Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - By a decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On priority measures to mitigate the negative impact on the economy of the coronavirus pandemic and global crisis phenomena” from 19 March 2020, the tax burden for entrepreneurs during the quarantine period is reduced. This was reported by the press service of the State Tax Committee.

This applies to business entities experiencing temporary financial difficulties and not having the ability to pay taxes. They are granted the right to deferment or installment plan. A similar mechanism is provided for by the Tax Code (Article 97).

The head of the Department of Compulsory Collection of Tax Debts of the State Tax Committee Nodir Erkaev explains:

There is a difference between deferral and installment plan. In case of deferment, the date of payment of the full amount of tax is postponed to a period later than the established one. And in installments - the tax is paid in installments over a specified period. According to the Decree of the President “On priority measures to mitigate the negative impact on the economy of the coronavirus pandemic and global crisis phenomena” No. UP-5969, the changes affected the timing of payment of three types of taxes: property tax, land tax, tax for the use of water resources.

The right may be exercised by:

- legal entities (including non-residents of the Republic of Uzbekistan);

- individual entrepreneurs;

- separate units of legal entities.

The deadline for payment of property tax and land tax of individuals is delayed until 15 October 2020, which means that obtaining a deferral does not require any documents.

For legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and separate divisions of legal entities, deferral (installment plan) is granted for a period of up to 6 months without charging interest for one of the indicated types of tax, or for two or three at the same time (see paragraph 7 of the UP “On priority mitigation measures” negative impact on the sectors of the economy of the coronavirus pandemic and global crisis phenomena”).

The procedure for obtaining a deferment can be organized remotely by contacting the tax authorities through the personal account of the taxpayer, from where these data are sent to public authorities.

The application should reflect: the reasons for the delay (installment plan), the timing of its submission, the amount of tax debt (as of April 1, 2020 or another date), as well as data on the location of the taxable item, land area, estimated average annual residual value (average annual value) of the real estate property. The waiting period is 30 days.

Having received a taxpayer application, the responsible departments promptly prepare a conclusion on the advisability of granting a deferment (installment plan).

In a one-day period, tax authorities (regional and Interregional state tax inspectorates for large taxpayers) review applications and submit them to the secretariats of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokimiyats of the regions and the capital.

Secretariats send the document to the regional departments of the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, the Ministry of Finance and the regional tax authorities within one day. Regional authorities submit a joint opinion within five days from the date of receipt of the application. It takes into account the reasons presented by the taxpayer and the effect of the delay (installment plan) on local budget revenues in comparison with the expected expenses. No other documents required.

The final decision is made by local government bodies. Within one day, the decision in the form of an electronic copy is sent to the taxpayer through a personal account. The regional authorities where the object of taxation is located will be automatically informed.