“Representatives of the IBC and other business associations, together with government agencies, have been working on draft amendments to the Tax Code throughout the past year. At least five significant IBC proposals were taken into account and included in the final version of the law. In addition, 24 general business proposals were taken into account, and we are satisfied with the results of such fruitful work.”

Executive Director of the International Business Council Askar Sydykov said this when opening a meeting on February 8, 2024, organized in the IBC Meet Up format on the topic: “Current issues of the business environment: Innovations in tax legislation and ways to resolve grievance between the state and investors.”

IBC members and partners from the banking sector, food industry, audit and consulting, other sectors of the economy, representatives of government agencies, and business associations took part in the event.

“Taxes and resolution of grievance with government agencies are traditionally included in the list of main business issues that people come to us with. Therefore, in addition to taxation, we decided to provide information at our event on the Tax and Investor Grievance Mechanism. This mechanism is administered by the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic,” explained the IBC head.

On February 2, 2024, the President of the Kyrgyz Republic signed the Law “On Amendments to the Tax Code of the Kyrgyz Republic,” and this will now help numerous entrepreneurs from various sectors of the economy to enjoy tax benefits, prevent double taxation and spend less time and effort on tax administration.

Firstly, on the part of the IBC, it is to defend the position of taxpayers, and secondly, to provide information about innovations in a timely manner. The IBC event was aimed at both clarification and collecting proposals for further amendments to the legislation.

he head of the tax policy department of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Kubanychbek Isabekov, reported on the results of tax policy in 2023 in his presentation. Tax revenues over the past five years have increased from 121.5 billion soms in 2019 to 294.4 soms in 2023. This was facilitated by the implementation of decrees of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic on supporting small and medium-sized businesses and on creating a favorable tax climate. At the request of the business community, the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Field of Taxation” dated April 3, 2023 and the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Amendments to the Tax Code of the Kyrgyz Republic” dated February 2, 2024 were adopted.

Deputy Director of the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Jalyn Jeenaliev reported on the results of the agency’s work: five complaints were resolved positively and investments in the amount of $90 million and about 650 jobs were saved. In addition, the agency has developed a Procedure for considering complaints from investors and their support in order to implement the Law “On Investments in the Kyrgyz Republic”.

The Procedure is aimed at assisting investors in resolving issues that arise when interacting with government agencies and local governments, as well as minimizing the risks of litigation and arbitration proceedings with investors, and ultimately increasing the investment attractiveness of Kyrgyzstan.

Deputy Chairman of the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic Nurlan Umtulov explained technical issues of tax administration and answered numerous questions from business representatives and associations.

In the attachment, for the convenience of the public, we are posting a review of the main innovations in tax legislation, specially prepared and carefully worked out by IBC experts. If you have any questions, please contact 0544228850 (Zhanabil Davletbaev).