Uzbekistan will introduce a pilot system under which tax authorities automatically generate tax reports for water resource use in Tashkent from January 1, 2027, to March 1, 2028, under a Cabinet of Ministers resolution adopted on October 9.
The procedure will apply to taxpayers that use water resources, excluding agricultural enterprises.
Under the new system, the Ministry of Mining and Geology and state-owned water utility Uzsuvtaminot will provide tax authorities with electronic data on water consumption. Information on drinking water supplied to non-agricultural businesses must be submitted by January 5 of the relevant tax period, while data on water use by businesses must be provided by February 20 of the following year.
Tax authorities will calculate the amounts due based on the information received and data available in their own information systems. The automatically generated reports will be sent to taxpayers' personal accounts, eliminating the need for businesses to prepare and submit the reports themselves.
However, taxpayers will still be required to review and confirm the reports. If they identify incorrect or incomplete information, they can amend the reports and resubmit them with supporting documents.
If a taxpayer neither approves nor amends a report within the established period, it will be considered submitted. The deadline for approving or amending reports is March 1 of the year following the tax period.
Businesses will also be required to correct reports if errors are subsequently identified by tax authorities or additional information emerges during tax audits.
The Tax Committee, the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance will oversee the pilot programme in Tashkent. By April 1, 2028, the results will be assessed and proposals submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers on extending the system to all regions of Uzbekistan.
The initiative comes as Uzbekistan seeks to reduce water consumption and expand the use of water-saving technologies.
Earlier, proposals submitted to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on February 3 envisaged introducing subsidies for entrepreneurs who install water-saving technologies using their own funds rather than bank loans. The proposals also called for providing 50% of subsidy funds in advance for such projects.
Uzbekistan plans to expand the area equipped with water-saving technologies to 3.5mn hectares by 2028, equivalent to 80% of irrigated land, with the aim of saving 3.5bn cubic metres of water annually.