Shipping Heavy Equipment to Kazakhstan

The four ways to ship machinery to Kazakhstan

Container, flat rack, RoRo and breakbulk, with where each one lands. RoRo availability is by U.S. coast; the other three are booked on the services that run when the cargo is ready.

What the U.S. ships to Kazakhstan

U.S. exports to Kazakhstan by machine class, 2025 against 2024, as reported by the United States to UN Comtrade^[1]. Units are as declared; the average is customs value divided by units.

A dash means the quantity was not reported for that year. Classes the U.S. did not ship here in either year are left out.

Import duty on machinery in Kazakhstan

The most-favoured-nation (MFN) duty applied to each machine class, as a simple average of the national tariff lines under its HS subheading^[2]. Preferential rates under trade agreements can be lower.

The range shows the lowest and highest line within the subheading; a dash means every line has the same rate.

Worked example: a $100,000 excavator

Import duty: 0% of $100,000 CIF is $0 (HS 8429.52, 2023 tariff)^[2].

VAT: 16% of the duty-inclusive $100,000 is $16,000 (EAEU / Kazakhstan State Revenue Committee, checked June 2026)

Total duty and tax: $16,000, or 16% of CIF.

• Excise, port charges, broker fees and any registration tax are extra. The final rate depends on the exact tariff line your broker declares.

Vehicles and other taxes

Kazakhstan is a member of the EAEU: a 15% common external customs duty on the CIF value, 16% VAT, and a recycling fee (утильсбор) that scales steeply with vehicle age (from a few hundred to several thousand USD). Landlocked — cargo routes via the Caspian (Aktau) or rail (Khorgos).

Source: State Revenue Committee (Kazakhstan) / EAEU, checked June 2026.

• Import duty: 15% of CIF (EAEU common tariff)
• VAT: 16%
• Other charges: Recycling fee (утильсбор), age-scaled; Euro 5 and ERA-GLONASS required
• Age limits: Left-hand-drive and generally under 5 years for favorable import; vehicles must meet Euro 5 and carry the ERA-GLONASS emergency system. The recycling fee rises sharply with age.

Rules for used machinery in Kazakhstan

EAEU rules apply: used construction machinery is exempt from TR CU 010 certification; tractors need an e-passport. Kazakhstan charges a one-time utilization payment on tractors, combines and 8704 trucks (50 MRP × coefficient), not on excavators or loaders.

• Conformity: Used machinery ('бывшие в эксплуатации') is exempt from TR CU 010/2011 conformity confirmation (Art. 7); new machines need an EAEU certificate or declaration per Annex 3. Adopted by CU Commission Decision No. 823 (18 Oct 2011).^[4]
• Conformity: TR CU 031/2012 (EEC Council Decision No. 60, 20 Jul 2012) covers newly made and imported farm/forestry tractors; its used-tractor exclusion applies only to tractors already in circulation inside the EAEU.^[5]
• Documents: Tractors and self-propelled machines are registered via an electronic passport (ЭПСМ) under the EAEU Agreement of 15 Aug 2014 on unified passports; e-passport procedure set by EEC Collegium Decision No. 122 (22 Sep 2015).^[6]
• Fees: Import duty follows the EAEU Common Customs Tariff and CN FEA approved by EEC Council Decision No. 80 (14 Sep 2021), identical across member states.^[7]
• Fees: Utilization payment (Order No. 448 of 2 Nov 2021, Annex 4 per Order No. 54 of 20 Mar 2026): tractors 50 MRP × coefficient up to 40 by horsepower; coefficient 250 if imported from Belarus/Russia; paid once per unit.^[8]
• Fees: Annex 4 also covers HS 8704 trucks (including dump trucks) at 50 MRP × weight-based coefficient; excavators, loaders and dozers are not listed among Annex 4 categories.^[8]
• Documents: Declarations must be filed by a Kazakhstan-registered entity or licensed customs broker, in Kazakh or Russian, with invoice, supply contract and transport documents.^[9]

U.S. export controls

Diversion risk. Kazakhstan named by BIS as a common transshipment point for goods diverted to Russia/Belarus.^[10][11][12]

EAR99 heavy equipment normally needs no licence here, but reexport to Russia/Belarus of Supp. 4 items (8429, 8426, 8701, 8704) needs a BIS licence (§746.8(a)(5)). Shares a customs union border with Russia. Screen all parties (CSL, SDN, Entity List); get end-user certification and no-Russia clause; red flags: forwarder as final consignee, third-country payer, onward routing.

Documents for Kazakhstan

The papers a machinery shipment to Kazakhstan usually needs at destination. Your consignee and their customs broker confirm the list for the exact cargo.

• Commercial Invoice
• Packing List
• Bill of Lading/Rail Waybill
• Certificate of Origin
• EAEU Declaration of Conformity
• Equipment Specifications
• Transit Documentation (if applicable)

U.S. export rules

What every shipment from the U.S. has to clear before it sails, whatever the destination.

Electronic Export Information (15 CFR 30)U.S. Census Bureau

Electronic Export Information is filed in AES for each Schedule B number worth more than $2,500 going to one consignee on one conveyance, and for every vehicle whatever its value. For vessel cargo it is due at least 24 hours before loading; the Internal Transaction Number (ITN) goes to the carrier with the booking.^[13][14]

Applies to: Any Schedule B line over $2,500, and every vehicle

Used self-propelled vehicles: 72-hour ruleU.S. Customs and Border Protection

U.S. regulations count self-propelled construction and agricultural machinery as vehicles. A used one must be filed in AES at least 72 hours before export, whatever its value or destination, and the ITN, the VIN or serial number and the ownership documents go to CBP at the port of export. Filing after departure is not allowed.^[15][16][14]

Applies to: Used machines that drive: excavators, loaders, dozers, tractors, trucks

ISPM 15 wood packagingIPPC, administered in the U.S. by USDA APHIS

Wood packaging and dunnage must be heat-treated to a core temperature of 56 °C for at least 30 minutes, or fumigated, and carry the IPPC mark with the US country code, the facility number and HT or MB. Marked wood can be reused; repaired or remanufactured wood must be treated and marked again.^[17]

Applies to: Crates, skids, blocking and dunnage

Export classification under the EAR (ECCN or EAR99)BIS (U.S. Department of Commerce)

An item subject to the EAR is either listed on the Commerce Control List under an Export Control Classification Number (ECCN) or classified EAR99, the basket for items not listed. The ECCN’s reasons for control, read against the Commerce Country Chart, decide whether the destination needs a license. An EAR99 item rarely needs one, but no item, EAR99 included, may go to a person under a denial order or to a prohibited end use or end user without BIS authorization.^[18][19][20]

Applies to: Every export of goods subject to the Export Administration Regulations

Clearance notes for Kazakhstan

• Routing is via the Caspian (Aktau) or rail (Khorgos/Trans-Caspian) with an inland leg.
• Budget the age-scaled recycling fee — it can exceed the duty for older vehicles.

Questions buyers ask

Export checklist (PDF)

A one-page checklist with the facts on this page for shipping Kazakhstan: methods, duty, rules and documents. Give it to your customs broker.

Nearby destinations

• Shipping Heavy Equipment to Russia
• Shipping Heavy Equipment to Uzbekistan
• Shipping Heavy Equipment to China
• Shipping Heavy Equipment to Turkmenistan

All destinations in Asia Pacific