Kazakhstan is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

According to Art. 7.6 of the Informatization Law, the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of electronic industry is tasked with establishing a unified register of trusted software and electronic products. According to Art. 54.3.1, for the purposes of state security, only approved software may be used for public procurement and for critical information and communication infrastructure, whether state-owned or private, including telecommunication infrastructure. To become part of the register, the software applicant must transfer (i) source program codes for accounting and storage; (ii) source program codes (if any) and; (iii) a set of configurations for the licensed software of "e-government" information technology objects, as stated paragraphs 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Order of the Minister of defence and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 53/НК (Rules for the formation and maintenance of a register of trusted products of the electronics and software industry, as well as the criteria for including products of the electronics industry and trusted software in the register of trusted products of the electronics and software industry). In addition, it is reported that the local content for this software must not be less than 70%.

According to Art. 14 of the Law on Public Procurement, national treatment for goods originating from foreign countries, as well as works and services performed by foreign suppliers, is applied only under the conditions specified in international treaties ratified by Kazakhstan. The Law also grants the Government of Kazakhstan the right to establish exemptions from national treatment for up to two years to protect the constitutional order, ensure national defence and security, safeguard the domestic market, promote economic development, and support domestic producers.

Art. 39.3 of the Law on Public Procurement states that the purchase of periodicals on electronic carriers and information provision services from international and/or foreign information organisations may be conducted through a single-source method. In this case, the government selects the supplier through an ad hoc decision rather than a tender process. This approach is permitted when a tender fails to result in the conclusion of a public procurement contract. However, decisions regarding single sourcing are reported to lack transparency and competitiveness, creating opportunities for corrupt practices where only companies familiar to the contracting authorities succeed.

It has been reported that practical challenges exist in applying for public tenders, particularly due to the structure of Kazakhstan's e-procurement system. Additionally, there appears to be a concerted effort to promote local suppliers through public procurement. Furthermore, the requirement for foreign bidders to obtain a digital signature certificate is said to undermine the principle of open eligibility.

Kazakhstan is not a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). However, the country has been an observer of the WTO GPA since 2016.

According to Government Resolution No. 13 on Certain Matters Pertaining to the Implementation of State Support of Investments, production of digital goods such as computers, electronic and optical products is identified as a priority area for implementation of foreign investment projects, among others and are therefore subject to investment preferences. However, certain restrictions still exist in sectors related to the digital economy. For instance, in accordance with Art. 5 of the Law on Mass Media, foreigners and foreign legal entities, as well as stateless persons, cannot directly and (or) indirectly own, use, dispose and (or) manage more than 20% of the shares of a legal entity which is the owner of a mass media organisation in Kazakhstan or carries out activities in this area, including online mass media. This requirement does not apply to internet resources intended for electronic commerce.

In 2016, the country formally removed a 49% limit on foreign ownership of telecom companies, except for KazakhTeleCom. As of April 2024, the state-owned 71.3% of Kazakhtelecom through Samruk-Kazyna, its sovereign wealth fund.