Kazakh Government reviews comprehensive plan to combat shadow economy

The document targets five key sectors with the highest risk of shadow practices: healthcare and social services, trade, education, construction and agriculture. The list of sectors is not exhaustive and may be expanded as new grey areas are identified, officials noted.  At the same time, measures that would impose new obligations on businesses or tighten regulations have already been excluded at the planning stage.

According to forecasts, the share of the unobserved economy in GDP is planned to be reduced to 14.5% in 2026, to 14% in 2027 and to 13.8% in 2028. The plan includes four main blocks and 30 measures covering:

• production of goods;

• production of services;

• improvement of fiscal administration;

• combating illegal activities.

Special attention will be given to reducing grey imports in trade, which undermine fair competition. The Ministry of Trade and Integration, together with the business community, will identify the most commonly imported grey goods and, together with the State Revenue Committee, develop measures to protect the civilized market.

Digital solutions and artificial intelligence tools are expected to play a central role in the implementation of the plan. Monitoring will be conducted via the Smart Data Finance digital platform with an assessment of the real effect

The draft Comprehensive Plan has been approved and, following established procedures, will be adopted by the Government for implementation.

On January 21, at the 5th meeting of the Ulttyq Qurultay, Zhumangarin reported that Kazakhstan's GDP  reached $300 billion in 2025, while the GDP per capita amounted to approximately $15,000.