Mass tax cashback may be abolished in Uzbekistan

There is a proposal to abolish the 1 percent tax cashback provided for purchase receipts in Uzbekistan. An institute under the Ministry of Economy and Finance considers it appropriate to shift from mass payments to targeted support measures.

According to experts, the cashback mechanism has trained citizens to request purchase receipts. However, at the current stage, it is becoming a significant expense for the budget.

Calculations suggest that by 2026, the funds spent on cashback payments could reach 1.8 trillion soums. It is noted that this is twice the budget allocated for the construction of preschool educational institutions.

The authors of the proposal also point out that the effectiveness of the current system has declined, as budget funds are also being paid for purchases at large retail chains, which already operate legally and transparently.

Another issue relates to cases where receipts are issued without actual sales. It has been found that some individuals generate receipts to receive cashback even when no product has been sold.

It is stated that due to the expansion of online cash register machines and the product labeling system, the need for mass cashback for tax control purposes has decreased.

At the same time, the reform will not affect the VAT refund procedure for citizens included in the social registry. This mechanism operates for social assistance purposes and is aimed at supporting vulnerable segments of the population.

Instead of cashback, it is proposed to introduce state lotteries in high-risk sectors such as catering and small retail. This could reduce budget expenditures by approximately 20 times, keeping them at around 100 billion soums per year.