Uzbekistan’s Decade of Business Reforms Reshapes Operating Climate

Uzbekistan’s business environment has undergone a significant restructuring since 2016, as a series of laws, presidential decrees and government decisions rewrote the rules for private enterprise. From company registration and foreign-currency access to tax administration and licensing, authorities have revised many of the operating conditions that define the cost, speed and legal certainty of doing business.

For financial stakeholders, the changes matter less as a story of isolated incentives than as a broader shift in the operating framework underpinning entrepreneurship. Over the past decade, the state has not only introduced new benefits and credit programs, but has also reworked the relationship between public authorities and businesses. Oversight mechanisms were reshaped, new institutions were created to protect commercial rights, and legal foundations were established to support access to foreign markets and attract investment.

The reform cycle moved beyond tax cuts and lending support to address how entrepreneurs defend their rights in dealings with the state.

That shift began after Shavkat Mirziyoyev was elected president in 2016, when economic liberalization became one of the main pillars of state policy. The legal basis for that process was established by the 2017–2021 Action Strategy, adopted on February 7, 2017. Its second policy track was dedicated to economic development and liberalization, and many of the business-related measures adopted in subsequent years followed directly from that framework.

From 2022, the process continued under the New Uzbekistan Development Strategy. At the end of 2023, the government adopted the Uzbekistan-2030 strategy, setting out the country’s longer-term economic and social goals. Taken together, those policy documents created continuity for reform, giving businesses and investors a clearer sense of the direction of travel even as specific rules continued to evolve.

Institutional changes reduce legal and administrative risk

One of the earliest priorities was to build institutional mechanisms for protecting business rights. Policymakers concluded that changing the business climate required more than lower taxes or expanded credit. Entrepreneurs also needed a workable system for defending their interests in interactions with government bodies.

That logic led to the creation of a dedicated business rights framework. Under Law No. O‘RQ-440, adopted on August 29, 2017, Uzbekistan established the institution of the Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights and Legitimate Interests of Business Entities under the President, commonly referred to as the Business Ombudsman. The institution was designed to create a separate mechanism to protect entrepreneurs’ interests in disputes or interactions with state agencies.

Subsequent measures expanded that approach. Presidential Decree No. PF-5490, adopted on July 27, 2018, further improved the system for protecting the rights and legitimate interests of business entities and included steps to write off certain tax arrears. Presidential Decree No. PF-5690, dated March 15, 2019, aimed at fundamentally improving the system for protecting entrepreneurial activity while optimizing the role of prosecutorial bodies in that process.

Reforms continued in later years. Presidential Decree No. PF-184, adopted on November 14, 2024, introduced additional measures to strengthen protection for entrepreneurs. Under that decree, from 2025 financial sanctions previously applied for conducting business activity without state registration of a legal entity were abolished. From a financial reporting perspective, such measures can alter compliance exposure and reduce the risk of penalties tied to administrative status.

Registration, licensing and compliance costs come into focus

Administrative complexity had been one of the main barriers to starting a business, so another major reform track focused on simplifying registration, permit issuance and licensing procedures. On February 9, 2017, Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 66 approved a new procedure for the state registration of business entities.

That was followed by Presidential Decree No. PF-5409 of April 11, 2018, which was aimed at reducing and simplifying licensing and permit procedures. It also provided for the introduction of G2G and G2B electronic interaction mechanisms between state bodies and businesses. In 2020, authorities added a requirement to assess the business impact of any newly introduced licensable activity, with participation envisaged from both the Business Ombudsman and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

A further phase began in 2024. Under Presidential Decree No. PF-8, from March 1, 2024, 22 types of licenses and permit documents were abolished. For two types of activity, a “license-free business” regime was introduced. These changes are notable for companies tracking operating expenditure, compliance staffing and time-to-market, since they directly affect administrative burden.

The next administrative reform cycle, launched in 2025, was explicitly aimed at cutting the time and cost of business interaction with the state. Plans called for linking registration systems, the License platform, electronic archives and ID-card databases. According to the reform plan, that integration was expected to reduce entrepreneurs’ administrative costs by around 90 billion soums and save up to 15 days in dealings with public authorities.

Tax reform delivers one of the largest structural resets

Among the past decade’s reforms, the tax policy changes launched in 2018 stand out as one of the largest systemic shifts. Tax rates were reduced, some payments were consolidated, and at the same time a large share of businesses was moved to the general tax regime. That process simplified elements of the entrepreneurial environment while also reshaping tax relations across the economy.

Presidential Decree No. PF-5468, adopted on June 29, 2018, approved the Concept for Improving Tax Policy. Under that concept, a flat 12% personal income tax rate was introduced for individuals. Social payments were also reduced, with the rate lowered from 25% to 12%. For certain entities under the simplified tax regime, a 15% arrangement was established.

Another important shift took effect from January 1, 2019. The scope of the unified tax payment was narrowed and retained only for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs with annual turnover not exceeding 1 billion soums. Other entities were transferred to the value-added tax and profit tax system. For business operators, that represented a major change in reporting structure, cash-flow planning and tax accounting requirements.

Additional steps to improve tax administration were adopted in 2019, and a new version of the Tax Code entered into force on January 1, 2020. In aggregate, the reform cycle indicates a move toward a more formalized and transparent fiscal system, even as it imposed new reporting disciplines on parts of the business sector.

Viewed through a financial reporting lens, Uzbekistan’s decade of business reform reflects a gradual recalibration of the country’s operating framework. The central themes have been lower friction in market entry, a more structured approach to legal protection, targeted reductions in compliance costs and a tax system redesigned to broaden and standardize the base. For investors and companies assessing the Uzbek market, the significance lies not in a single policy measure, but in the cumulative effect of institutional and administrative changes that have altered the economics of doing business.