Uzbekistan, Republic of

The following notable changes were recently introduced to Uzbek legislation:

• Abolition of export privileges from 1 January 2025. The 0% corporate income tax (CIT) rate for the export of goods (services) is abolished, and income from exports is included in the tax base for turnover tax.
• Starting from 1 January 2025, a 1% turnover tax is available for wholesale and retail pharmacy organisations and taxpayers in the retail trade sector located in remote and mountainous areas. 3% turnover tax is applied to taxpayers engaged in electronic commerce of goods (works, services).
• For cigarettes, starting from 1 January 2025, the ad valorem rate of 10% of the cost is excluded from the excise tax rate calculation. From 1 July 2025, the rates for imported and local cigarettes are equalised.
• From 1 February 2025 to 1 January 2030, foreign companies that are not tax residents of countries with which Uzbekistan has a double taxation treaty (DTT) are exempt from CIT if their annual volume of export IT services to residents of the IT park (including services for which royalties are paid) exceeds 10 million dollars United States dollars (USD).
• Since 1 January 2025, in accordance with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures, income tax and turnover tax benefits for exporters and re-exporters of goods and services have been abolished.
• The excise tax on mobile communication services has been abolished.
• Starting from 1 April 2025, the excise tax is extended to all soft drinks with sugar content. An excise tax of 500 Uzbekistani soum (UZS) per 1 litre is imposed on non-carbonated beverages (e.g. fruit drinks, lemonades, kvass), with the exception of juices made from fruits and (or) vegetables that are naturally sweet and do not contain additional sugar and other sweetening or aromatic substances.
• Carbonated drinks containing sugar or other sweetening or flavouring substances and packaged in consumer packaging (except for energy and toniс drinks) are subject to excise tax at UZS 500 per litre. Energy and tonic drinks are subject to excise tax at UZS 2,000 per litre.
• Since 1 January 2025, tax rates for the use of water resources have been increased by 10% for water users, including power plants, utilities, producers of soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, except beer and wine, and industrial enterprises. In accordance with the presidential decree (PP-107) dated 1 April 2023, water tax rates for other sectors is gradually unified with industrial tariffs.
• As of 1 January 2025, tax benefits available to textile and knitwear enterprise exporters (earning at least 80% of revenue from foreign supplies) were not extended and considered abolished.
• From 1 January 2025 to 1 January 2028, companies that hire low-income employees with salaries above 1.5 times the minimum wage pays a Social Tax (ST) rate of 1%.
• From 1 September 2024 to 1 September 2027, the ST for companies that employ students from schools, colleges, and technical schools under the age of 30 for vocational training is paid at 1% on income paid to them in the form of wages.
• Companies that hire foreign teachers are exempt from ST until 1 January 2030.
• Rent tax will not apply to rent income connected with extraction of natural resources on subsoil fields where the extraction started between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025. This exemption will apply for the entire period of extraction works.
• A number of goods (per government approved list) imported for construction, renovation, and equipping of hotels, business centres, and retail stores should be exempt from customs duties between 1 March 2024 and 1 March 2026 (e.g. special equipment, appliances, raw materials, components, furniture, construction materials).
• Starting from April 2025, the Tax Code amended to reflect that the seller (excluding the issuer) of securities is required to remit fees to the authorized state body responsible for securities market regulation, calculated at 0.3 percent for organized over-the-counter trades and 0.01 percent for exchange trades with equity securities based on the transaction amount. The income derived from these transactions, including that of non-residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan, is exempt from corporate income tax and personal income tax.
• From April 2025 to 1 January 2028, the corporate income tax rate for business entities selling fruit and vegetable products in modern packaging and meeting the prescribed conditions, as well as the social tax rate for their employees, is set at 1 percent.
• From 1 January 2025 to 1 January 2028, the CIT rate for food service enterprises is reduced to 7.5%.
• The previously established CIT rate of 7.5% for taxpayers engaged in electronic commerce of goods (works, services) has been abolished. It is now set at 10%. 
• Profits generated from the sale of electricity to the general grid using renewable energy installations with a total capacity of up to 100 kW are subject to a 0% CIT rate. This rate applies for a period of 3 years from the month the renewable energy installations are commissioned. If solar panels are installed with an energy storage system having at least 25% of the capacity of the solar panels, the 0% tax rate is applicable for 10 years from the month these panels are commissioned. 
• From 1 January 2025 to 1 January 2029, taxpayers engaged in publishing and printing activities are exempt from paying CIT for this type of activity, excluding income in the form of interest. During this period, revenues from publishing and printing must account for at least 90% of their total income for the reporting (tax) period. 
• From 1 February 2025 to 1 January 2030, non-resident legal entities of Uzbekistan, whose volume of exported services exceeds USD 10 million during the calendar year, are exempt from paying CIT on income derived from providing information technology services to residents of the Technology Park of Software Products and Information Technologies, including services for which royalties are paid. This exemption does not apply to tax residents of countries that have entered into double taxation avoidance agreements with Uzbekistan. 
• From 1 May 2025 to 1 January 2031, residents of the Park of Creative Industry pay social tax and personal income tax at a reduced rate of 6%, which is a 50% reduction, and they are classified as turnover taxpayers regardless of the size of their income derived from the sale of goods, works, or services.
• From 1 July 2025, all operators of e-commerce platforms, order aggregators, and digital broadcasting services are required to establish a legal entity in the Republic of Uzbekistan in order to continue providing services within the territory of the country.