ITIC-EEC Meeting in Moscow

ITIC’s Mukhit Akhanov met this week in Moscow with Timur Suleimenov, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Eurasia Economic Commission (EEC), who has recently been reappointed for a second four-year term to begin on 1 February. The EEC chairmanship will pass from Russia’s Vitkor Khristenko to former Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan on 1 February 2016, and a restructuring of the EEC Secretariat is expected by mid-March. New member states Kyrgyzstan and Armenia are expected to assume important positions among the EEC leadership, perhaps the portfolios pertaining to oil and gas and customs policy.

During the planning discussion for 2016, Minister Suleimenov confirmed his participation in the Eurasia Tax Forum in The Hague in June 2016 and in other ITIC programs throughout the year.

Kazakh Supreme Court Specialized Board on Investor Disputes

The Supreme Court of Kazakhstan has announced the creation on a new Specialized Board to Resolve Disputes with Large Investors. In a recent television interview, Aigul Kadyrbayeva, Supreme Court Judge and Chair of the Specialized Board, said that the Board will consist of 7 Judges from the Supreme Court who have long-term experience in resolving investor disputes and are familiar with international judicial practice. The Board will only handle investor disputes with state bodies. Only those who have invested approx. $10 million will be identified as Large Investors. Applications to this Specialized Board can be filed electronically online. It is the first time in the history of Kazakhstan that Supreme Court judges would review investors' cases as a Court of first instance prior to the Supreme Court hearing an appeal. In addition to the Specialized Board, an International Council within the Supreme Court consisting of international experts will be established to give its expert opinion on each case, not as a binding ruling but rather as an experts' statement.

ITIC has established a lengthy record of fruitful cooperation with the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan related to shortcomings in tax legislation and administration that sooner or later lead to resolution in the Court. We look forward to sharing best international experience in fields that typically give rise to disputes -- decriminalization of tax violations, ecological regulations and procedures, transfer pricing, and others.

Kazakhstan: Retail Sales Tax

On 28 December 2015, Kazakh Minister of National Economy Yerbolat Dossayev conducted a briefing for Members of Parliament in the Kazakh Majilis in which he formally announced that the Kazakh Government has decided to replace the Value-Added Tax (VAT) with a Retail Sales Tax (RST). He indicated that the draft package of changes and amendments to the Tax Code will be submitted to the Parliament by 1 September 2016. This draft package will contain proposals to replace VAT with RST and unify the Tax and Customs Codes into one Code.