Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Businesses in Uzbekistan can now engage in the retail sale of beer and cigarettes through a simplified notification-based procedure, following the signing of a new law by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 16 May.

The amendments to the Law "On Licensing, Permitting and Notification Procedures" designate local tax inspectorates — at the district and city levels — as the authorized bodies overseeing retail sales of beer and beer-based beverages. A similar notification regime was previously introduced for tobacco products.

The Tax Code now introduces specific fees for the right to sell beer and tobacco products at retail. Legal entities are subject to these fees, and in the case of tobacco sales, individual entrepreneurs who have notified the authorized bodies of the start of their operations are also included.

Retailers will continue to be eligible for a tax deduction on the purchase of digital labeling scanners until 1 January 2027. The maximum deduction — either from personal income tax or corporate profit tax — will amount to up to four base calculation values (approximately 1.5 million soums) per device.

This deduction was originally introduced in the fall of 2021 and initially applied to modern cash registers as well. Though it was set to expire in early 2023, the government later decided to extend the incentive.

In addition, poultry farms are exempt from paying land tax until January 2030, excluding land plots used for crop cultivation. This tax relief was announced during a presidential meeting on the development of the poultry industry held in June 2024.