Electronic invoicing switch for Kazakhstan as from mid 2012

Kazakhstan is to switch to electronic invoicing as from 1 July 2012. According to the Deputy Chairman of the Tax Committee Argyn Kipshakov a single paper invoice costs about 100 tenge and electronic invoicing in Kazakhstan could help to save 5 billion tenge.

Argyn Kipshakov compared its situation to the European Union, where homeland and cross border electronic invoicing could save billions Euro’s each year.

The Kazakhstan e-invoicing approach

Annually Kazakh companies issue 56 million invoices. Not taking into account the invoices issued to population and VAT non-payers.

Currently the delivery of paper documents is the only way to process invoices in Kazakhstan. Traditional paper invoices bring a lot of extra costs and make trace-ability of documents more complicated.

Potential savings: USD 33,75 million, Euro 24,75 million

The Kazakh currency is called the “tenge”. 1 Kazakh tenge = 0.00675 US dollars / 0.00495 Euro. So when issuing a paper invoice in Kazakhstan costs 100 tenge, it costs 0.675 US dollars / 0.495 Euro. Compared to calculations from European and American calculators, that is very low cost.

Also, a yearly savings potential of 5 billion tenge relates to 33,75 million US dollars / 24,75 million Euro.

Stage-by-stage switch to electronic invoicing

To reap these benefits,  Kazakhstan offers electronic invoicing a stage-by-stage switch-over to electronic invoices:

• The national companies, part of Samruk-Kazyan Group, will start the process from July 1, 2012.
• All other taxpayers will have to employ e-invoicing from January 1, 2013,

Customs union between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus

Kipshakov also noted that the European Union in 2006 adopted a resolution to introduce e invoicing in all EU member states.

“Electronic invoices are used within one state and between Member States of the European Union. European Association of CFOs estimated that e-invoicing can potentially yield savings of EUR 250 billion per year in Europe. This practice could be successfully applied to the Customs Union between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus, and possibly bring the same economic benefits,”

Perhaps Kipshakov could also take a look at how the Latin American countries have introduced einvoicing. Why? Because e-invoicing European adoption is not exactly best in class.