electronic commerce” is a “novelty” and is planned to be introduced in connection with the introduction in the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter - the “Customs Code of the EAEU”) of new rules of customs administration of goods purchased on foreign internet platforms.

Also, the definition of “goods of electronic commerce” remained unchanged, while the definitions of “goods of electronic commerce intended for sale to individuals” and “goods of electronic commerce acquired by individuals” are proposed in new versions.

Chapter 45-1 of Section 5, among other things, is planned to be renamed to “Specifics of the procedure and conditions for movement across the customs border of the Eurasian Economic Union of goods of electronic commerce”, which implies the completion of the implementation of the “experiment in the field of external electronic trade in goods conducted in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, which was in fact planned to be carried out by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the period before the entry into force of amendments to the Customs Code of the EAEU and the Customs Code of the RK on issues of regulation of external electronic trade.

In addition to the above, Section 7 “Specifics of the activities of persons in the field of customs affairs. Authorized economic operator” is planned to be supplemented with a new Chapter 62-1 “E-commerce operator”, which indicates the full introduction of a new participant into the system of customs legal relations.

Within this Chapter there are 7 Articles:

• Activities of the e-commerce operator (Article 528-1);
• Conditions for inclusion in the register of e-commerce operators (Article 528-2);
• Procedure for inclusion in the register of e-commerce operators (Article 528-3);
• Grounds and procedure for suspension and resumption of activities of entities included in the register of e-commerce operators (Article 528-4);
• Grounds for exclusion from the register of e-commerce operators (Article 528-5);
• Rights of the e-commerce operator (Article 528-6);
• Obligations and liability of the e-commerce operator (Article 528-7).

From their content, we understand that an e-commerce operator can only be a Kazakhstani company (legal entity) that meets the conditions for its inclusion in the register of e-commerce operators (hereinafter - the “REO”), defined by Article 528-2. There are no restrictions on the number of e commerce operators.

The conditions for inclusion of such a company in the REO are the availability of a material and technical base, financial security (including absence of arrears in customs payments and duties, as well as absence of bankruptcy proceedings), absence of administrative offenses, availability of an agreement on the use of ИС ЭСФ / IS ESF (Information System of Electronic Invoices), etc.

The decision on inclusion in the REO is made by the territorial customs authority and is formed in the information system of the customs authorities based on the results of consideration of the operator’s application for inclusion in the REO according to the established procedure.

The activity of an e-commerce operator may be suspended and resumed, and the e-commerce operator may also be completely excluded from the REO, if there are established grounds.

The e-commerce operator has certain rights and obligations, and also bears liability in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In addition to the above-mentioned amendments, it is planned to supplement Article 569 of the Customs Code of the RK with paragraph 7, namely with the following transitional provision regarding customs representatives:

“Customs declaration of goods of electronic commerce acquired by individuals may be carried out in each of the member states by customs representatives acting on behalf of and on the instructions of individuals declarants of such goods, within 6 months from the date of inclusion in the register of e-commerce operators of the first e-commerce operator, but not more than within 12 months from the date of entry into force of the Protocol on amendments to the Treaty on the Customs Code of the Eurasian Economic Union dated April 11, 2017, signed on December 25, 2023.”.

The coming into effect of the Draft Law under consideration, subject to its approval and signing, is planned after the entry into force of the Protocol on amendments to the Treaty on the Customs Code of the EAEU dated April 11, 2017, signed on December 25, 2023 (hereinafter - the “Protocol”).

This Protocol, in accordance with Article 2 of the Protocol, enters into force from the date of receipt by the depositary (the Eurasian Economic Commission) through diplomatic channels of the last written notification of the completion by the member states of the internal procedures necessary for its entry into force. According to information from the website of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the period for completion of the necessary procedures is expected to take the member states until approximately July 1, 2026.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.