Affordable cars from Kazakhstan may lose their price advantage when imported into Russia due to the recycling fee, customs payments and delivery costs. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Olga Borisova, Associate Professor of the Department of Corporate Finance and Corporate Governance at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, explained why Russian buyers should not rely solely on the price in the advertisement.
Since the end of 2025, the recycling fee for passenger cars in Russia depends not only on engine volume and vehicle age but also on power.
Preferential rates for individuals importing cars for personal use in compliance with established conditions remain for cars with power up to 160 hp. If this threshold is exceeded, payments may increase significantly.
As an example, the economist cited a new car with an engine volume of 1–2 liters and a power of 190–220 hp. In 2026, the standard recycling fee for such a car is 952.8 thousand rubles (about 5.33 million tenge). As a result, the price difference with a similar car on the Russian market may disappear completely.
Additional charges are possible if the car was first customs-cleared in another EAEU country. Since April 1, 2024, Russia has had a mechanism that, in certain cases, allows taking into account the difference between customs duties and taxes actually paid in the country of initial clearance and Russian rates. This difference may increase the recycling fee.
Therefore, even two identical models purchased in Kazakhstan may require different costs during subsequent clearance in Russia. In addition to the recycling fee, the buyer will have to consider delivery, paperwork and intermediary services.
Borisova advises especially careful checking of cars more powerful than 160 hp, as well as cars previously imported from third countries through Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan. Before concluding a deal, it is necessary to find out how the car entered the EAEU territory, what customs documents were processed and what payments were made.
The economist recommends calculating the full cost of the car before transferring money to the seller. Otherwise, a difference of several hundred thousand rubles may disappear after accounting for mandatory fees and logistics costs.
Earlier, Kursiv Auto reported how Russians save on buying Chinese cars through Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Which cars are still profitable to import from China to Kazakhstan can be read here.