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KAZAKHSTAN

Reported in 2021

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Threshold for ‘De Minimis’ rule
De minimis threshold
It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 580.
Coverage Horizontal

KAZAKHSTAN

Since February 2021

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Restrictions on domain names
Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 417-V dated November 24, 2015 “On Informatization” (“Informatization Law”)
According to Art. 56 of the Law on Informatization requires that internet resources with ".kz" and ".қaz" domains must be hosted on hardware and software complexes located in Kazakhstan. In other words, an internet resource (website, web application, web service) using a ".kz" or ".қaz" domain must be hosted on a server in a data center located in Kazakhstan. The server must also be connected to a Kazakh internet provider and use a (dedicated or shared) Kazakhstan IP address. It is reported that the owners of Internet resources were originally required to start using Kazakhstan's data centers by November 2020, however, since the related transition required additional costs and time, the deadline for meeting this requirement was extended to February 2021.
Coverage Internet resources with .kz and .қaz domain

KAZAKHSTAN

Since July 2018, entry into force in July 2019, last amended in January 2020

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Restrictions on online payments
Law No. 167-VІ SAM on Currency Regulation and Currency Control (Закон o валютном регулировании и валютном контроле)
According to Art. 7 of Law No. 167-VІ SAM on Monetary Regulation and Foreign Exchange Control (which repealed Law No. 57 of 2005 on Monetary Regulation in July 2018), the use of a local bank is mandatory for settlements in foreign currency between residents of the KR and non-residents. Exceptions are settlements made from a foreign bank account of a non-resident, carried out on account of the performance of obligations of a resident (e.g. when a foreign parent company pays its local branch in the KR) and settlements with non-residents made from the resident's account in a foreign bank. Also, settlements between residents of the KR (including local branches of foreign non-financial legal entities considered residents) must be made in local currency.

KAZAKHSTAN

Since April 2004, last amended in December 2022
Since March 2015, as amended in July 2019, last amended September 2022
Since January 2015, last amended in October 2022

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Licensing scheme for e-commerce providers
Law On the regulation of trading activities No. 544

Order On approval of the rules of domestic trade No. 264

Order On approval of the notification templates and the rules for submission of notifications by state authorities No. 4
In accordance with subparagraph 4-1 of Art. 7 of Law No. 544, the Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan ordered the approval of the Rules of Domestic Trade (Order No. 264). Arts. 105-1 and 106-1 of the Rules mandate e-commerce sellers to indicate their BIN (business identification number), address of business operations on the territory of Kazakhstan and mobile telephone number registered in Kazakhstan in order to operate in the country. Additional information on this requirement is found in Annex 3-10 of Order No. 4.
Coverage E-commerce sellers

KAZAKHSTAN

Since July 2006

Pillar Technical standards applied to ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Self-certification for product safety
Law on Communication
According to Article 16 of the Law on Communication, technical means of communications used in the telecommunications network of the Republic of Kazakhstan are subject to procedure of mandatory conformity acknowledgment by the authorities. The equipment has to be submitted to certification bodies recognized (or approved) by the regulator for certification.
Coverage Telecom equipment

KAZAKHSTAN

Since August 2012

Pillar Quantitative trade restrictions for ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Export restrictions on ICT goods or online services
Decision No. 134 of EEC Board, Single list of goods subject to prohibitions or restrictions on import or export by the Customs Union member states within the EurAsEC when trading with third countries and Provisions on application of restrictions, 16 August 2012
The list of goods subject to import and export prohibitions or restrictions in the Eurasian Economic Union, including Kazakhstan, is determined by the Decision of the Board of Eurasian Economic Commission dating 2012. The Decision has been amended a few times since then. According to Section 1 of the so called "Single List" contained in the Decision, the following digital goods are among the goods that are subject to export restrictions: (i) Special hardware meant for secret information acquisition; (ii) Encryption devices.
Coverage Special hardware and encryption devices

KAZAKHSTAN

Since August 2012

Pillar Quantitative trade restrictions for ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Other import restrictions, including non-transparent/discriminatory import procedures
Decision No. 134 of EEC Board, Single list of goods subject to prohibitions or restrictions on import or export by the Customs Union member states within the EurAsEC when trading with third countries and Provisions on application of restrictions, 16 August 2012
Licensing procedures are applied to the importation of certain digital goods to the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union, including Kazakhstan. These digital goods include: (i) Civil radio-electronic equipment and/or high-frequency devices including those which are built-in or form a part of other goods; (ii) Special hardware meant for secret information acquisition; (iii) Encryption devices.
Coverage Encryption devices, radio-electronic equipment, special hardware

KAZAKHSTAN

Since November 2015
Since March 2018

Pillar Quantitative trade restrictions for ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Local content requirements (LCRs) on ICT goods for the commercial market
Law No. 418-V ZRK on Informatization (Об информатизации)

