Uzbekistan’s Tax Committee to Launch Automated VAT Refund System

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Tax Committee of Uzbekistan plans to automate the process of value-added tax (VAT) refunds, Deputy Chairman Jahongir Abdiev announced on February 17 during a tax forum.

Abdiev noted that VAT refunds remain “one of the most painful issues” for taxpayers, particularly regarding offsetting amounts with counterparties.

To address the problem, the committee is introducing an electronic invoice scoring system and intends to test the automated VAT refund process in the next two to three months in coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The system will be accessible to all taxpayers, he said.

Under the new procedure, refunds will be partial: if the tax authority has disputes over a portion of the claim, the remaining amount will be automatically refunded. For instance, if a taxpayer applies for a refund of 1 million sums and 200,000 sums are disputed, 800,000 sums will be returned immediately, while the disputed portion will be resolved separately.

Currently, any uncertainty results in the tax authority returning the full request, forcing entrepreneurs to resubmit it. After a third submission, the document is categorized as high-risk.

As of 1 January 2026, Uzbekistan had over 252,400 VAT-registered taxpayers, a figure that grew by more than a quarter over the past year. Most taxpayers are concentrated in trade (89,500), agriculture (50,000), and industry (29,500).