Korzinka founder calls for more predictable business leases

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Korzinka supermarket chain founder Zafar Khashimov has called for changes to lease practices for businesses to make rental agreements more transparent and predictable. He raised the issue on 18 August at President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s open dialogue with business representatives in the Khorezm region.

One of the problems identified by Khashimov was the division of rental payments into official and unofficial portions. According to him, part of the payment is often recorded in the lease agreement while the remainder is handed to the landlord in cash.

Khashimov urged entrepreneurs to abandon this practice. In his view, officially recording the full amount of rental payments in documents could be more beneficial for businesses because such expenses reduce the taxable base.

“I want to tell entrepreneurs that we need to stop this because, in fact, it is not tax evasion.

If we officially record the cash we pay as expenses, this will reduce our tax base, and in fact it is beneficial,” he said.

According to the businessman, some entrepreneurs continue to use unofficial payments because they are not sufficiently aware of the benefits of formally recording all expenses. He therefore proposed additional efforts to explain these advantages to business representatives.

Khashimov also said that problems exist in the terms of lease agreements themselves. In particular, landlords often conclude short-term agreements and may raise rents after a business begins operating successfully.

Such practices, he said, make it difficult for entrepreneurs to plan their development over the long term. Businesses invest funds in developing a property but do not receive guarantees that they will be able to continue leasing it under the same conditions.

“There are major problems in this area today, and I think the time has come to resolve them within the legal framework. For example, under pressure from landlords, lease agreements are concluded for short periods. The business plan and prospects are long-term, while the lease agreement is short-term,” Khashimov said.

The entrepreneur said more stable and transparent lease rules are needed to allow companies to plan investments and development years ahead and reduce businesses’ dependence on constant changes in terms imposed by landlords.