Glossary of Kazakhstan business terms

A 12-digit number of a legal entity or sole proprietor in Kazakhstan.

Replaced the RNN on 1 January 2013. Structure: YYMM + organization type + activity type + sequence number + check digit. By BIN you can check a company's status, taxes, court cases, public contracts and risks.

Example: BIN 931240001169 — the company was registered in December 1993, a legal entity of Kazakhstan.

A 12-digit number of an individual in Kazakhstan.

Replaced the SIC. Structure: YYMMDD (date of birth) + sex and century indicator + sequence number + check digit. By IIN you can check an individual's tax debt, court cases and enforcement proceedings.

Example: IIN 850315400104 — a female, born on 15 March 1985.

A hierarchical code that denotes a company's type of activity.

Approved by the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan. It has 2–5 characters: 2 — section, 3 — group, 4 — class, 5 — subclass. Used for statistics, tax reporting and tenders. Each company has a primary OKED and may have additional ones.

Example: OKED 41.20.0 — construction of residential and non-residential buildings.

A numeric code of a region, district or locality.

Maintained by the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan. The KATO determines the legal address: region, district, city. Used in public procurement, tax documents and statistical reporting.

Example: KATO 750000000 — the city of Almaty.

A historical 12-digit taxpayer number of Kazakhstan (abolished in 2013).

On 1 January 2013 it was replaced by the BIN for legal entities and the IIN for individuals. The RNN still appears in old documents, contracts and court cases. There is no direct match between the RNN and the BIN/IIN — you have to look it up through reference registries or verification services.

A code for a company's economic sector (private/public, financial/non-financial).

Used for statistical accounting and economic analysis. The sector is determined by the nature of ownership and the company's role in Kazakhstan's economy.

Example: KSE 11000 — the non-financial private sector.

A code that denotes a company's form of ownership.

Indicates the ownership of capital: state, private, foreign, mixed. Used in public procurement and reporting.

Example: KFS 31 — private ownership.

The most common form of legal entity in Kazakhstan.

Founders are liable for obligations within the limits of their contributions. The minimum charter capital is 100 MCI. It can be established by one or several persons. Equivalent to an LLC in Russia.

An individual who carries out entrepreneurial activity without forming a legal entity.

Registered by IIN. Liable for obligations with all their property. Possible tax regimes: general, simplified declaration, patent.

An indirect tax on goods and services. The standard rate is 16% from 1 January 2026 (previously 12%).

From 1 January 2026 the main VAT rate in Kazakhstan was raised from 12% to 16%. A reduced rate of 5% applies to medical devices and medicines. The threshold for mandatory VAT registration was lowered from 20,000 MCI to 10,000 MCI per calendar year. You can register voluntarily at a lower turnover. VAT-payer status is an important indicator of a counterparty's reliability.