A number of changes to regulations and other novelties will take effect in Uzbekistan on January 1, 2026. An overview of main changes to the legislation in Uzbekistan: 

Taxes

Amendments to the Tax Code will be implemented starting in the new year. Basic rates will remain unchanged, excise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks will rise, a tax on chips will be implemented, and rates for marketplaces will be raised, while simplified reporting and tax breaks for small businesses due.

Alien online companies that are not registered with the tax authorities will be restricted from operating in Uzbekistan. First, they will be sent an official notice requiring them to register with the tax authorities. If the company fails to comply within 30 days, its operations in the country may be restricted.

Tax base for real estate and building materials will be based on their market value, not on understated documents (the Tax Committee reported that it was drafting a new procedure for determining the minimum cost of housing and building materials).

Electricity bills will be linked to property and land taxes for individuals. If debt exceeds 1 million soums, the subscriber's ability to pay for electricity may be limited. An experiment using this new model will be piloted in the Namangan provinces starting in 2026.

An automatic risk assessment system for electronic invoices (EIs) will be launched with real-time assessment of the likelihood of violations.

For sole entrepreneurs with an annual turnover of up to 1 billion soums and self-employed individuals, the turnover tax rate will be 1%.

Mandatory QR codes and receipts

Companies will accept electronic payments via a single QR code generated by banks. Sole entrepreneurs and self-employed will be required to have a QR code generated on digital platforms for accepting electronic payments in retail.

Receipts issued through digital platforms will not be eligible for the current 1% tax cashback system for individuals.

Fast-track business starting

Uzbekistan will implement Start Business In 15 Minutes principle.

Services include:

• provision of an electronic digital signature key;
• filing an application for opening and activating bank accounts;
• filing an application for a license, permit, or notification for certain types of activities;
• registration of a real estate lease agreement;
• obtaining a value-added tax payer certificate (for taxpayers who receive a certificate automatically without specifying their tax risk level);
• online purchase of cash registers and their registration with tax authorities;
• appointment of director of company and its starting with interdepartmental Unified National Labor System.

Sole entrepreneurs will be allowed to have a business name

The list of activities for the self-employed will be shortened.

Starting January 1, the list of activities that self-employed individuals can engage in will be reduced from 104 to 72 items. Hairdressing, tutoring, video and photography, copywriting, and others will be excluded from the list. However, three new activities will also be added, including trading on marketplaces.

Farmers could save up to a trillion soums through zero-rate VAT

Starting January 1, 2026, farmers will be able to zero-rate VAT on the sale of fruits, vegetables, meat, milk, eggs, and other agricultural products, with the exception of cotton and grain. The benefit will cover almost half of agricultural manufacturers and allow businesses to save up to 1 trillion soums.

Lifting Restrictions on Investing in US Companies

Uzbek individuals and companies will no longer need government approval to invest in companies registered in the US. According to Behzod Khoshimov, the easing of the currency regime will open access for Uzbeks to the world's largest financial market.

State will pay maternity benefits to everyone in the private sector

Starting in 2026, a new social insurance system will be implemented, covering not only public sector workers but also those in the private sector. Women in the private sector will be entitled for maternity benefits, and all employed workers will get temporary disability payments.

Driving Licenses for Scooters

A new A1driver's license subcategory will be implemented for driving mopeds and scooters. Obtaining this license does not require attending a driving school.

Eco-Stickers

The government has approved regulations for issuing eco-stickers, which will become mandatory for vehicle registration and re-registration. Stickers will be issued in three categories depending on emission levels. The system will initially be launched in Tashkent in 2026.

Reduced Rate for Certain Businesses

Businesses that mine gypsum raw materials for their own use and use them to manufacture finished building materials will be able to pay a subsoil use tax of 50% of the established rate until January 1, 2028.

Compensation for Businesses

Compensation mechanism is being implemented through loan refinancing for entrepreneurs in remote and hard-to-reach areas:

• up to 1.5 billion soums for small businesses;
• up to 5 billion soums for medium-sized businesses at a rate no higher than 4 percentage points of the Central Bank's base rate. Waste collection will be carried out under a new system.

Starting January 1, 2026, payments for solid municipal waste removal services for individuals and legal entities will be made exclusively online through electronic payment systems. Residents of remote areas without internet access will be able to pay for services at bank tellers and Uzbekistan Post offices.

It will be possible to track the arrival time and route of garbage trucks in each neighbourhood online, and daily waste volumes will be published online. Starting next year, it is planned to implement a mechanism for assessing the services provided by individuals and to implement contracts with legal entities through online monitoring.

Sanitation companies will be required to install video cameras at waste collection points and equip garbage trucks with GPS trackers.

CMTPL policies will increase in price

Starting January 1, compulsory motor insurance will increase in price several times. The cost of car insurance policies in Tashkent and the Tashkent provinces will increase by 3.4 times, and in the provinces by 4 times. The current rates were approved in 2019.

Courts will be optimized

Twenty-two inter-district, district, and city economic courts will be abolished, and another 54 will be optimized. In their place, 14 inter-district economic courts will be created in Karakalpakstan, provincial centers, and Tashkent.

Civil servants will have a probationary period

Employment contracts with civil servants hired for the first time will initially be for one year. Subsequently, they will be extended indefinitely depending on their positive performance.

