On November 28 and 29, 2022, a meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade Facilitation was held in an online format, at which Kazakhstan made a presentation on the results of the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation and presented the National Trade Information Portal, Delovoy Kazakhstan reports.
Since the beginning of the implementation of the UPT Agreement, electronic declaration of goods, electronic customs and tax payments to the budget, a Single Window for export-import operations have been introduced in Kazakhstan, and since July 4, 2022, the Trade Portal of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan has been launched, the development of which has been carried out since August 2020.
The portal contains a detailed description of all export, import and transit formalities for 50 types of goods, with an emphasis on the agri-food sector, of which 26 for export and 32 for import, using 6 modes of transport (automobile, railway, air, sea, sea-road and sea-rail).
The portal includes the necessary documents, forms and applicable rules and procedures. In 2023, the list of goods, as well as procedures for export-import operations, will be expanded.
The work of the Trade Portal of the Republic of Kazakhstan will help to reduce the time and costs of conducting international trade, ensure transparency and predictability of trade procedures, help identify reforms to improve trade procedures related to export/import, and also allow to compare Kazakhstan's trade procedures with other countries.
The Portal also helps Kazakhstan to comply with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation.
In turn, representatives of the WTO member states noted Kazakhstan's progress in trade facilitation within the framework of the implementation of the UPT Agreement, separately noted progress in the timely provision of notifications by the Republic of Kazakhstan and the implementation of the UPT Agreement.
Following the meeting, the Parties expressed the opinion that this platform will serve as a basis for further fruitful cooperation and exchange of experience between the countries in matters of simplification of international trade procedures. This work will increase the turnover and improve the terms of trade.
