Kazakhstani machine builders demand equal conditions

The existing problems of the industry will be solved by the program of the development of machine-building.

The development of the machine-building industry of Kazakhstan was discussed during the meeting of the Committee of Mechanical Engineering and Metalworking of NCE RK "Atameken".

Members of the Committee first identified the need to create equal conditions for foreign and domestic producers by excluding from the list of imported goods, non-taxable VAT, freight railway gondola cars and platforms and a number of agricultural machinery and attachments.

As it was noted by representatives of domestic enterprises for the production of freight cars (LLP "KVK", LLP "ZIKSTO"), the total design capacity of Kazakhstani plants allows the production of 5500 wagons per year. At the same time, due to unstable domestic demand (from excessive supply to seasonal deficit), the annual output ranges from 300 to 2,000 units. In turn, imports over the past 4 years amounted to about 1000 wagons or 250 wagons per year.

The representatives of the mining sector and wagon operators drew the attention of the Committee members to the existing problem of the lack of wagons, especially during the harvesting campaign and the heating season, for more favorable terms of delivery of Russian wagons (price, terms, conditions for prepayment), as well as the rise in the cost of transport services for cancellation of the offsetting of the "import" VAT, the risks of increasing the deficit of wagons and reducing the export potential of the economy.

Eldos Ramazanov commented on the existing disagreements on the issue, noting that the position of the National Chamber is to support domestic producers, but taking into account the preservation of the balance of interests of other business entities.

 "We always stand for the support of the domestic manufacturer. In this case, end consumers should not suffer. It is necessary to take into account the real capabilities of our car builders to ensure domestic demand, to calculate the pros and cons of levying VAT on foreign freight cars for interested business entities and the economy of the country as a whole", - said Eldos Ramazanov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of NCE RK" Atameken ".

On 30^th of October, the need to introduce changes to the list of imported goods was discussed, according to which VAT is paid by the offset method with regard to the exclusion from the List of certain types of agricultural machinery, equipment for agro-industrial complex and plant protection products. An equally important issue for the industry is the formation of a program for the development of machine-building, which was described by the executive director of the Union of Machine Builders of Kazakhstan, Sergey Nikitenko. As it was noted by Sergei Nikitenko, the creation of a targeted program for the development of machine building in the country is an extremely relevant and necessary measure for the industry, given the existing problems with equipment wear, shortages of qualified personnel, challenges to Industry 4.0 and active development of the sector by Russia and Uzbekistan. This opinion was supported also by the Chairman of the Committee Meiram Pshembaev.

"Following the results of the V Forum of Machine Builders, we formed a number of relevant recommendations to the Government, including the need to develop a sectoral program for the development of machine building, which we will be presented to the First Deputy Prime Minister today", - he said.

As part of the work, the Director of the Manufacturing Industry Department, Arman Mambetayev, briefed the meeting participants on the Roadmap for the Development of Mechanical Engineering Project, which contains the necessary short-term horizontal and point-based sub-sectoral measures.

In conclusion, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Mechanical Engineering and Metalworking Pavel Beklemishev brought up questions on the formation of the work plan of the Committee for the next year and update of the composition. The Committee supported the policy of strengthening the participation of regions in the formation and discussion of the agenda for the development of the industry.

"Almost in all regions we have strong machine-building enterprises, regional leaders who are able and ready to conduct this work", - Pavel Beklemishev said.

Eldos Ramazanov emphasized that this approach fully corresponds to Atameken's position on the need for wider involvement of regional business communities in the discussion of draft laws and necessary initiatives.

We would like to add that representatives of interested associations and enterprises of the machine-building, mining, transport and agro-industrial sectors were invited to consider and discuss all the agenda items at the meeting of the Committee, including the Union of Machine Builders of Kazakhstan, the Association of Mining and Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises, ALE "Grain Union of Kazakhstan", ALE "Association of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers, Equipment and Spare Parts for Agro-Industrial Complexes" (KazAgroMash), ALE "Association of Kazakhstani National Freight Forwarders", ALE "Kazakhstani Association of Carriers and Car Operators", as well as employees of the Ministry of Agriculture.