Uzbekistan Tax Committee, IMF Discuss Tax Reforms

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Tax Committee of Uzbekistan has held video consultations with a mission from the International Monetary Fund to discuss measures for supporting entrepreneurs and improving tax administration, the tax authority announced.

The discussions also included representatives from Uzbekistan's Ministry of Economy and Finance and the office of the Business Ombudsman.

A primary topic of the meeting was state support for small businesses, including a temporary moratorium on tax audits and the implementation of a preventative, or alternative, audit mechanism for medium and large taxpayers. Uzbek officials noted that reducing the administrative burden on businesses is intended to encourage operation within the formal economy, broaden the tax base, and boost business activity.

IMF experts emphasized the need to maintain effective tax control tools while simultaneously reducing the burden on compliant enterprises. Both sides identified striking a balance between supporting entrepreneurship and ensuring sustainable budget revenues as a shared priority.

Alongside business support measures, Uzbekistan is implementing steps to preserve fiscal sustainability. These include establishing a registry of audit organizations, developing unified standards for preventative audits, creating an electronic monitoring system, and strengthening measures to prevent abuse. The impact of these decisions will be monitored on an ongoing basis.

Both parties described the dialogue as constructive and reaffirmed their commitment to continued cooperation focused on advancing Uzbekistan's tax administration system.