Kyrgyzstan may block Telegram, Alibaba, Microsoft

Kyrgyzstan's State Tax Service (STS) has threatened to restrict access to a number of foreign companies, including Twitch, Alibaba, Microsoft, Telegram and VK, if they fail to comply with repeated requests to register for tax purposes.

The STS said that foreign organisations providing electronic services to residents of Kyrgyzstan are required to register with the tax authorities, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Applications for tax registration must be submitted before beginning operations in the country.

A total of 73 foreign companies providing electronic services have registered so far. At the same time, the authorities have identified foreign organisations generating significant revenue from Kyrgyz residents without completing the mandatory tax registration.

The STS identified 11 foreign companies with substantial financial turnover, including Alibaba, Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., Twitch, Microsoft, Valve, Sony, Epic Games, Electronic Arts, VK, Telegram and Dropbox.

In 2024–2025 alone, these companies received 15.9 million money transfers worth more than 13.2 billion soms ($150.9 million). The largest volume of transfers went to Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co., at 8.89 billion soms ($101.66 million), followed by Alibaba with 2.83 billion soms ($32.27 million) and Microsoft with 1.01 billion soms ($11.55 million).

The STS said it had repeatedly sent official letters to the companies explaining the tax registration procedure and their tax obligations. Requests were also made through diplomatic channels via Kyrgyzstan's Foreign Ministry.

However, the companies had not responded and continued to operate without registering for tax purposes.

"If tax obligations continue to be ignored, the tax authorities will take measures provided for by law, including initiating an appeal to the competent authorities to restrict access to the electronic services of the relevant companies in the Kyrgyz Republic," the STS warned.

By Aghakazim Guliyev