The Russian government issued Order No. 1531-r on 8th August 2015. This Order relates to an agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan on the recognition of official documents authorizing the tax residence of taxpayers for the purpose of tax treaty application. In accordance with the agreement, the competent authority of either state issuing sealed documents would not require special approval or council legalization. Therefore tax residence certificates issued by the competent authorities of Russia and Kazakhstan in connection with the tax treaty between the two countries do not need a council legalization or an apostille. When ratified and in force the agreement is to apply retrospectively from 1 January 2011.