Kazakhstan: Pilot project for public procurement suppliers to pay VAT with digital currency
Pilot project runs through December 31, 2026
The Ministry of Finance on February 2, 2026, launched a pilot project for public procurement suppliers to pay value added tax (VAT) with digital tenge—a digital equivalent of traditional currency in Kazakhstan.
Participation in the project is voluntary, requiring taxpayers to submit an application to a second-tier bank to open a digital account in the digital tenge system, sign an agreement with the state revenue authority for data exchange, and confirm payments in digital tenge. The project applies to public procurement suppliers and second-tier banks that voluntarily join.
The pilot project runs from February 2, 2026, through December 31, 2026.
VAT marking mechanism
When a taxpayer initiates a payment, the system automatically marks the portion of digital tenge corresponding to the VAT amount. Marked digital tenge may be used exclusively (1) to pay VAT to the state budget, or (2) to pay the VAT amount under an electronic VAT invoice to another VAT payer. The taxpayer may not use the marked amount for any other purpose but may convert unmarked digital tenge back to its current bank account.
Read a February 2026 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Kazakhstan