In accordance with Article 137 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 214-VIII ZRK dated July 18, 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Code), desk audits are conducted by comparing data contained in:
1) information held by tax authorities, including tax forms;
2) information from other authorized government agencies on taxable items and/or tax-related items;
3) information on the activities of the taxpayer (tax agent) obtained from various sources.
Desk audits for a tax period are conducted during the statute of limitations for that period.
1) in the event of agreement with the discrepancies specified in the notice – the taxpayer (tax agent) rectifying the identified violations of the tax legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan by:
submitting tax returns in accordance with the notice for the tax period to which the identified discrepancies relate;
paying the amount of value-added tax to the budget, previously refunded from the budget at the request of the taxpayer (tax agent) for a value-added tax refund, as well as penalties for each day from the date of transfer of such amounts to the taxpayer (tax agent) until the date of payment;
Data entry in a dedicated mobile app and/or payment of taxes and social contributions – for taxpayers applying the special tax regime for the self-employed;
performing the actions stipulated by Article 716 of the Tax Code for the purpose of transitioning to the relevant tax regime;
2) in the event of disagreement with the discrepancies specified in the notification – the taxpayer (tax agent) shall submit to the tax authority that submitted the notification an explanation of the reasons for the discrepancies that do not entail a violation of the tax legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter referred to as the explanation).
Submitting an explanation to the notification when allocating expenses for deductions when calculating corporate income tax and for offsetting the amount of value-added tax on purchased goods, works, and services is prohibited:
1) on the basis of an invoice and/or other document, the action(s) for issuing which is (are) recognized by a final and binding court decision or a ruling of the criminal prosecution body on the termination of the pre-trial investigation on non-rehabilitating grounds as committed by a private business entity without the actual performance of work, provision of services, or shipment of goods. This action does not apply to transactions (operations) for which the court has established the actual acquisition (receipt) of goods, works, or services by the taxpayer (tax agent).
2) for transactions recognized as invalid on the basis of a final and binding court decision;
3) for transactions completed without the actual performance of work, provision of services, or shipment of goods with a taxpayer whose director and/or founder (participant) was not involved in the registration (re-registration) and/or financial and economic activities of such legal entity, as established by a final and binding court decision;
4) for transactions (operations) with legal entities and/or individual entrepreneurs whose registration (re-registration) has been invalidated by a final and binding court decision.
If the taxpayer (tax agent) agrees with the discrepancies specified in the notification regarding performance, the taxpayer (tax agent) is deemed to have resolved the identified discrepancies in that part and provided an explanation for the absence of discrepancies in the remaining part. 5. The taxpayer's (tax agent's) explanation must contain:
1) the identification information of the taxpayer (tax agent) and the tax authority that submitted the notification;
2) the number and date of the notification for which the explanation is being provided;
3) the reasons for disagreeing with the discrepancies indicated in the notification;
4) the date and signature;
5) a list of documents confirming the validity of the disagreement with the notification (if any).
Notification of discrepancies identified as a result of a desk audit is classified as an informational and warning notification, and, in accordance with Article 82 of the Tax Code, the deadline for compliance is 30 business days following the date of delivery.