The claim for the release or return of property to which the plaintiff has not lost the property right (the subject of lease, leasing, storage, etc.) may be considered as not subject to assessment.
For example, upon termination of a property lease agreement, including ahead of schedule, the employer is obliged to return the property (the object of the contract) to the landlord (paragraph 1 of Article 561 of the Civil Code). The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Housing Relations" provides for other cases of release of housing upon termination of the lease agreement (Article 107 of this Law).
By the ruling of the specialized interdistrict Economic Court (hereinafter referred to as the SMEC) of the Zhetisu region dated May 21, 2025, an agreement on dispute settlement in mediation on the claim of JSC against LLP was approved.
"C", SEC, B.B., R.T., G.N., T.T. In the above case, the plaintiff requested in court: 1) terminate the financial leasing agreement, 2) collect the debt in the amount of 28,531,944 tenge, 3) return 84 leased units of equipment. According to this claim, the applicant paid a state fee in the amount of 895,419 tenge, based on the presentation of two non—material (non-appraisable) claims, and in part of the debt - on the amount of money claimed. Following the consideration of the case, the court approved an agreement on the settlement of the dispute through mediation, and the amount of the state fee was returned to the plaintiff. This approach to calculating the state fee is correct.
In another civil case, the plaintiff, R.M., appealed to the Atyrau City Court of the Atyrau region with a claim against LLP "M" with the requirements: 1) on the termination of the contract of equity participation in housing construction, 2) on the recovery of the contribution in the amount of 14,000,000 tenge and a penalty of 3,509,589 tenge with reimbursement of the costs of paying the state duty in the amount of 175,096 tenge. A study of the case materials showed that the claim was accepted for trial without payment of the state fee for filing a claim for termination of the contract. By the decision of the said court dated July 22, 2024, the claim was partially satisfied with the termination of the contract and the refusal to collect the amount of the debt. At the same time, the court also did not resolve the issue of collecting state duty in terms of the requirement to terminate the contract. By the decision of the judicial Board for Civil Cases of the Atyrau Regional Court dated November 7, 2024, the decision of the court of first instance was changed with the cancellation of the denial of monetary claims and the issuance of a new decision on them to recover from the defendant a share contribution of 14,000,000 tenge, a penalty in the amount of 1,544,000 tenge and reimbursement of the cost of paying the state fee in in the amount of 157,386 tenge. The reasons for the court's change of appeal of the first instance decision are given below.
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction of disputes on the amendment and termination of contracts is determined by the norms of Chapter 3 of the CPC. Such disputes, as a general rule, are subject to the jurisdiction of the court at the location of the defendant (Article 29 of the CPC). In addition, the law provides for: jurisdiction over investment disputes (parts 1-2 of Article 27 of the CPC), jurisdiction at the choice of the plaintiff under contracts with an indication of the place of execution (part 6 of Article 30 of the CPC), exclusive jurisdiction over the right to immovable property (part 1 of Article 31 of the CPC), as well as contractual jurisdiction (Article 32 of the CPC).
The analysis of the studied civil cases showed that the courts of the republic generally comply with the requirements of legislation on issues of territorial jurisdiction. However, there are some violations regarding the jurisdiction of cases.
By the ruling of the judge of the Balkhash district Court of the Almaty region dated December 20, 2022, the claim of A.K. to LLP "B" for termination of the contract and recovery of a monetary amount was returned. According to the materials of the civil case, the parties have concluded an agreement on the manufacture and installation of windows and doors on the terms of advance payment. Referring to the long-term violation of contractual obligations, plaintiff A.K. appealed to the court at the location of the defendant. In this ruling, the judge of the Balkhash District Court of the Almaty region concluded that the dispute was beyond the jurisdiction of this court, indicating that the claim could be filed at the place of conclusion or execution of the contract in Almaty.
