The Kazakhstan GOST-K Certificate or GOST-K Quality Certificate is a conformity certification term that has been used for many years by companies exporting from Türkiye to Kazakhstan.
GOST-K refers to an older/established certification terminology used within Kazakhstan's national technical regulation and standardisation system. Today, however, the conformity of products in Kazakhstan is assessed primarily under Kazakhstan's technical regulations, national standards and the technical regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
For this reason, it cannot be said today that a “GOST-K Certificate” must automatically be obtained for every product. The document to be applied is determined by the nature of the product, its intended use, its HS code, the relevant technical regulation and the conformity assessment procedure. Under Kazakh legislation, conformity assessment may be carried out in the form of a declaration of conformity, a certificate of conformity, tests and other methods provided for in technical regulations.
What Is the GOST-K Quality Certificate?
The documents referred to on the market as “GOST-K Certificate”, “GOST-K Quality Certificate” or “Kazakhstan GOST-K Certificate” relate to the terminology used for certifying a product's conformity with certain Kazakh requirements.
In the current system, however, the legal nature of the document is determined not merely by the “GOST-K” wording, but by which technical regulation or standard the conformity assessment has been carried out against.
Under Kazakhstan's technical regulation legislation, the certificate of conformity is issued by the authorised conformity assessment body when the relevant conformity assessment procedures have a positive outcome, and is registered in the relevant technical regulation system. For serially produced products, the validity period of the certificate is determined by the conformity assessment scheme applied.
Is the GOST-K Certificate Mandatory for Every Product?
No.
The old approach that a GOST-K certificate must automatically be obtained for every product exported to Kazakhstan is no longer correct today.
First, the following should be examined for the product:
- HS code,
- technical characteristics,
- intended use,
- method of production,
- whether the product falls under a technical regulation,
- Kazakhstan's national legislation,
- EAEU technical regulations, if any,
- form of conformity assessment
As a result, the product may require a certificate of conformity, a declaration of conformity, a test report, a state registration certificate or another conformity document. For some products, no specific conformity certification may be mandatory.
Under Kazakh legislation, the scope of conformity assessment is determined by technical regulations and standardisation documents.
The Difference Between Kazakhstan GOST-K and the EAC Certificate
Because Kazakhstan is a member of the EAEU, EAEU technical regulations must also be considered for exports from Türkiye to Kazakhstan.
If the product falls under a relevant EAEU technical regulation, an EAC Certificate of Conformity or an EAC Declaration of Conformity may be required for the product.
EAEU conformity documents are used for placing products that meet the requirements of the relevant technical regulations on the market in the Union countries. The EAC certificate is issued by an authorised conformity assessment body registered in the EAEU's unified conformity system.
For this reason, before exporting, the question:
GOST-K? EAC? Declaration of Conformity? Certificate of Conformity? Or a different registration/testing procedure?
must be answered product by product.
One-off / Batch-Based Certification
Conformity certification can be carried out for a specific product batch or a single import transaction.
In this case, the scope of the document may be drawn up according to information such as:
- description of the product,
- manufacturer,
- importer or applicant,
- product quantity,
- place of production,
- HS code,
- contract or batch details,
- technical regulation to be applied,
- test and assessment results
The scope and validity of batch-based certification are determined by the conformity assessment scheme applied. For this reason, it is not correct to set a general rule, as in old practice, that every batch certificate will necessarily be used only “once for a single importer”.
Conformity Certification for Serially Produced Products
For serially produced products, the certification procedure is carried out according to the method set out in the relevant technical regulation or conformity assessment scheme.
The process may involve testing product samples, reviewing technical documentation and, depending on the scheme applied, assessing production conditions or the quality management system.
Under Kazakhstan's conformity assessment rules, product certification may include:
- review of the application,
- identification of products and sampling,
- performance of tests,
- analysis of the state of production where required,
- evaluation of results,
- issue and registration of the certificate,
- surveillance/audit activities if provided for in the scheme
Therefore, the terms “1-year GOST-K” or “3-year GOST-K” should not be used today as fixed periods valid for every product. The validity period is determined by the conformity assessment scheme to be applied.
Documents Required in the Kazakhstan GOST-K Certification Process
Depending on the nature of the product, the following documents may be requested:
- Product name and technical characteristics,
- Manufacturer's details,
- HS code,
- Technical specification,
- Technical passport,
- Operating and maintenance manual,
- Product catalogues,
- Technical drawings and diagrams,
- Existing test reports,
- CE or other conformity documents,
- Existing EAC documents,
- Production and quality documentation,
- Importer/applicant details,
- Sales contract or batch details,
- Sample where required.
The documents requested vary according to the technical regulation and conformity assessment scheme to be applied.
Our Kazakhstan GOST-K and Conformity Certification Service
At Istanbul Certificate Office, we carry out product-based conformity assessment for companies exporting products from Türkiye to Kazakhstan and support the planning of the required certification process.
In the process, we first assess the steps:
Product → HS Code → Technical Regulation → Conformity Assessment Scheme → Tests → Certification → Registration → Placing on the Market in Kazakhstan
We determine whether your product requires a national document known in the old terminology as the GOST-K Certificate / GOST-K Quality Certificate, or, under the current system, an EAC Certificate, EAC Declaration or another conformity document, and plan the process accordingly.
Preliminary Assessment for the Kazakhstan GOST-K Certificate
If you share with us, for the product you wish to export to Kazakhstan:
- Product name,
- Brand and model,
- HS code,
- Technical characteristics,
- Intended use,
- Technical passport/catalogue,
- Existing CE, EAC or test reports
we can carry out a preliminary review of the Kazakhstan and EAEU conformity assessment process that should be applied to your product.