New civil servants will complete mandatory special courses entitled Joining Civil Service, and subsequently, refresher courses at least every three years, following which their theoretical knowledge and skills will be assessed.

In government agencies, catering in cafeterias will be completely outsourced, healthy eating will be promoted, and the sale of sugary, fatty, and flour-based products, as well as other unhealthy foods, will be restricted.

New public procurement requirements will be applied

Starting January 1, 2026, certain types of goods, works, and services will be procured through a competitive method—call for proposals. The list of goods, works, and services that could be procured through direct contracts will also be eliminated. Procurement for these items will be transferred to competitive procedures—tenders, electronic auctions, and other mechanisms stipulated by law.

Starting at the beginning of the year, after the publication of government procurement plans, information about these plans will be automatically sent online to domestic manufacturers.

Register will be created for publicly significant organizations

The Ministry of Economy and Finance will begin compiling a register of publicly significant organizations, and the Central Bank will include publicly significant organizations under its supervision. The registry will be published annually until July 1 on the unified government portal platform and the open data portal.

New category will be implemented for neighbourhoods

New annual category, Best Neighbourhood Taxpayer, will be implemented starting this year. Evaluation criteria include the number of small businesses per 1,000 residents, the amount of taxes paid by small businesses, the number of personal income tax (PIT) payers and self-employed individuals, and more.

KPIs for officials

A results-based management model will be piloted in mayor offices of 33 model districts and cities. A system for assessing employee resilience to corruption will also be gradually implemented.

Safe City concept will be upgraded

Banks, large manufacturing plants, mayor offices, and other secure facilities will be equipped with technical means for identifying individuals upon entry and exit. The systems will be integrated with the information databases of the state institution Center for the Development of the Safe City System of the Interior Ministry.

Earthquake prediction will cover historical sites and roads

Seismic resistance monitoring of historical and cultural heritage sites will be implemented. Initially, it will cover the Registan complex in Samarkand, the Darvozakhona (Ark complex) in Bukhara, and the Ichan-Kala complex in Khiva. Permanent space radar monitoring will cover high-risk landslide areas on the A-373 and M-39 highways, as well as on railway lines running through mountainous regions.

Anti-bureaucracy package

Anti-Bureaucracy 2030 program will be launched, which includes the implementation of the Paperless Government system, the digitalization of 250 services, and the launch of the Zero Bureaucracy digital platform.

Benefits for Startups

Starting January 1, 2026, innovation hub residents will receive reimbursement of up to 50% of the costs associated with completing courses and obtaining certificates in financial technology, up to a maximum of $20,000, as well as up to 50% of the costs associated with engaging mentors and trainers for financial technology startups, up to a maximum of $50,000.

Air quality will be monitored at monitoring stations

Background air monitoring stations and online cameras will be installed in stages at construction sites of 2,000 square meters and above.

Medical Services – Under a New System

Rules for referring individuals to public and private clinics financed through the State Health Insurance Fund will be implemented. Medical care funded by the state will be provided based on an electronic referral with a QR code, which allows the patient to choose a public or private medical facility for scheduled inpatient treatment.

Payers of personal income tax or social tax, as well as other categories of individuals, will be able to receive free scheduled inpatient medical care.

Age limit for patients with rare diseases will be raised

The upper age limit for medical monitoring and treatment for patients with rare and other hereditary genetic diseases will be raised from 18 to 21 years old, funded by the state budget.

Rules for  pharmaceutical industry

Medical devices and equipment shall be subject to mandatory state registration as medical devices. They will be classified according to four safety levels, taking into account the likelihood of risk to human life.

Remuneration for healthcare workers

A monthly bonus of 10% of their base salary will be implemented for healthcare workers who have passed national accreditation.

Physicians at district and city medical institutions who have implemented new treatment methods and achieved positive results will receive a one-time cash bonus of 50 times the basic calculation amount.

Children of medical and pharmaceutical workers with at least 15 years of experience will receive 30% of the annual tuition fee for undergraduate programs at higher education institutions in the country, up to a maximum of 15 times the base calculated amount.

Twenty-five percent of the down payment on mortgage loans will also be covered, to annually provide housing for 500 medical and pharmaceutical workers with at least 15 years of experience.

Additional benefits will also be implemented: workers with at least three years of experience will receive free high-tech specialized medical care once a year, funded by the state budget, and workers with at least 15 years of experience will receive a free spa treatment within the country once a year, funded by the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan and a medical institution.

Tourism Tax Waiver

Hotel owners outside of Tashkent, regional centers, and major tourist areas will no longer be required to pay a tourist tax for each tourist. These include facilities located in districts and cities with high tourism potential and tourist zones included in the list approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Requirements for Pet Owners

Pet owners will be required to comply with legal requirements regarding the identification, registration, and tracking of pets and to prevent the keeping and/or breeding of unidentified and unregistered animals.

Relief measures for jewelry industry

Starting this year, the following will be abolished:

• VAT exemption on the sale of jewelry and semi-finished products made of precious metals and precious stones;
• tax on retail sales of gold jewelry.

Population Census

A population and agricultural census will also be conducted in January. Those interested can complete the questionnaire online from January 15 to 31, while the remaining respondents will be surveyed at home from February 4 to 28 by the neighbourhoo officials. All census data will be used by the state for strategic planning.