By the ruling of the Judicial Board for Civil Cases of the Almaty Regional Court dated February 14, 2023, the act of the court of first instance was canceled with the referral of the civil case to the same court for consideration on the merits. The appellate instance proceeded from the fact that earlier, on December 29, 2021, by the ruling of the District court No. 2 of the Auezovsky district of Almaty, a civil case was filed by A.K. The application to LLP "B" for termination of the contract was sent for review by the jurisdiction of the Balkhash District Court of the Almaty region in connection with the establishment of the actual location of the defendant in the territory of the specified area.
Thus, the conclusions of the court of first instance on the non-jurisdiction of the dispute to the Balkhash District Court of the Almaty region are not subject to recognition as complying with the requirements of the law. By virtue of the general provision provided for in Part 1 of Article 29 of the CPC, the claim is filed in court at the location of the defendant. In the above statement of claim (re-filed with the Balkhash District Court), the plaintiff provided information about the defendant's registration in the area. The judge's reference to the jurisdiction of the dispute to this district court due to the application of part 9 of Article 30 of the CPC is contrary to the law defining jurisdiction at the choice of the plaintiff. In case of alternative jurisdiction, the law grants the applicant the right to choose the place of consideration of a civil case.
State duty
Article 35 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan provides for a general requirement that the payment of prescribed taxes, fees and other mandatory payments is the duty and obligation of everyone.
The rates of state duty in courts are determined by Article 610 of the Tax Code. By virtue of subparagraph 1) of paragraph 1 of Article 610 of the Tax Code, as a general rule, a state fee is charged in percentage terms on property claims, depending on the amount of the claim.
The provisions of Part 1 of Article 104 of the CPC establish the procedure for determining the price of a claim, which in claims for early termination of a property lease (lease) agreement, with the exception of rental housing, is determined by the totality of payments for the use of property for the remaining term of the agreement (contract), but not more than three years (subparagraph 10 of part 1 of this article).
At the same time, subparagraph 7) of Article 610 of the Tax Code provides for the payment of a state fee in the amount of 0.5 monthly calculation index (hereinafter — MCI) for claims for modification or termination of a tenancy agreement, as well as other claims of a non-property nature or not subject to assessment.
In general, judicial practice has developed an approach to recognizing claims for termination or amendment of a contract as non-proprietary or not subject to evaluation. At the same time, from the point of view of improving legal regulation, the question arises of bringing the CPC and the Tax Code to a unified approach on the requirements for termination of the lease agreement.
Claims for amendment and termination of the contract are often filed together with claims for the return of property and the recovery of monetary amounts. For such cases, paragraph 5 of the Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 25, 2006 No. 9 "On the application by courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan of legislation on court costs in civil cases" establishes the rule that claims containing both property and non-property claims are paid simultaneously by the state fee, based on the amount, a requirement set for each type.
Part 2 of Article 104 of the CPC provides for the requirement for the plaintiff to indicate the price of the claim. In case of an obvious discrepancy between the indicated price and the actual value of the sought-after property, the price of the claim is determined by the judge.
When resolving a dispute on the amendment or termination of a contract with the simultaneous claim of property (monetary amounts), the courts must properly verify that the plaintiff has fulfilled the condition for specifying the price of the claim, as well as the completeness of payment of the state fee for each claim.
Legislation
The main regulatory legal acts to be applied in the generalized category of civil cases are:
The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated August 30, 1995 (hereinafter referred to as the Constitution);
The Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (General Part), adopted by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan on December 27, 1994; the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Special Part), adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan on July 1, 1999 (hereinafter - the Civil Code);
The Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 3, 2015 (hereinafter - CPC);
The Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Subsoil and Subsoil Use" dated December 27, 2017;
The Land Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated June 20, 2003;
The Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Taxes and Other Mandatory Payments to the Budget" dated December 25, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Code);
The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 16, 1997 "On Housing Relations";
The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 5, 2000 "On Financial Leasing";
The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated May 4, 2010 "On Consumer Rights Protection";
Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 25, 2006 No. 9 "On the application by Courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan of legislation on court costs in civil cases";
Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 18, 1997 No. 9 "On judicial practice of applying Legislation on the privatization of residential premises by citizens from the State housing Stock";
Regulatory Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated November 25, 2016 No. 7 "On judicial practice of consideration of civil cases on disputes arising from bank loan Agreements".
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