1. Basic situation

The Republic of Kazakhstan (referred to as Kazakhstan) is located in Central Asia, bordering Russia in the north and China in the east. The capital, Nursultan, has a land area of 2.7249 million square kilometers. It is the largest landlocked country in the world with a population of 19.644 million. According to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics of Kazakhstan, the GDP of Kazakhstan will reach US$288.113 billion in 2024. The real GDP for the whole year will increase by 4.8% year-on-year, and the per capita GDP will reach US$14301. According to statistics from China Customs, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan in 2024 will reach US$43.82 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6.8%. Kazakhstan's exports to China will be US$15.86 billion, a year-on-year decrease of approximately 3.0%. Imports from China will be US$27.96 billion, a year-on-year increase of approximately 13.2%.

On May 17, 2023, China and Kazakhstan signed the Agreement on International Road Transport between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter referred to as the "Agreement"), which will officially enter into force on March 10, 2025. At the same time, the "Automobile Transportation Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan" signed on September 26, 1992 became invalid. The "Agreement" expands the scope of bilateral international road transport cooperation to all-region transportation, transit transportation and third-country transportation. It also provides provisions on the entry and exit management of transport vehicles and personnel, mutual recognition of documents, mutual tax exemption, visa facilitation, customs clearance facilitation and information sharing. Systematic and institutional arrangements provide good conditions for further promoting the facilitation of international road transport between China and Kazakhstan. In 2024, the total number of international road freight to Kazakhstan will be 5.985 million tons and 537,000 inbound and outbound freight vehicles will be 537,000, a year-on-year increase of 88.1% and 84.4% respectively. The entry into force of the Agreement will further promote China and Kazakhstan to accelerate higher-level, larger-scale and deeper international road transport cooperation, provide stronger support for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and also provide more stable and smooth international logistics supply chains between China and Europe. Solid guarantee.

2. Automobile market situation

Kazakhstan is a left-hand car country, with approximately 207 cars per 1,000 people. Although Kazakhstan does not have a local automobile brand, its automobile industry mainly focuses on vehicle assembly and parts matching. At the same time, imported automobiles are also an important part of its market. Since 2019, Kazakhstan's automobile market has continued to grow steadily. In 2022, Kazakhstan sold a total of 125,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%. By 2023, this number will soar to 200,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 60.3%, showing a significant breakthrough in the size of the automobile market. In terms of automobile imports, Kazakhstan mainly imports automobiles from Uzbekistan, Germany, Japan and Lithuania. In recent years, the influence of China brands in Kazakhstan has continued to rise, and brands such as Chery, Jianghuai, and Chang 'an have all ranked among the top ten in the market. In terms of localized assembly, Kazakhstan has built factories such as Kia Plant, Astana Automobile Manufacturing Company, and Orbis Manufacturing Company in batches. In 2023, Kazakhstan produced more than 148,000 vehicles locally, an increase of 30% year-on-year, showing a continuous improvement in the level of localization of production.

In terms of new energy vehicles, Kazakhstan strongly supports the development of the new energy vehicle industry. In May 2023, Kazakhstan promulgated a tax exemption policy for imported electric vehicles. Kazakhstan citizens who purchase an electric vehicle from abroad for personal use can be exempted from tariffs and other taxes. This effectively promotes the promotion of new energy vehicles and also provides favorable conditions for China brands of new energy vehicles to expand the Kazakhstan market.

(Data sources: China Automobile Industry Information Network, Kazakhstan Automobile Alliance (KAU))

3. Policies and regulations on used car import

1. Import policy

Before December 1, 2024, Kazakhstan banned the import of right-hand rudder vehicles and stipulated that vehicles with engine displacements exceeding 3 liters should not be imported.

Starting from December 1, 2024, the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan announced that when vehicles with a production date of less than 3 years are used as the import basis, only legal entities clearly designated in the OTTC are allowed to import. This means that ordinary people (i.e. individuals) in Kazakhstan will not be able to import new cars based on the OTTC. In addition, each individual can only import one car from abroad per year.

(1)Import of automobiles within three years: Vehicles with a production date of less than three years can be imported by companies clearly designated in the OTTC, and individuals do not have this authority.

(2)Import of automobiles for more than three years: Import companies can import without quantity restrictions and must be sent to the inspection laboratory for inspection and obtain SBKTS certificate.

(3)Personal purchase restriction: Each individual can only import one car within a year. If more than one car is considered for commercial use.

(4)Significantly increase tariffs and fees: The total tax on imported vehicles by individuals will increase from 27% to more than 42%, including a 12% value-added tax, a 15% tariff, a recovery tax and various additional fees.

2. Documents required for import

● Copy of technical passport/certificate of title

● Original vehicle registration certificate

● Commercial/purchase invoice ● Bill of Lading (BOL)

● Original customs declaration form

● Invoice in the form of vehicle details (VIN number, engine number, year of production, model number, color and reasonable customs value)

● Letter of commitment (up to 12 months for temporary import) 

Source: "China's Used Car Export Country Guide 2024"

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