Due to the geopolitical situation in the region, there has been a sharp increase in interest in opening a corporate account in Kazakhstan by foreign legal entities lately.
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Since April 2022, Kazakhstani banks have been conducting more thorough compliance checks regarding the opening of accounts for foreign legal entities.
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There are no restrictions on currency operations on accounts in Kazakhstan: it is possible to freely receive funds in foreign currency, conduct currency operations under export-import contracts, exchange, buy, and sell foreign currency.
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Bank transfers are conducted entirely online through an application.
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If you are not a resident of Kazakhstan and do not receive income from sources in Kazakhstan, you are exempt from taxes, even though to open an account, you need to go through the procedure of registering a non-resident for tax purposes and obtain an Individual Identification Number (IIN) / Business Identification Number (BIN).
What is required to open a bank account for a foreign copmany?
Obtain a BIN for the foreign company and IIN for the companies CEO. Please note, according to the new rules as of February 2024, IIN can only be obtained in person by the applicant. Application for IIN under the power of attorney is not available any more.
When you choose a bank, documents can be submitted online to multiple banks simultaneously.
To open an account for a foreign legal entity, it is necessary to provide to the bank:
BIN and IIN for the CEO;
Constituent documents of the company;
Extract from the trade register;
Passport of the legal entity's manager;
Documents with information about the ultimate beneficiary of the legal entity.
This list is not exhaustive, and depending on the bank, additional documents and information about the company may be requested.
Usually, documents can be submitted to the bank online, and if the bank approves the account opening, then notarized copies of documents with an apostille or legalization will be required when opening the account. Documents issued in CIS countries are provided without an apostille and legalization.
Personal presence of the Company’s CEO is required when opening the account.
In practice, there are many questions regarding the list of documents, requests for additional documents, some banks practice video conferences with the CEO of foreign companies. Additionally, depending on the bank, a digital signature certificate (DSC) for the legal entity may be required. Therefore, it is recommended to immediately obtain a BIN, IIN.
Opening an account for LLP and foreign legal entities in a Kazakhstani bank
Any individual, including a non-resident, can open an account at any bank in Kazakhstan. The geopolitical situation in the region has also affected the procedure for considering documents for opening accounts in Kazakhstan. After April 2022, banks tightened compliance control regarding foreigners.
Currently, opening a bank account is a complex issue for newly registered companies. There are quite a few refusals (without explanation) to open accounts for non-residents without registering a legal entity in Kazakhstan.
At the legislative level, as well as in the available official acts of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, there are no restrictions on opening accounts for non-residents or residents who have non-resident founders.
In current realities, each bank independently develops its policy on opening accounts for companies with foreign participation.
First of all, local banks are not interested in opening accounts for non-residents who use accounts for transit transactions. That is, when, in essence, the transaction is not related to activities in Kazakhstan.
However, if you have established an LLP, have a real office, a business plan, agreements on contracts in Kazakhstan, i.e., evidence that you intend to conduct business in Kazakhstan, there is a high probability that you will be able to open an account.
Rules for currency transactions
Currency transactions between residents and non-residents are conducted without any restrictions, but subject to certain requirements.
All payments between residents must be made in the national currency - tenge, and all obligations under contracts between residents must also be expressed in tenge.
However, if an LLP has concluded a contract with a foreign counterparty, payment under the contract can be made in foreign currency.
Kazakhstani banks are required to notify the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan of currency transactions conducted, the amount of which is equal to or exceeds 50,000 USD. Such contracts are subject to accounting registration. As a general rule, the obligation to register currency contracts is imposed on second-tier banks that conduct currency transactions. If the amount of the contract exceeds 500,000 USD equivalent, then such a contract will be subject to special monitoring.
When conducting any banking transactions with a counterparty from Russia, it is necessary to check in advance whether the counterparty's bank is listed in the sanctions list.
This can be done at https://sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov/ or through the bank's manager.
Author: legal advisor Aigerim Massatbayeva
