Criteria for Determining the Kazakhstani Origin of Goods

To determine the criteria for the origin of goods in the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK), an analysis of the legislation was conducted, particularly the Rules for Determining the Country of Origin of Goods, the Status of Goods of the Eurasian Economic Union or Foreign Goods, the Issuance and Revocation of Certificates of Origin, and the Establishment of Certificate Forms for Determining the Country of Origin of Goods, as approved by Order No. 454-NK of the Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan on July 13, 2021.

According to subparagraph 5) of paragraph 3 of the Rules, the country of origin of goods is the country where the goods were entirely produced or underwent sufficient processing.

In accordance with subparagraph 2) of paragraph 4 of the Rules, for the purpose of determining the country of origin of goods exported or re-exported from the Republic of Kazakhstan, goods are recognized as Kazakhstani-origin goods based on the criterion of sufficient processing.

As per subparagraph 3) of paragraph 3 of the Rules, the criterion of sufficient processing is one of the criteria for determining the country of origin of goods. It states that if the production of goods involves two or more countries, the goods are considered to originate from the country where they underwent the last substantial transformation, which was sufficient to confer their essential characteristics.

According to paragraph 8 of the Rules, for goods exported from the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan to countries (or unions) with which valid (ratified) international agreements/treaties exist containing rules for determining the country of origin (or criteria for determining the country of origin), or where such rules/criteria are established unilaterally by the importing country (or union), the determination of the country of origin of goods follows these international agreements/treaties or unilaterally established rules/criteria.

If no valid (ratified) international agreements/treaties or unilaterally established rules/criteria exist, the country of origin of goods is determined in accordance with the criteria set out in paragraph 8 of the Rules.

Criteria for Sufficient Processing of Goods Exported from Kazakhstan (paragraph 9)

For a product exported from the Republic of Kazakhstan to be recognized as a Kazakhstani-origin product, it must undergo sufficient processing to confer its essential characteristics. However, the following operations are not considered sufficient processing:

1) Operations aimed at preserving the goods during storage or transportation;

2) Preparation of goods for sale and transportation (breaking bulk, forming shipments, sorting, repackaging);

3) Washing, cleaning, dust removal, coating with oxides, oil, or other substances;

4) Painting or polishing operations;

5) Sharpening, simple grinding, or simple cutting;

6) Pouring, packaging into cans, bottles, bags, boxes, or other simple packaging operations;

7) Assembly of goods from separate materials, units, and components not produced by the applicant, including mounting, riveting, pressing, gluing, fastening with bolts, nuts, screws, or other fasteners, hand soldering with a soldering iron/station, which do not require special skills;

8) Separation of goods into components that do not result in significant differences from the original product;

9) Mixing of goods (components) that does not lead to a significant difference from the original constituents;

10) A combination of two or more of the above operations.

Criteria for Domestic Circulation

According to paragraph 13 of the Rules, to determine the country of origin of goods for domestic circulation, a product is considered:

1) Fully of Kazakhstani origin;

2) Of Kazakhstani origin based on the criterion of sufficient processing.

As per paragraph 15 of the Rules, the criteria for sufficient processing of a Kazakhstani-origin product for domestic circulation are:

1) A change in the product's code according to the Foreign Economic Activity Commodity Nomenclature at any of the first four digits as a result of processing;

2) Fulfillment of conditions, production, and technological operations necessary to confer origin status when using third-country materials in production;

3) A change in the value of the product, where the percentage of local material costs and/or manufacturer processing costs within Kazakhstan in the "ex-works" price of the finished product (hereinafter referred to as the domestic value share of the product) accounts for at least 50% of the final product's "ex-works" price.

Conclusion

To recognize the Republic of Kazakhstan as the country of origin for goods exported or re-exported, it is essential to verify whether valid (ratified) international agreements/treaties with the importing country contain rules/criteria for determining the country of origin. If such agreements exist, the relevant criteria should be identified.

For determining sufficient processing criteria for domestic circulation:

It is necessary to verify whether the Kazakhstani share of the domestic value in the product price is at least 50% of the final product's value.

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