VAT refund volume drops by 13% in Q1

According to data from Uzbekistan’s Tax Committee, the volume of value-added tax (VAT) refunds declined significantly in the first quarter of 2025.

Between January and March, the total VAT refunded dropped by 13.2%, amounting to 4.67 trillion UZS. For comparison, the same period in 2024 saw a 28.5% increase, with refunds totaling 5.38 trillion UZS.

During the first three months of this year, the committee received 2,983 VAT refund requests from 2,191 companies. This marked a 34.5% increase in the number of applications and a 39.5% rise in the number of applicants. However, the average refund amount fell sharply to 1.56 billion UZS — a 37.7% decrease compared to the first quarter of 2024.

Exporting companies accounted for just under half of the processed applications (1,001 in total) and received 1.52 trillion UZS in refunds.

More than two-thirds of the total VAT refunds — 3.29 trillion UZS — went to industrial enterprises. They were followed by the services sector, which received 435.6 billion UZS (9.3%), and the trade sector with 327.5 billion UZS (7%).

In the full year of 2024, the Tax Committee processed VAT refunds totaling 22.8 trillion UZS, an increase of 15.9% compared to 2023. This growth was driven by the introduction of a taxpayer reliability rating system, which allows businesses with the highest “AAA” rating to receive expedited VAT refunds — within one day and without audits.