Tax Committee Clarifies Position on P2P Transfer Monitoring

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan's Tax Committee said it respects the Central Bank's position on bank secrecy and the monitoring of peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, stressing that cooperation with banks must take place strictly within the framework of existing legislation.

The committee said any exchange of information with banks must ensure the protection of bank secrecy, personal data and public trust in the banking system.

The Tax Committee noted that Article 41 of Uzbekistan's Constitution guarantees the confidentiality of banking transactions, deposits and accounts. These matters are also regulated by the Law "On Banking Secrecy" and the Tax Code.

Under the Law "On Banking Secrecy", information may be provided to tax authorities on matters related to the taxation of bank clients in accordance with the law. The Tax Code, in turn, establishes banks' obligations to provide information to tax authorities in the cases and according to the procedures set out in tax legislation.

The committee separately stressed that P2P transfers between individuals are not, in themselves, subject to taxation and that the proposed initiative does not provide for mass monitoring of citizens' personal money transfers.

According to the committee, the project's objective is to establish a secure, transparent and internationally aligned mechanism for cooperation between tax authorities and banks.

The Tax Committee said the public consultation on the draft has already concluded. All proposals received, including the Central Bank's position, will be thoroughly reviewed before decisions are made on the document.