Currency Control: Challenges Kazakhstan Businesses Face When Working with Non-Residents
As of 28 September 2026.
Author: Auyelbek Zinullin, Legal Practice Manager, Fortune Partners
Kazakhstan companies regularly work with foreign counterparties: they purchase goods and services abroad (import) or sell their products to foreign buyers (export). Such contracts are most often concluded in US dollars due to the stability of this currency.
However, it is precisely foreign currency contracts that carry one of the key risks for business: currency control. The state closely monitors such transactions, and violations entail substantial administrative fines.
How the control system works
Monitoring is carried out at three levels:
- Second-tier banks. Foreign currency contracts exceeding USD 50,000 are subject to account registration with these banks. Banks monitor compliance with repatriation deadlines and the fulfilment of obligations when a contract is deregistered.
- The National Bank. As the main currency regulation authority, it receives contract information from banks and, if it identifies signs of a violation, sends a bank control record card to the state revenue authorities.
- State revenue authorities. Having received the information, they carry out control measures and, if a violation is confirmed, impose administrative liability.
What changed in 2024
The key change took place in 2024: currency control powers were transferred from the National Bank to the state revenue authorities. Since then, the number of administrative offence cases, primarily under Article 251 of the Code of Administrative Offences, has risen sharply. In our experience, inspections are often carried out formally, without due regard for the specifics of international transactions. At the same time, the previously established approach to considering such cases has also changed.
Challenging the results of such inspections is difficult. Cases are heard by courts for administrative offences rather than by administrative courts. In practice, courts rarely side with business, which is further complicated by very tight review deadlines and the de facto absence of cassation review. For this reason, preventive work plays the leading role.
How it looks in practice
Example 1: A resident company made an advance payment to a foreign supplier (non-resident) under a contract. The supplier failed to ship the goods and stopped responding. The repatriation deadline expired, and the resident was fined 20% of the advance payment, even though the violation was committed by the counterparty.
Example 2: A resident company purchased goods in another country, where ownership of the goods passed to it. From there, the company resold the goods to a counterparty from a third country. In this case, the tax authorities concluded that imported goods must necessarily be brought into the territory of Kazakhstan. Since the goods never crossed the Kazakhstan border, the company was fined 20% of the transaction amount.
Practical recommendations
Define the contract closing conditions in advance. It is necessary to clearly set out under which conditions the contract is deemed fulfilled and may be deregistered with the bank. It is also worth checking which documents confirm this and whether they correspond to the documents provided for by the Rules for Export-Import Currency Control[6].
Stay in contact with your servicing bank. Keep track of repatriation deadlines, especially when extending contracts: each extension is subject to separate account registration. It is convenient to keep an internal schedule of deadlines for all foreign currency contracts.
Agree on non-standard terms in advance. If a contract has specific delivery arrangements or non-standard terms, it is better to agree on the approach with the National Bank or the state revenue authorities before the contract is concluded or performed.
Check your counterparty. We recommend assessing the reliability of a foreign company before signing a contract in order to reduce the risk of improper performance, bankruptcy or liquidation.
Build a strong position in court. Refer to positive court precedents and consider involving specialists.
Conclusion
Currency control remains a high-risk area for business, given that liability rests with the resident, fines are high and difficult to challenge. However, most violations can be avoided by carefully drafting contract terms, monitoring deadlines and agreeing on non-standard situations in advance.
[1] Under paragraph 2 of Article 18 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Currency Regulation and Currency Control" No. 167-VI dated 2 July 2018 (the "Currency Control Law"), currency control agents are authorised banks, authorised organisations, and professional securities market participants carrying out currency transactions on behalf of clients.
[2] Paragraph 10 of the Rules for Export-Import Currency Control in the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 78 dated 5 October 2023.
[3] Paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Currency Control Law.
[4] Article 251 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Administrative Offences No. 235-V dated 5 July 2014 (the "CAO").
[5] Under the previous version of Article 251 of the CAO (as of 15 May 2019), liability was capped at 2,000 MCI (KZT 5,050,000 in 2019).
[6] Paragraph 3 of the Rules for Export-Import Currency Control in the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 78 dated 5 October 2023.
