Kazakhstan cancels customs fee for small shipments from abroad

Until recently, businesses involved in courier activity were forced to pay more than usual / Photo: Shutterstock

According to the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Atameken, the country’s cabinet has approved the zero rate of customs fee for goods that cost less than €200.

What happened? As Atameken reported, this year businesses were forced to pay about $43.50 for every delivery document they applied with the government within the customs declaration process.

«As a result, the amount of import and export transactions with small shipments transported by courier companies significantly declined and hit online shops across the country,» the chamber said in a statement on Telegram.

What was the problem? The key problem was the necessity to pay for every delivery note rather than just one customs declaration. For example, for a batch of goods of 500 items for express delivery, a courier company should have filed 500 delivery notes and paid $21,748.69 instead of $43.50.

«This rule contradicted the international rules. We have proven that this is not fair and we managed to persuade the cabinet to amend this regulation. They have heard us. Currently, all private courier companies and online shops can work with no problems,» said Dina Mamasheva, executive director of the department of customs administration in Atameken.

As Kursiv wrote earlier, the Ministry of Finances also suggested that the cabinet cancel fees for customs declaration for goods worth less than €200. Moreover, the country’s authorities now want to revoke fees for customs clearance of domestic goods in special economic zones.

The agency also wanted the cabinet to cancel customs fees for the declaration of those local products that are going to be sold in free economic zones in Kazakhstan under customs procedures of a free customs zone.

Earlier this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law an agreement on customs fees, taxes, as well as special, anti-dumping and compensatory fees during customs transit of goods.

This agreement regulates issues related to customs and other fees during transportation of goods within the Eurasian Economic Union.