Tax Committee Says New Rules Preserve Banking Secrecy

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Tax Committee of Uzbekistan has issued official clarifications regarding the public discussion of a draft resolution regulating the exchange of information between banks and tax authorities.

The agency emphasized that the document does not limit the constitutional guarantee of banking secrecy, but merely establishes the procedure for its application within the framework of already existing legislation.

The committee recalled that Article 11 of the Law "On Banking Secrecy" explicitly permits the transfer of relevant information to tax authorities regarding the taxation of a bank client. Article 134 of the Tax Code, in turn, provides for an information exchange between banks and tax authorities and establishes that its form and procedure are approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The draft resolution was developed in compliance with Presidential Decree No. 246 dated 10 December 2025, which is aimed at reducing the share of the shadow economy, as well as paragraph 17 of the Road Map approved by Presidential Decree No. 95 dated 19 May 2026. This document explicitly provides for the development of a procedure to submit information to tax authorities regarding receipts on banking cards or electronic wallets of individuals amounting to 500 base calculating quantities or more within a calendar month. Transfers from close relatives are excluded from the scope of regulation.

The Tax Committee specifically highlighted that this does not involve free access to citizen accounts. Ordinary transfers between individuals—to relatives, friends, or acquaintances, as well as debt repayments and household transactions—are not the subject of this regulation. It applies to cases where a personal banking card is actually used as a settlement tool by an entrepreneur: payments are systematically accepted and significant turnovers are generated, yet the business activity is not registered and taxes are not paid.

The agency pointed out the unacceptability of a situation where one entrepreneur conducts business openly and pays taxes, while another carries out similar activities through a personal card, thereby gaining a competitive advantage by evading taxation.