Author — Azat Masaurov.
Kazakhstan's public procurement is open to foreign suppliers: the Law "On Public Procurement" treats foreign legal entities and individuals as potential suppliers on the same terms as local ones. In practice, a foreign company needs Kazakh identifiers, an electronic signature and an account on the procurement platform. Below is the usual path; check the details against the current rules before you start.
Every participant is identified by a BIN (for companies) or an IIN (for individuals). A non-resident company obtains a BIN by registering with the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance; usually you need the constituent documents, an extract from the home-country register and proof of tax registration there, with a notarised translation into Kazakh or Russian.
Bids are signed with an EDS. Kazakh electronic signatures are issued by the National Certification Authority (pki.gov.kz), which has a "non-resident" status for applicants. Suppliers from Eurasian Economic Union countries may be able to use an EDS issued at home under the mutual-recognition rules of the EAEU — confirm with the platform's support first.
Public procurement runs on goszakup.gov.kz (access is moving to the Unified Procurement Platform zakup.gov.kz); Samruk-Kazyna group companies purchase on zakup.sk.kz. Log in with your EDS, choose the foreign-supplier participant type and fill in the profile: company details, bank account, staff and experience — your qualification is assessed on them.
Tender documentation and contracts are published in Kazakh and Russian, and bids are prepared in these languages; foreign documents usually need a notarised translation. Plan for a translator or a local partner, and use the discussion period to ask the customer questions on the portal.
Bid security is usually 1 % of the procurement amount in open tenders and auctions and 3 % in requests for quotations; performance security is usually 3 % (5 % in requests for quotations). Use the bid security calculator and check that your price is not a dumping price. Bids are signed with the EDS before the deadline; the winner signs the contract on the portal.
International financial institutions procure in English and are open to international bidders. The bot monitors projects in Kazakhstan by the World Bank, EBRD, the Islamic Development Bank, OSCE and the Eurasian Development Bank — pick these platforms in your filter.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Procurement rules change; check the current Law No. 106-VIII, the Rules (Order of the Ministry of Finance No. 687) and the platform's instructions, or consult a local lawyer.