KAZAKHSTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Assel Ilyassova, Lyazzat Zhilkibagarova and Makhabbat Mukhidinkyzy, GRATA International
6. Penalties and Sanctions 6.1 Tax Penalties
multilateral competent authority agreements on auto - matic exchange of information (including the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and CbCR), and Kazakh - stan’s network of bilateral double tax treaties, which typically contain exchange-of-information and mutual agreement procedure (MAP) provisions. 7.2 Exchange of Information Clauses in Tax Agreements Kazakhstan exchanges tax information on request and automatically, and its legal framework also contem - plates spontaneous exchange. Automatic exchange takes place through the relevant multilateral com - petent authority agreements, including the CRS and CbCR. 7.3 Other Forms of International Tax Collaboration Kazakhstan does not participate in the OECD’s Inter - national Compliance Assurance Programme, joint audits or other multilateral arrangements other than MAPs. 8. Mutual Agreement Procedures and Arbitration 8.1 Availability and Legal Basis Kazakhstan has a MAP framework based on its net - In Kazakhstan, the deadline for submitting a MAP request depends on the relevant double tax treaty. Generally, this period is three years from the first notifi - cation of the action resulting in taxation not in accord - ance with the applicable treaty. 8.3 Mandatory Binding Arbitration In Kazakhstan, mandatory binding arbitration is avail - able only under a limited number of double tax trea - ties, namely those concluded with Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Switzerland, Tajikistan and the United States. work of double tax treaties. 8.2 Application Deadlines
Penalties relating to cross-border transactions in Kazakhstan are governed mainly by the Tax Code, the Code on Administrative Offences, the Criminal Code and, where relevant, customs legislation and transfer pricing rules. Administrative sanctions are generally imposed and enforced by the state reve - nue authorities, ie, tax and customs authorities, while cases involving possible tax crimes are referred to law enforcement authorities. 6.2 Criminal Penalties Criminal liability applies in cases of large-scale tax • confiscation of property in certain cases; and • a ban on holding certain positions in the future. 6.3 Interaction Between Tax and Criminal Procedures Where the state revenue authorities, including the tax and customs authorities, identify indications of a tax-related criminal offence, they are required to refer the relevant materials to the competent law enforce - ment authorities for further investigation. In prac - tice, referral is made to the Economic Investigation Service rather than directly to the public prosecutor. Co-ordination is then ensured through the criminal procedure framework: the state revenue authorities provide audit materials and may be involved further by assisting with additional tax or customs reviews, or by participating as witnesses or specialists, while the investigative authorities and, ultimately, the courts handle the subsequent procedural stages. 7. Administrative Co-Operation 7.1 Legal Framework for Administrative Co- Operation Administrative co-operation in tax matters in Kazakh - stan is based primarily on international instruments. The main instruments are the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the related evasion, including: • substantial fines; • restriction or deprivation of liberty;
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