Temu faces legal hurdles after failing to settle 46 billion UZS in taxes

According to the Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Mubin Mirzaev, the issue of taxing e-commerce systems is becoming a major problem globally. "We have conducted a full analysis of the e-commerce system and its taxation in Uzbekistan. As a result, several organizations engaged in electronic commerce were found to have failed to pay taxes. Until now, in addition to Temu, the Wildberries marketplace had also been avoiding tax payments. We have sent a warning letter to all electronic platforms, reminding them of their mandatory obligation to pay taxes according to tax legislation. After that, Wildberries paid 52 billion UZS in taxes. We emphasized that they can now operate within the legal framework, and we have no objections," said Mirzaev.

Initial calculations and tax investigation

"Based on the collected information, we have identified that Temu has not paid taxes amounting to approximately 46 billion UZS. However, we have not yet completed the full verification, and this is just the result of the initial calculations. A protest letter has been sent to the marketplace regarding these tax payments. Once they settle the taxes, we will allow them to legalize their operations," said Mubin Mirzaev.

Additionally, he noted that the calculated taxes have not been verified yet. In cases where tax arrears are not paid, a full investigation will be carried out, and separate information regarding the fulfillment of tax obligations will be provided.

New regulations and Temu's registration challenges

At the end of December, the Cabinet of Ministers approved new requirements for operators of electronic trade platforms under decree number 885. These new regulations require that platforms "settle" and register as legal entities in Uzbekistan and become residents of the country.

The National Agency of Perspective Projects (ILMA), which regulates the e-commerce sector, warned about the potential restrictions and announced that the platform would be blocked starting March 20.

The regulator also stated that Temu had not responded, refused to register with tax authorities, and did not establish a legal entity in Uzbekistan.

Temu registers as a legal entity

It was recently revealed that on March 14, the Chinese marketplace was finally registered as a legal entity in Uzbekistan.

According to Kamronbek Muhammadiev, the head of the e-commerce department at ILMA, the registration of the company as a legal entity is one of the essential steps for Temu to continue its operations in the country. Now, the company needs to settle its VAT payments for the previous period and integrate with tax authorities to issue fiscal receipts. It should be noted that the fiscalization process took nearly a month for local players.

Earlier, ILMA had emphasized that Temu's aggressive marketing strategy was actively helping it enter foreign markets. According to the agency's data, in 2024, the marketplace allocated $4 billion for advertising and price dumping, and this expenditure could rise to $10 billion in 2025.