Importing a car to Kazakhstan in 2026: new rules — 5 years, Euro-5, one car per year

In 2026 Kazakhstan changed its passenger car import rules twice. For a US auction buyer this is the main filter: a car that fails on age or emissions class will not be accepted for registration as a personal-use import. Below: what changed, which payments and documents are needed, and how to pick a lot without mistakes. Data as of November 2026.

What changed on 28 September 2026

• One car per year. An individual can register only one car per year for personal use.
• Owner = declarant. At registration, the owner's details must match the declarant on the customs declaration. This closed the loophole of passing commercial imports off as personal ones.
• Recycling fee before the declaration. The recycling (utilization) fee paperwork is done before the passenger customs declaration is filed — through the operator JSC «Жасыл даму», with a digital signature (ЭЦП).

What changes on 30 December 2026

A car imported for personal use must meet both conditions at once:

• age — no more than 5 years from the manufacture date;
• emissions class — Euro-5 or higher.

Meeting only one condition is not enough. For personal imports, the СБКТС (vehicle design safety certificate) is issued only for cars that pass the age rule. The changes were approved by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Construction.

Sole proprietors (ИП) and companies keep the old threshold — Euro-4. A car older than 5 years can still be imported, but only commercially — through an ИП or a company, with a different declaration and a different set of payments.

Age counts from the manufacture date, not the model year

This is the main trap with US cars. US documents and auction listings show the model year. But a 2022 model-year car may have been built in 2021. The manufacture date (month and year) is on the sticker in the driver's door jamb. Before bidding, that is what we check — from the lot photos or on request.

Euro-5 and US cars

US-market cars carry no «Euro» rating: they are certified to American EPA standards. For Kazakhstan, the emissions class is confirmed when the СБКТС is issued. If you are unsure about a specific model, ask the lab or a customs broker before bidding, not after the purchase.

What the payments in Kazakhstan consist of

We do not publish amounts: they depend on the car's value, the exchange rate and the МРП (Kazakhstan's monthly calculation index), and they change often. The set of payments differs for personal and commercial imports. In general it includes:

• Customs duty — on the customs value (car price + delivery).
• VAT — charged on the car's value together with the duty.
• Excise — only for engines over 3 litres.
• Customs fee — for processing the declaration.
• Recycling fee — paid before release / first registration.
• First registration fee — depends on age: for cars older than 3 years it is many times higher.
• СБКТС and the ЭВАК button — safety certification and an emergency call system installation.

Electric cars get customs duty benefits. The exact calculation for a specific car is done by a customs broker in Kazakhstan.

Documents for clearing a US car

• Proof of purchase: the auction (Copart or IAAI) invoice or a sales contract.
• Title — the US ownership document.
• Export declaration of the country of export.
• Bill of Lading for the ocean leg and transport documents (CMR) for the onward journey.
• Transit documents for Georgia.
• СБКТС — the vehicle design safety certificate.
• Certificate of recycling fee payment.

The documents that pass through us — the auction invoice, Title, Bill of Lading and Georgian transit documents — we hand over together with the car in Poti or Batumi.

Step-by-step process

1. Check the lot before bidding: manufacture date, emissions class, engine size.
2. Purchase on Copart or IAAI, ocean shipping to Poti or Batumi.
3. Transit through Georgia and delivery to Kazakhstan — via Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea.
4. Recycling fee paperwork (for personal imports — before the declaration).
5. Customs clearance in Kazakhstan and payment of duties.
6. СБКТС, ЭВАК installation.
7. Registration at a specialised ЦОН centre and number plates.

What this means when choosing a car at auction

The key takeaway: for a personal import, look for a car that is no older than 5 years by manufacture date and has an engine up to 3 litres (no excise). Older cars only work for a commercial import through an ИП. How to pick a model under these rules — in our article which US car to choose for Kazakhstan. Route and timelines — in from Georgia to Kazakhstan.

Rules may change. Check the current requirements before buying or contact us — we will check the lot before bidding. Our service for Kazakhstan is on the cars from the USA to Kazakhstan page.