| Vehicle age limit | Individual import: vehicles up to five years old, entered on a passenger customs declaration, one vehicle per natural person per year. A commercial import follows a different route and its age position is confirmed in writing with a licensed agent before stock is committed. |
|---|---|
| Steering side | Left-hand drive only. Kazakhstan drives on the right and first registration of a right-hand drive vehicle is refused. |
| Emission standard | Euro-4 is the registration floor, together with ABS, a driver airbag, the SOS emergency call button, ISOFIX anchorages and daytime running lights. Individual imports have required Euro-5 since 28 September 2026. |
| Import duty | Banded by HS code and engine capacity; the usual passenger-car line is 15%. A vehicle entered by an individual on a passenger declaration is assessed at the EAEU common rate: up to three years old by value, older vehicles by engine capacity and age. The operative rate is the one in the tariff at the moment of declaration. |
| Other taxes / levies | VAT is 16%, raised from 12% on 1 January 2026, assessed on the customs value including duty. A customs fee of six MRP applies (25,950 tenge in 2026). Engine capacity above 3,000 cc carries excise of 100 tenge per cc. The recycling fee is charged separately and must be settled before the vehicle is released into free circulation. |
| Pre-shipment certificate | EAC approval under TR CU 018/2011. Volume models take the OTTC type approval; a single unit without an OTTC takes the SBKTS vehicle design safety certificate. Testing is done at EAEU-recognised bodies, and China VI emission certification is not accepted as an equivalent of Euro-5. |
| Main port of entry | Khorgos on the road corridor, Alashankou and Dostyk on rail. Chinese stock leaves through Xinjiang; routing through a Russian border crossing is also used. |
| Typical clearance time | One to two weeks once documents are complete. Time concentrates in transhipment at the border, verification of the EAC documents and settlement of the recycling fee. |
| Customs valuation risk | Medium. Customs assesses on the value including freight and insurance to the Kazakh border. Where the declared value is clearly below the reference catalog held by the State Revenue Committee, the assessment is re-based on that catalog. |
Figures are statutory rates applied to customs value (usually CIF). Landing cost is usually higher than the sum of headline rates because valuation, levies and local rectification are added at the port. Confirm the exact HS code and current rates with the customs authority or a licensed broker before you quote.
14. Restrictions and prohibited categories
- Left-hand drive only; right-hand drive is refused at first registration
- Accident, flood, fire or structurally repaired vehicles, and vehicles reassembled from parts
- Individual imports are limited to a prescribed list and to personal use; a vehicle entered that way cannot be resold as stock without converting the customs regime
- Engine capacity above 3,000 cc carries excise, and a purchase price at or above 18,000 MRP attracts a further 10% special excise
22. Required documents and certificates
- EAC certificate of conformity or SBKTS, issued before shipment
- Export declaration, invoice and packing list, with the VIN matching across all three
- Recycling fee payment certificate, obtained before customs formalities close
- Bill of lading showing the final discharge port, full consignee name, address and telephone number
- Commercial invoice and packing list whose VIN, model year, engine capacity and colour match the bill of lading character by character
- Certificate of origin (or the preferential certificate required by a trade agreement)
- Vehicle registration certificate and official de-registration / export-cancellation document from the country of last registration
- Marine insurance certificate covering the declared value plus freight, valid until clearance is completed
31. Customs clearance process, step by step
- Confirm EAC approval or SBKTS before booking, and confirm the emission class of the actual unit rather than of the model range
- Export declaration in China, then overland carriage to the Xinjiang border crossing
- Transhipment at Khorgos or Alashankou: gauge change on rail, or truck change on road
- Kazakh declaration: duty and 16% VAT assessed on the customs value, plus the six-MRP fee
- Recycling fee settled before release: an individual must hold the payment certificate before customs formalities are closed
- First registration and issue of the electronic vehicle passport (EPTS)
- Vessel arrival: the importer's licensed broker lodges the import declaration through the national single window and the goods move to the bond store
- Inspection and release: physical and technical inspection, duty assessment, payment, delivery order, gate-out
- Registration: purchase of third-party liability insurance, local technical test, issuance of number plates
⚓Shipping and transit
Overland: exit through Khorgos by road, or Alashankou and Dostyk by rail. Running time is about 18–28 days to Almaty / Astana. This is transit time only — it excludes transhipment at the border, queueing and inspection. Allow roughly one further week on top when planning, and border clearance takes about 1–2 weeks once documents are complete. Departures and freight are confirmed in writing at booking.
Running times are overland transit only and vary with border queues and season.
💰How we quote
How we quote: FOB Qingdao, Shanghai or Nansha. We handle export declaration, loading and export documents. Destination clearance, import duties and taxes, and on-carriage are arranged by the buyer or the buyer's agent. The clearance and tax detail on this page is background for your budget, not a description of our scope.
