Uzbekistan offers small businesses an optional 6% VAT rate

What changed in detail

Presidential Decree No. UP-100 reshapes Uzbekistan’s small-business VAT on 1 June 2026 in two ways. First, it introduces an optional simplified 6% VAT rate for businesses in public catering, retail trade and services, in place of the standard 12% VAT plus corporate income tax; the regime is voluntary, excludes enterprises with a state share of 50% or more and large taxpayers, and runs to 1 January 2030. Second, it raises the annual turnover threshold for mandatory transition to the standard VAT/CIT regime from UZS 1 billion to UZS 5 billion (≈ USD 417,000), so businesses below that level may stay on the simplified turnover-tax system without VAT-registration obligations. The Tax Committee clarified the application procedures in early June 2026. (Gazeta.uz — simplified 6% VAT, Gazeta.uz — higher transition threshold)

What it means

Two reliefs ride on one decree, both aimed at smaller traders. The optional 6% rate is a simplification trade-off — a flat indirect charge instead of running standard VAT plus CIT — so catering, retail and services businesses should model whether opting in beats their current position. The five-fold threshold jump means many businesses between UZS 1bn and 5bn of turnover are no longer pushed into the standard VAT regime; if you sit in that band, check whether your registration obligation has fallen away.