Amnesty on tax penalties in Kazakhstan – whose debts will be cleared and whose will not

Kazakhstan has enacted its first-ever administrative amnesty, a move aimed at clearing outstanding fines imposed by tax and customs authorities. The law, signed on July 1, targets individuals, including citizens, individual entrepreneurs, and private practitioners like notaries and lawyers.

According to Akhmetov, the amnesty covers administrative fines issued before the law's enforcement. Even partially paid fines will have their remaining balances written off, and enforcement proceedings will be terminated. This initiative aims to provide relief to eligible individuals who failed to pay tax fines by July 3 of this year.

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All outstanding orders for administrative penalties issued before the law came into force fall under the amnesty. If a fine has been partially paid, the remaining balance will also be written off.

However, the amnesty has specific exclusions. It does not apply to fines imposed by courts or those related to serious tax violations outlined in the Code of Administrative Offenses. These include concealment of taxable items, evasion of tax obligations, and understatement of tax amounts. These violations are considered direct breaches of the constitutional duty to pay taxes, thus disqualifying them from any exemptions.

Furthermore, fines for understatement of taxes were already addressed in the "Clean Slate" campaign earlier in 2026, which waived penalties for businesses that settled their principal debt. Data from that campaign shows businesses repaid approximately 13 billion tenge, with the state writing off 4.9 billion tenge in fines and penalties. Consequently, these specific violations were not included in the administrative amnesty to avoid duplication.

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These violations are directly related to the constitutional duty to pay taxes; therefore, no exemptions from liability will be granted for them.