TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, May 1.Uzbekistan experienced a significant decline in the volume of Value-Added Tax (VAT) refunds during the first quarter of 2025, Trend reports, citing the Tax Committee of Uzbekistan.
In January-March 2025, VAT refunds fell by 13.2 percent, totaling 4.67 trillion Uzbek sums ($424.5 million). In comparison, VAT refunds during the same period in 2024 amounted to 5.38 trillion sums ($489.1 million), marking a 28.5 percent increase year-on-year.
A total of 2,983 VAT refund applications were processed from 2,191 companies in the first quarter of 2025. The number of applications surged by 34.5 percent, while the number of companies seeking refunds increased by 39.5 percent. On average, the VAT refund per application was 1.56 billion sums ($141,818), reflecting a decrease of 37.7 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024.
Approximately half of all applications — 1,001 in total — were submitted by exporting companies, which collectively received refunds amounting to 1.52 trillion sums ($138.2 million).
The largest share of VAT refunds, 3.29 trillion sums ($299.1 million), was allocated to industrial enterprises. The services sector followed with refunds totaling 435.6 billion sums ($39.6 million), while the retail sector received 327.5 billion sums ($29.7 million).
