Importing a used car from the US to Kazakhstan

The hidden history

When a US insurer writes a car off, it goes to auction with a salvage, flood or similar title. A Kazakh registration certificate doesn’t carry that brand. So the record that still shows the damage is the US one: the auction lot with its yard photos, the damage noted at sale, the title type and the odometer reading.

If a seller in Kazakhstan offers a US car, ask for the VIN and look up the lot. Compare the photos with the car: replaced airbags and dashboards, new radiators and headlights after a front hit, silt in the seat rails after a flood.

Who can still import a US car in 2026

Kazakhstan tightened the rules for private buyers in autumn 2026. In a briefing reported on 1 October 2026, the State Revenue Committee (KGD) and the ministries set out the following:

• A private person can get an electronic vehicle passport (ePTS) only for a car no more than five years past its year of manufacture, and only one car a year.
• Euro-5: the Ministry of Transport has drafted a rule that would admit personal imports only at Euro-5 or above. It was still a draft in early October 2026.
• Businesses (sole traders and companies) can still import older cars, at Euro-4 or above with no age limit, but they pay commercial duty and VAT.

If the car you want is more than five years past its year of manufacture, a private import may not be possible at all. Check the current rules with a customs representative before you bid, because they changed within weeks in 2026.

EAEU duty, VAT and the recycling fee

As an EAEU member, Kazakhstan applies the union’s rates. A private importer files a passenger customs declaration and pays one unified rate: by value for cars under three years old, and by engine size and age for older ones. A business files a goods declaration and pays customs duty, VAT (16% under the Tax Code in force from 2026) and, for passenger cars over 3,000 cm³, excise.

The recycling fee (utilsbor) is paid to the operator, which issues a certificate. Since 22 September 2026 a private importer must have that certificate before the car is released into free circulation. A 5.0-litre US pickup lands in the top band, so price it before you bid.

Routes from the US

Kazakhstan has no ocean port. One route is by sea to Georgia, through a port such as Poti, then east on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route across Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea into Kazakhstan. Other routes are used too, so ask your forwarder which one suits the car and who files the transit papers. US export comes first: the title must be with US customs, together with the car, at least 72 hours before it sails.

Registration at a SpetsTsON

Imported cars are registered at a specialised public service centre (SpetsTsON), where the car is inspected and its VIN checked against the papers. The order officials gave in 2026: the safety certificate for the vehicle’s construction, then the recycling fee and the first-registration fee, then customs clearance, then state registration. Keep the customs declaration, the recycling certificate and the US title together.

Checks before you bid

1. Decode the VIN with the VIN decoder and confirm the year of manufacture: under the 2026 rules, a private import depends on it.
2. Open the auction record for the photos, recorded damage, title type and odometer at sale.
3. Run a CARFAX or AutoCheck report for brands from earlier states and the US mileage trail.
4. Price the duty and recycling fee for the exact engine size.
5. Confirm with a customs representative that you, or your company, can import the car at all.

What our reports cover

CARFAX and AutoCheck cover vehicles sold in the US and Canada, with title brands, total-loss and auction events and recorded mileage. The auction report shows the Copart or IAAI lot as sold: photos, recorded damage, title and odometer. Reports are in English. We don’t handle shipping, customs, the ePTS or registration.