Questions and answers

Personal belongings, and for each adult 200 cigarettes or 250 g of tobacco, 2 litres of alcohol and other goods up to the value of USD 500. Above these limits the goods are declared and pay duty by the bands of the Customs Code. See Travellers.

Yes, if you carry more than USD 10,000 or the equivalent in som or another currency. Cash is not taxed; the declaration is a record only. Undeclared sums above the limit may be detained.

Cars, lorries and tractors are in the 5% band. The duty is 5% of the customs value, converted to som at the official rate of the day of declaration; you can work out the amount on the duties page. Registration of the vehicle is a separate procedure; the steps are in the procedures guide on e-Irad.

The Customs Service has no posts there, so goods cannot be declared. Goods brought into the Zone that way have not been declared and are liable to seizure in the Zone. Travellers coming from the tribal side of the line also need a travel permit registered by the Gendarmerie.

Yes, at the main crossings, with a veterinary certificate for the animals and on payment of the fees at the crossing. Animals without a certificate are held at the post and handed to the veterinary service.

At the Terminal and the main crossings declarations are lodged electronically, either by the importer or through a customs broker. Access to the system is given by the Terminal Administration after registration of the declarant. Lodge the declaration before the goods reach the crossing. The help desk (+996-39-2-54-11-15) answers daily from 08:00 to 20:00. Paper declarations are accepted at the local crossings only, and at the Terminal during announced maintenance of the system.

The official rate of the Bank of Irad on the day the declaration is accepted, as the Customs Code requires. Today's rates are on the duties page. Rates of exchange offices are not used.

No. There is no value added tax in the Zone. Sales tax of 12% is collected by the State Tax Service when the goods are sold, not by the Customs Service.

Kazakhstan treats goods from the Zone as coming from outside its customs territory and has applied the common external tariff of the Eurasian customs union to them since 2010. Allow for Kazakh duty and formalities as well as the Iradi ones, and for waiting at the Kazakh posts, which the Service announces in its notices when the Kazakh side reports delays.

Goods in transit may be held in the bonded yards at the Terminal and at the northern crossings without paying duty, and goods in the Talas Free Economic Trade Zone are free of duty while they stay in it. Duty is paid when the goods leave the regime for the Zone's market. See Transit and the Terminal.

Ore and concentrate leave the Zone only with papers from a licensed works. Every mineral load is weighed and sampled at the crossing or the Terminal; the result is given within three working days. Antimony concentrate pays an export duty.

Since 1 October 2026 tankers are cleared only on showing their entry in the Gendarmerie's register of tankers, and the entry must match the number and capacity of the tanker. Questions about the register itself go to the Republican Gendarmerie.

Call the hotline +996-39-2-54-10-55 at any hour or write to info@customs.iradgov.org. Information is treated in confidence and is checked whether you give your name or not.

Ask first for the head of the post or the shift, who can review the declaration on the spot. If the question is not settled, send a written appeal to the Director: by post, to info@customs.iradgov.org or on the e-Irad form OG-1. Give the number of the declaration and the date and place. The appeal is answered within 30 days. An appeal about an officer is never considered by that officer or by the head of his post. You may also come to the personal reception of the Director or the deputy director; the days are on the contacts page.