1. Basic situation

The Kyrgyz Republic (referred to as Kyrgyzstan) is located in Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan in the north and China in the east. The capital, Bishkek, has a land area of approximately 199,900 square kilometers and a population of 7.2 million. According to data from the Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, in 2024, Kyrgyzstan's GDP will be approximately US$17.24 billion, a year-on-year increase of 9%. According to statistics from China Customs, in 2024, the annual trade volume between China and Kyrgyzstan will reach US$22.71 billion, an increase of 14.7% over the same period last year. China continues to maintain its status as Kyrgyzstan's largest trading partner and largest source of imports. Among them, Kyrgyzstan's exports to China reached US$280,000, a year-on-year increase of 3270.3%, and imports from China reached US$19.90 billion, a year-on-year increase of 0.9%. In terms of China-Kyrgyzstan cooperation, on December 27, 2024, the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project was officially launched, playing a major role in promoting the continued high operation of bilateral relations.

Kyrgyzstan's natural resources mainly include gold, antimony, tungsten, tin, mercury, uranium and rare metals. Among them, antimony production ranks third in the world and first in the CIS, tin production and mercury production rank second in the CIS, and hydropower resources rank third among the CIS countries.

2. Automobile market situation

Kyrgyzstan is a left-handed country. The development of the local automobile industry is weak. Automobiles mainly rely on imports and are mainly used cars. Among them, Japanese cars have a higher share in the market. According to data from the National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, in 2024, Kyrgyzstan imported a total of 140,900 vehicles, with a total import value exceeding US$1.7 billion. Among them, 66,600 vehicles were imported from China, with an import amount of US$910 million; about 43,100 vehicles were imported from South Korea, with a value of US$284 million; in addition, Kyrgyzstan imported 6600 vehicles from the United States, 6100 vehicles from Georgia, and 5200 vehicles from Russia. China remains the largest automobile importer in Kyrgyzstan. At present, China cars imported into Kyrgyzstan are mainly used for re-export in the Russian market. In 2024, Kyrgyzstan will re-export 1300 passenger cars, of which 1100 will flow to Russia, and the rest will be mainly exported to Uzbekistan, China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. From 2023 to 2024, the number of re-exports of Kyrgyzstan's automobiles has decreased significantly, and the structure of export destinations has also undergone significant changes. The role of the Russian automobile market in promoting the development of Kyrgyzstan's automobile entrepot trade has gradually weakened. Kyrgyzstan's local automobile import demand still needs to be deeply explored.

In November 2024, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey signed a joint statement formally upgrading the strategic partnership between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Kyrgyzstan's rich energy resources and developed transportation network provide Turkish automakers with excellent market prospects. The China-Kyrgyzstan Railway under construction will greatly improve regional logistics efficiency and make it easier for Turkish automobile products to enter the Central Asian market. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan President Zaparov emphasized that in practice, he will further promote cooperation in the automobile industry between the two countries and jointly build an internationally competitive automobile brand.

3. Policies and regulations on used car import

1. Import policy

Kyrgyzstan only allows the import of left-hand rudder vehicles. Imported used vehicles are no more than 10 years old and meet Euro 2 emission standards or above, and imported vehicles must be inspected. Imported vehicles are divided into temporary imports and permanent imports. Temporarily imported vehicles, including motorcycles, must be exported at the end of the agreed period. Kyrgyzstan encourages the import of second-hand cars of low age, and will impose higher tariffs on second-hand cars older than 7 years old.

In addition, on April 1, 2024, The Russian Federation Government Decree No. 152 came into effect, and Russia will introduce a new method to calculate the price of cars imported from Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Cars entering Russia from these Eurasian Economic Union countries need to make up for all expenses saved when clearing cars locally, including customs duties, value-added tax and consumption tax. Russian customs will track and inspect payments made for imported cars in these countries of the Eurasian Economic Union and will incorporate all differences into scrapping fees. The car transfer business in Kyrgyzstan will shrink rapidly.

2. Tax policy

Temporarily imported vehicles are subject to a value-added tax of 3% and a monthly fee of 0.15% based on the contract amount signed.

Permanently imported vehicles are subject to customs duties and value-added taxes. The customs duties are determined according to the age and displacement of the vehicle, and the customs duties are negatively related to the age of the vehicle:

(1)Used cars that are less than 3 years old are classified as new cars, and tariffs range from 10% to 15% of the cost price of the vehicle depending on the displacement.

(2)Second-hand cars with a car age of 3-7 years will be charged a tariff of 20% of the vehicle cost value or a tariff of 0.36-0.80 euros/ml based on the specific vehicle age. Select the larger one from the two tariff options as the automobile import tariff.

(3)Used cars over 7 years old will be subject to a tariff of 1.4-3.2 euros/ml. The value-added tax on the import of used cars in Kyrgyzstan is 12% of the customs price of the vehicle.

(4)In terms of new energy vehicles, the zero-tariff policy on imports of pure electric vehicles in the Eurasian Economic Union region will be extended until 2025. Kyrgyzstan can import 10000 new energy vehicles duty-free every year, and at the same time implement tariff preferences for hybrid vehicles.

3. Documents required for import

● Original ownership certificate and registration certificate

● Original invoice

● Driving license and international insurance policy

● Transport bill of lading

● Copy of passport

● Copy of visa

● Original Bill of Lading (OBL)/Air Waybill (AWB)

● Original technical passport with cancellation mark

● Employment letter

● Letter from the Customs Committee

Source: "China Used Car Export Country Guidelines2024"

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