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The export licensing process in Kazakhstan is described in detail in Appendix
I of Government Resolution No. 1037, 30 June 1997. According to this Appendix,
the Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Trade
was the only government body
with the right to issue an export or import license. On
13 December 2000, the right to issue export or import licenses was transferred to the
Department of Export Control and Special
Programs of the Ministry
of Economy and Trade. In order to
obtain an export license, a potential exporter must submit the following
documents to the Ministry of Economy and Trade:
a. A completed license application;
b. A copy of the contract or agreement as well as the original contract
itself (for comparison purposes);
c. The agreement between the manufacturer and the purchaser, if the potential
exporter is acting as an intermediary;
d. A certificate of state registration;
e. A document showing that the exporter has paid the license fee;
f. A license from the appropriate state body to conduct the type of operation
that the potential exporter conducts;
g. Permission from the government of Kazakhstan or other ministry or government
agency, if required. Those goods that can be exported only with the permission of the Kazakhstani government are outlined broadly in Appendix II of Government
Resolution 1037. Those goods that can be exported only with the permission
of specific government ministries or agencies, such as the Committee on Atomic Energy
(formerly the KAEA), are outlined broadly in Appendix IV of Government Resolution
1037;
h. A document certifying the origin of the goods to be exported.
The Ministry of Economy and Trade must make the decision to issue
or refuse a license within 10 days of receiving all the appropriate documentation.
Licenses are issued for one type of good only, regardless of the number
of types of goods in a given contract. This means that more than one export
license may be required per contract. Licenses are non-transferable, issued
for one export transaction only, and are valid for no more than one year
from their date of issue. The export license serves as the basis for processing
customs documentation. Licenses are issued for the export of goods to one
designated country only, and can not be used to export goods to any other
country. The Ministry of Economy and Trade has the right to suspend
export licenses for up to six months.[1,2]
All nuclear exports require a license. A potential exporter of nuclear
or dual-use nuclear materials must already have permission from the Committee on Atomic Energy
(formerly called the KAEA) to conduct operations in the sphere of nuclear
energy (including production, use, storage, or transport). The exporter
then must specifically receive permission from the Committee on Atomic Energy
and from the government
in order to receive an export license for nuclear or dual-use nuclear materials
[item g, above]. In practice, before the government gives permission for
an export, it will send a license application to all the relevant ministries
and agencies for interagency review. However, there do not appear to be
any major decrees or resolutions that actually require an interagency
review before the government gives its permission for a given export license
application.
In order to receive permission to export from the Committee on Atomic Energy, a potential
exporter must submit the following documents to the Committee on Atomic Energy:
a. Documents showing that the producer has permission to produce the nuclear
items in question;
b. Documents confirming that the items to be exported were legally transferred
from the producer to the potential exporter (applicant);
c. Documents confirming that the applicant has the right to conduct activities
with nuclear materials and radiation sources in general;
d. An initialed contract (agreement) on delivering the nuclear export to
the receiving country;
e. Documents showing that the export transaction does not violate the Nuclear
Nonproliferation Treaty or any other international
treaties or agreements to which Kazakhstan is a signatory.
In addition, if the export involves a non-nuclear weapon state, the competent
authorities in the receiving country must provide assurances that the exported
nuclear goods, or materials produced on the basis of those goods:
a. will not be used for any military ends, including the production of
nuclear weapons or nuclear explosives;
b. will be placed under IAEA safeguards;
c. will be secured under physical protection at levels not less than those
recommended by the IAEA;
d. will be re-exported from the recipient country to a third country only
if the above three conditions are met in the third country;
Re-export of HEU (enriched above 20 percent), plutonium, or heavy water
by the recipient country to a third can proceed only if the recipient country
receives written permission from the Committee on Atomic Energy.
The Committee on Atomic Energy also must know the route used to ship the export and be convinced
of the reliability of the end-user, in order to recommend that an export
license be issued.[3] After all the above documentation has been received,
the Committee on Atomic Energy will make a judgment as to whether or not to recommend to the Ministry of Economy and Trade that it issue an export license
to the applicant. Only one-time licenses are issued for nuclear exports.[2]
Exporters are required to inform the Committee on Atomic Energy not later than five days after
the goods are actually dispatched across the border.
There is a two-stage process for licensing the export of military goods
and technologies.
Stage One: A potential exporter from the defense industry must obtain
preliminary permission from the government in order to conclude contracts
with foreign customers. In order to receive permission, the potential exporter
must go through the following steps:
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Defense industry organizations must apply to the Defense
Industry Committee for permission to conclude a contract;
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The Defense Industry Committee will review the application, noting the type of goods in question,
the amount of goods, and the importing country. If everything is in order,
the Defense Industry Committee will prepare a draft decision for the government on permitting
the applicant to conclude a contract for military goods;
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The draft resolution of the government has to be approved by the following
ministries and organizations: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Committee
for National Security; the Ministry of
Economy and
Trade; the
Customs Committee; the Ministry of Finance; and the Ministry of Justice.
In approving this resolution, the ministries and organizations take into
account Kazakhstan’s international obligations, as well as its national
laws and legislation.
Once a defense industry organization has received permission from the government,
it can sign a contract with a foreign customer. This process can be lengthy.
According to a presentation by the Defense Industry Committee at an international export control
conference, it is not unusual for the above ministries and organizations
to make decisions that are not in the “economic interests of the military
industrial enterprises.” Presumably, this means that applications to receive
permission to conclude contracts are often declined at this stage in the
process.
Stage Two: Permission from the Government of Kazakhstan regarding the
issuance of an export license.
After signing a contract, a defense industry enterprise must apply again
to the Defense Industry Committee, requesting permission to receive an export license.
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The Defense Industry Committee then prepares a draft resolution for the government, which grants
permission to issue a license to the defense enterprise for exporting military
or dual-use goods from the territory of Kazakhstan in accordance with the specific contract
that it received permission to conclude in Stage One.
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The Defense Industry Committee sends the draft resolution, together with a copy of the contract
and an end-user certificate issued by an official government body of the
importing country, for approval by the same ministries and organizations
listed in Stage One. An end-user certificate is not required if the contract
is with a foreign Ministry of Defense or with any other official government
body of a foreign country. This approval process can take from two to six
months.
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After the government issues a resolution approving the issue of an export
license, the defense enterprise must formally apply to the Ministry of
Energy, Industry, and Trade for an export license.
The same procedures are required for the re-export of military goods. Re-export
requires the formal permission of a competent state agency in the country
where the military goods originated.
A special government resolution (Stage Two) is not required for the
following four types of activities:
1) the export of spare parts, training materials, or technical repairs
required in connection with military goods previously exported;
2) the export of parts required to produce military goods to countries
within the CIS. These types of exports are carried out in accordance with
inter-governmental agreements;
3) the transport across CIS borders of arms, military equipment, training
and support equipment for the purposes of repair, which can be carried
out without an export license. In this type of situation, the export is
carried out under bilateral agreements between the Ministries of Defense
of the CIS countries involved. The export is on the basis not of an export
license, but of a “military pass;”
4) the transport across CIS borders of special equipment, produced on the
territory of the CIS, intended for use by the Border Guards and necessary
for the defense of the state borders of CIS countries (not including arms
and military equipment).[4]
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