4Recent regulatory changes
- From 1 January 2026 VAT on imported vehicles is 16%, up from 12%, under the new Tax Code signed in July 2025. The tax base is the customs value including duty, so the increase compounds on the duty already paid
- From 28 September 2026 individual imports of passenger cars are tied to a five-year age limit, Euro-5, a passenger customs declaration and one vehicle per person per year; the applicant on the electronic passport is checked against the declarant
- The recycling fee for a natural person must be evidenced before customs formalities are closed, not before first registration as previously
5Common delay and refusal situations
- Releasing a vehicle before the recycling fee is evidenced: the vehicle cannot enter free circulation, and storage accrues while the payment is traced
- Entering stock on a passenger declaration and then selling it: the customs regime has to be converted first, and the duty and VAT difference surfaces at that point
- Shipping a China VI vehicle on the assumption that it satisfies Euro-5: the two are separate certification systems, and the unit needs its own Euro-5 evidence
- A declared value clearly below the reference catalog: assessment is re-based on the catalog, and the difference is paid at the border rather than negotiated later
6Operational checkpoints
- Budget the recycling fee as a line of its own rather than folding it into duty: it is calculated on a coefficient, not on the customs value, and it is the item most often left out of a landed-cost estimate
- Stock to Euro-5 even though Euro-4 still registers, because the individual channel now requires Euro-5 and the resale market follows the stricter reading
- The compliance package is completed before booking, not at the port: these markets generally do not accept certificates repaired after arrival
- Demurrage, storage and rectification costs follow the allocation written into the contract, agreed before shipment
- Regulation in these markets changes several times a year; quotations and sailing dates are confirmed in writing for the current period
- Where customs applies its own valuation table, the tax base is set by that table and usually exceeds the invoice value — budget on the table
?Frequently asked questions
What approval does a vehicle need to enter Kazakhstan?
EAC approval under TR CU 018/2011. Volume models use the OTTC type approval; a single unit without one uses the SBKTS vehicle design safety certificate. Testing runs at EAEU-recognised bodies and takes weeks, so it belongs before the booking, not after arrival.
Is there an age limit for importing a car into Kazakhstan?
For an individual import, yes: five years, on a passenger customs declaration, one vehicle per person per year since 28 September 2026. A commercial import follows a different route, and its age position is confirmed in writing with a licensed agent before stock is committed.
What is the recycling fee and when is it paid?
It is a utilisation charge calculated on a coefficient by vehicle type and age, separate from duty and VAT. For a natural person it must be evidenced before customs formalities are closed; for a company, before first registration. Because it moves on a coefficient rather than on the customs value, it does not track the invoice.
How much is VAT on an imported vehicle in Kazakhstan?
16% since 1 January 2026, up from 12%, under the Tax Code signed in July 2025. It is assessed on the customs value including duty, so the effective load is above 16% of the invoice.
Which border crossings handle vehicle imports into Kazakhstan?
Khorgos on the road corridor, and Alashankou or Dostyk by rail. All three sit on the Xinjiang border, which is why transit time depends on queueing at the crossing rather than on distance.
✉Get a written landed-cost check for this market
Send us the VIN list or the model, model year and quantity you plan to ship to Kazakhstan. We check it against the requirements above before you book the vessel.
- Pre-shipment compliance check against VIN (age limit, steering side, emission standard, certificate scope)
- Landed-cost sheet: duty, VAT, excise and levies calculated on the customs value actually used at the destination port
- Full document set prepared by us: certificate, invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, export declaration
- FOB quotation with the destination-side obligations written into the contract, so nothing is discovered at the port
Reply within one business day. We quote against the regulations in force at booking date and state the verification date on every document set.
✓Sources, information currency and disclaimer
- State Revenue Committee, Ministry of Finance — VAT rate and customs fees — official authority
- Ministry of Transport — rules for individual imports effective 28 September 2026 — official authority
- EAEU technical regulation TR CU 018/2011 — vehicle type approval — official authority
- Kazinform / Kazakh tax administration — 2026 Tax Code VAT change — official authority
- Licensed clearing agents at Khorgos and Alashankou — market practice
Information currency: this page was compiled and cross-checked on 2026-10-22. Vehicle import rules in this market change frequently; application in a given case follows the destination customs authority's written ruling in force at the time.
This page is a compilation of publicly available sources, offered as a single point of reference. We quote on FOB terms from Qingdao, Shanghai or Nansha: export customs declaration, loading and export documents are ours; destination clearance, import duties and taxes, on-carriage and local compliance are arranged by the buyer or the buyer's appointed agent. Duty rates, standards and thresholds shown here are indicative only and are subject to the written ruling of the destination authority in force at the time. Our quotations and obligations are governed by the signed sales contract, not by this page.
Found an error? Write to [email protected] with the country and the figure, and we will verify and correct it.
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