Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Sherzod Kudbiev, Chairman of the State Tax Committee, has addressed concerns over prolonged delays in value-added tax (VAT) refunds. The issue was raised on 28 July during an open dialogue with representatives of the transport and logistics sector, organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

At the meeting, the founder of a logistics company reported that since February he has been unable to secure the refund of 750 million soums in VAT paid on imported trucks. He explained that the capital’s tax administration had pointed out a number of shortcomings, which were subsequently rectified, yet the matter remained unresolved. He appealed directly to the leadership of the Tax Committee for assistance in recovering the funds.

Responding to the complaint, Kudbiev acknowledged that VAT refunds remain a highly sensitive issue. He revealed that 32 tax officials have already been held criminally liable for violations and corrupt practices in this area.

Illustrating the excessive bureaucratic hurdles, he compared the process to “an inspector taking a bottle of water from the refrigerator, blowing on it, and then demanding an official certificate confirming that the water is indeed cold.”

Kudbiev stressed that to qualify for automatic VAT refunds, businesses must raise their sustainability rating to the highest AAA category, in which case tax authorities would not even be permitted to issue an order for inspection.

“Find out why this red tape with VAT refunds has dragged on for seven months,” Kudbiev told his subordinates. “It’s either yet another attempt at extortion or the entrepreneur genuinely made mistakes. It can only be one of the two.”