Tax service presents NurGaz with $212 million claim

TALAS — The ISEZ tax service has issued NurGaz, the Nurzhan oil company, a claim for $212 million in back taxes, officials and the company confirmed yesterday.

An official of the tax service said the claim followed an audit of the company's royalty and profit-tax filings over several years and covered unpaid tax, interest and penalties. In a statement, NurGaz said its filings had been prepared in accordance with ISEZ law, that it was the zone's largest commercial taxpayer, and that it would contest the claim through the appeal procedures of the tax service and, if necessary, the courts.

Since 2007 NurGaz has operated under a working arrangement with the administration of Governor Erlan Toktarov, paying royalties and taxes while keeping operational control of its fields. Relations have become more strained in recent years as the company's president, Kamran Bekzatov, has criticized the DPI's economic policy and the ISEZ's reliance on American security guarantees. A spokesman for the Department of Public Information said the claim was "a routine matter of tax administration" and had nothing to do with politics. NurGaz reports output of about 120,000 barrels a day; independent estimates are lower.