Order of the Minister of Defense and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 53/НК on approval of the Rules for the formation and maintenance of a register of trusted software and electronics industry products, as well as criteria for including software and electronics industry products in the register of trusted software and electronics industry products
According to Art. 7.6 of the Informatization Law, the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of electronic industry orders the creation of a unified register of trusted software and electronic products. According to the Order of the Minister of Defense and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 53/НК, enforced in May 2018, in order to be registered in the register, the exclusive rights to the software must belong to a Kazakh entity or natural person. In addition, it is reported that the local content for this software must not be less than 70%. Furthermore, internet resources registered as network media (such registration is not mandatory) are reported to be subject to the general media requirements regarding the mandatory percentage of locally produced programs and programs broadcast in the Kazakh language.
Coverage Horizontal

KAZAKHSTAN

Since December 2003

Pillar Content access  |  Sub-pillar Restrictions on online advertising
Advertisement Law
According to the Art. 7 of the Advertisement Law, an advertisement that contains a comparison of the advertised goods (works, services) with the goods (works, services) of other individuals or legal entities, as well as statements, images, discrediting their honour, dignity, and business reputation, is prohibited. Advertisement, regardless of the form or used means of distribution (placement), should be reliable, and recognizable without special knowledge or the use of special tools, directly at the time of its presentation.
Coverage Horizontal

KAZAKHSTAN

Reported in 2022

Pillar Content access  |  Sub-pillar Presence of Internet shutdowns
Presence of Internet shutdowns
The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Kazakhstan. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."
Coverage Horizontal

KAZAKHSTAN

Reported in 2019, last reported in 2022

Pillar Content access  |  Sub-pillar Presence of Internet shutdowns
Presence of Internet shutdowns
It is reported that the presidential elections in June 2019 and the parliamentary elections in January 2021 were both accompanied by disruption of internet connectivity. In addition, it is reported that there has been an internet shutdown at the beginning of January 2022 in the context of some protests. For over five days, except for short breaks of a few hours, people could not access websites, applications, or messenger apps. It is reported that the week-long internet blackout costed the economy more than USD 400 million.
Coverage Horizontal

KAZAKHSTAN

Reported in 2017, 2019, last reported in 2020

Pillar Content access  |  Sub-pillar Blocking or filtering of commercial web content
Blocking of websites
It is reported that the government has extensive authority to block online content. The National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NSC) controls the State Technical Service (STS) since 2017, assuming the authority to block content and disrupt internet networks for investigative purposes and to prevent crimes. The NSC can act without a court order, though it must notify other state bodies within 24 hours. In 2017, the NSC and a number of other state entities adopted new rules for blocking or suspending networks, ICT resources, and other web resources. The rules are classified. There are no publicly available data on the extent of state censorship, although one unofficial estimate puts the number of blocked websites at more than 30,000. Ministries occasionally release information on content restrictions. For example, in August 2018, the Ministry of Information and Communication announced that it had blocked more than 1,800 online “materials” since the beginning of 2018 and intended to block 9,340 more through 534 court proceedings. It is also reported that in 2019, the government prohibited access to social media, and temporarily blocked independent news websites. In February 2020, amid an outbreak of intercommunal violence between ethnic Kazakhs and the Dungan minority, the government temporarily blocked WhatsApp in a bid to stop the violence.
Coverage Horizontal

KAZAKHSTAN

Since December 2017, entry into force in April 2018

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar User identity requirement
Law on Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Information and Communications
As per the requirements of the Law on Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Information and Communications (2017), users have been required to identify themselves using government-issued digital signature technology or SMS verification in order to comment on domestic websites. Failure to enforce the rule after April 2018 can lead to fines. The law requires website operators to make it mandatory for users to enter into a formal agreement before they are permitted to post comments in local websites. The information provided in the agreement needs to be retained by the website and be handed over to the authorities whenever asked.
Coverage Domestic websites

KAZAKHSTAN

Since July 2004, as amended in 2016, last amended in September 2022
Since July 2014, last amended in November 2022

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Monitoring requirement
Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan of July 5, 2004 No. 567-II "On Communications".

The Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Administrative Infractions»
Amendments to the Communications Law in 2016 obliged ISPs to monitor content passing through their networks and to decide whether to restrict any problematic material. The amendments do not specify how ISPs are to carry out this obligation. The administrative code, in force since 2016, imposes fines on ISPs for not complying with censorship orders.
Coverage Internet service

KAZAKHSTAN

N/A

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbour for intermediaries for copyright infringement
Lack of intermediary liability framework in place for copyright infringements
A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Kazakhstan's law and jurisprudence. However, the Agreement on Enhanced Partnership between the EU and the Republic of Kazakhstan signed in March 2016 provides a safe harbour to European companies under several conditions. According to the agreement, an information intermediary is not liable, for example, if it does not initiate the transfer, if the end-user always takes the initiative, if it does not choose the recipient of the transfer if it does not choose or change the information contained in the transfer if it complies with the conditions of access to information, observes rules for updating information, does not interfere with the lawful use of generally recognized technologies, immediately deletes information or stops access to it, after receiving a notice.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

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