The Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC) has estimated potential budget losses from the shadow import of cars at more than 71 billion tenge.
According to media reports, this is stated in a document from SAC Chairman Alikhan Smailov addressed to Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
The document reports that over 2021-2023, the import of goods by individuals declared under customs declarations increased 6.5 times. Of this, 94% consists of vehicles worth 1.4 trillion tenge.
"Of all the vehicles mentioned, a fifth (21%) are commercial vehicles: tractor units, buses, trucks, and special equipment. The audit found that 3,076 individuals (61% of those analysed) importing commercial vehicles were not registered as individual entrepreneurs, which deprived the budget of tax revenues from entrepreneurial activities related to the sale of these vehicles. Furthermore, the import of passenger cars and other categories of vehicles for personal use, declared under goods declarations rather than passenger customs declarations, led to potential budget losses for just the 2021-2023 period amounting to 71.2 billion tenge", the document states.
For context, in March 2021, in the North Kazakhstan Region, a transnational group involved in smuggling cars from Russia and illegally registering them in Kazakhstan was detained. The Department of Economic Investigations discovered and seized 54 passenger cars, 6 trucks, documents, and state registration plates.
At the time, it was said that the cars were brought into Kazakhstan disguised as spare parts; however, according to our information, in Russia these cars were registered on credit using front persons at private car dealerships, or were imported from Armenia without customs clearance.
In March 2023, at a meeting in Kostanay, founder of the FBRK Kirill Pavlov reported that in Kostanay alone there were about 700 cars with tampered VIN numbers, and in Petropavlovsk – 400-500 units. He proposed distributing such cars among rural teachers, doctors, and local police officers.
In July 2024, Kirill Pavlov released a video on his YouTube channel, in which he spoke about the 'grey market' for cars in Kazakhstan and schemes for the illegal registration of vehicles brought in across the Kazakh border.