ALMATY (Dentons) – On 16 March 2015 the Management Board of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan by its Resolution № 32 resolved to amend the Rules on Currency Operations in the Republic of Kazakhstan (Rules). The Resolution comes into force 10 days after its official publication.

The Rules inter alia regulate foreign exchange operations, the regime of foreign investments into Kazakhstan, and cross border and domestic currency payments.

From the date the resolution is enforced, Kazakhstan legal entities (excluding banks and exchange offices) may purchase foreign currency on the Kazakhstan market in the amount exceeding $100,000 or its equivalent only when such currency is required for fulfilment of a contract (e.g. a cross-border sale and purchase agreement) or other documents confirming purpose of the purchase. A Kazakh bank may sell currency to Kazakhstan legal entities only when an underlying contract is presented to the bank. The previous version of the Rules did not restrict the purchase of foreign currency by Kazakh legal entities.

When purchasing or selling the foreign currency through Kazakh banks, non-resident legal entities shall motivate it.