7.1. Legal Framework
Membership of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) directly affects issues of foreign trade and customs regulation, in which an important role is played not only and even not so much by national legislation, but by international treaties to which Kyrgyzstan acceded upon joining these organizations, as well as international treaties subsequently concluded and ratified by Kyrgyzstan while being a member of the EAEU and WTO. At the same time, within the framework of the EAEU, in addition to international treaties, various acts (decisions of the authorized bodies of the EAEU) are adopted, which together with international treaties form the law of the EAEU, having priority over national legislation.
| Key Regulatory Legal Acts | Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO dated April 15, 1994 (Protocol of Accession of the Kyrgyz Republic dated October 14, 1998) Treaty on the EAEU dated May 29, 2014 (Treaty on Accession of the Kyrgyz Republic dated December 23, 2014) EAEU Customs Code dated April 11, 2017 Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On Customs Regulation" dated April 24, 2019 No. 52 |
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| Authorized Body | State Customs Service under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic |
AND CUSTOMS
REGULATION
7.2. Foreign Trade Regulation
The foreign trade policy of the Kyrgyz Republic is implemented taking into account the national interests of the state, as well as bilateral and multilateral international trade agreements concluded, including considering Kyrgyzstan's membership in the WTO and EAEU and the obligations associated with such membership.
In foreign trade, Kyrgyzstan, as a WTO member, in relations with more than 100 countries worldwide that are WTO members, applies the most-favored-nation regime, which is based on the principle of non-discrimination and implies granting the respective trading partners equally favorable conditions (in particular, identical customs duty rates on goods originating from these countries).
In relations with 12 countries worldwide (most CIS countries, Vietnam, Serbia, Iran), based on the relevant international treaties concluded by the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as international treaties concluded within the framework of the EAEU, Kyrgyzstan applies a free trade regime, which generally implies exemption of goods originating from these countries from customs duties and non-application of all or certain non-tariff regulation measures in mutual trade with these countries.
In relations with more than 70 countries worldwide (least developed and developing countries), Kyrgyzstan applies a preferential regime, which implies the imposition of customs duties on certain (but not all!) goods originating from these countries and imported into Kyrgyzstan at "zero" or reduced (preferential) rates.
7.3. Customs Regulation
The basis of customs regulation in the Kyrgyz Republic is the EAEU Customs Code, which came into force on January 1, 2018, and the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On Customs Regulation."
Within the framework of the EAEU, a single internal market for goods operates, implying the free movement within the EAEU of goods produced in the EAEU member states and/or having acquired the status of EAEU goods, without applying customs clearance (declaration), customs control, as well as customs duties and fees to such goods. As a result, customs regulation concerning these goods when moving from Kyrgyzstan to other EAEU member states or into Kyrgyzstan from other EAEU member states is not carried out. In this case, such goods are subject to tax administration and upon their import into the territory of Kyrgyzstan are taxed with import taxes (VAT and excise tax) at rates provided by the tax legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.34
The VAT and excise tax rates applied in Kyrgyzstan on the import of goods are provided in section 4 of this Handbook
| BUSINESS COMPASS | Legal Handbook on Kyrgyzstan When exporting goods from Kyrgyzstan to countries that are not members of the EAEU, and when importing goods into Kyrgyzstan from such countries, customs regulation is fully applied. This means that such goods are subject to customs clearance (declaration) using the customs procedures established by the EAEU Customs Code, customs control, and the imposition of applicable customs payments. The EAEU Customs Code provides for about 20 customs procedures under which goods may be placed (release for domestic consumption, export, customs transit, temporary import/export, customs/free warehouse, re-import/re-export, free customs zone, several processing regimes, and others). The main applicable customs payments are import customs duties35, customs operation fees related to goods clearance36, import VAT, and import excise tax37. Other types of customs payments may also be established and applied (for example, export customs duties, customs escort fees, fees for the use of navigation (electronic) seals, special anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and others), but in practice, they are used less frequently than the above-mentioned types of customs payments. 35 The main rates of import customs duties on goods originating from countries to which Kyrgyzstan applies the most-favored-nation trade regime are established by the Unified Customs Tariff of the EAEU linked to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity, i.e., separately for each commodity item. The rates are uniform for all EAEU countries. The types of rates contained in the Unified Customs Tariff are different: ad valorem (percentage of the customs value of goods), specific (monetary amounts per physical unit of measurement of goods), combined (mixed). 36 The customs operation fee rate is 0.4% of the customs value of goods, but in any case, it must not be less than 500 soms and not more than 250 thousand soms. 38 37 The VAT and excise tax rates on imported goods are provided in section 4 of this Handbook. | |||
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| BUSINESS COMPASS | Legal Reference Guide on Kyrgyzstan | |||
| When exporting goods from Kyrgyzstan to countries that are not members of the EAEU, and when importing goods into Kyrgyzstan from such countries, customs regulation is fully applied. This means that such goods are subject to customs clearance (declaration) using the customs procedures established by the EAEU Customs Code, customs control, and the imposition of applicable customs duties. The EAEU Customs Code provides for about 20 customs procedures under which goods may be placed (release for domestic consumption, export, customs transit, temporary import/export, customs/free warehouse, re-import/re-export, free customs zone, several processing regimes, and others). The main applicable customs payments are import customs duties35, fees for customs operations related to the clearance of goods36, VAT on imports, and excise tax on imports37. Other types of customs payments may also be established and applied (for example, export customs duties, customs escort fees, fees for the use of navigation (electronic) seals, special anti-dumping and countervailing duties, and others), but in practice, they are used less frequently than the aforementioned types of customs payments. 35 The main rates of import customs duties on goods originating from countries to which Kyrgyzstan applies the most-favored-nation trade regime are established by the Unified Customs Tariff of the EAEU linked to the Commodity Nomenclature of Foreign Economic Activity, i.e., separately for each commodity item. The rates are uniform for all EAEU countries. The types of rates contained in the Unified Customs Tariff are varied: ad valorem (percentage of the customs value of goods), specific (monetary amounts per physical unit of measurement of goods), combined (mixed). 36 The fee rate for customs operations is 0.4% of the customs value of goods, but in any case, it must not be less than 500 soms and not more than 250,000 soms. 38 37 The rates of VAT and excise tax on imported goods are provided in section 4 of this Guide. |
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These materials were prepared by the National Investment Agency together with Baker Tilly, are informational only and do not constitute legal advice. Data is current as of June 2026. Verify against applicable laws and consult the NIA before making decisions.