Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance Introduces a System of Preliminary Tax Clarifications

A roundtable was held in the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan to discuss the implementation of a tax ruling system. This mechanism allows businesses to receive official clarifications on tax obligations before transactions are made.

Deputy Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Birzhanov, explained that the tax ruling system enables companies to analyze planned operations in advance and obtain official comments from tax authorities.

“For example, if a company plans to sign a contract for the supply of goods, it can clarify in advance the tax regime and accounting procedures. Specialists from the government agency are obliged to respond to such forecasted obligations,” he noted.

The new mechanism has already been implemented under the updated Tax Code of Kazakhstan in the form of horizontal monitoring. This format allows taxpayers to disclose full information about their activities, while tax authorities can objectively assess operations and minimize risks. Currently, a pilot project on horizontal monitoring is underway, involving 25 major companies.

Participants of the roundtable emphasized that horizontal monitoring ensures transparency, reduces administrative burden, and prevents tax disputes. The Deputy Minister clarified that extending the preliminary clarification mechanism to all taxpayers is not yet advisable due to the need for detailed analysis of operations, high standards of tax discipline, and the risk of overloading tax authorities.

To expand access to tax clarifications, the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan is creating a database of answers to frequently asked questions.

“Last year, nearly 400,000 taxpayers requested clarifications on the provisions of the Tax Code. We are developing a search system with artificial intelligence elements, where users can ask questions in plain language and receive accurate answers,” said Deputy Minister Yerzhan Birzhanov.