Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — According to data from the Tax Committee, the volume of value-added tax (VAT) refunds in the first quarter of 2025 saw a significant decline.

Between January and March, the total amount of VAT refunded dropped by 13.2%, amounting to 4.67 trillion soums. In comparison, VAT refunds during the same period in 2024 totaled 5.38 trillion soums, which had marked a 28.5% increase year-on-year.

A total of 2,983 refund applications were submitted by 2,191 companies during the first three months of the year — a 34.5% increase in applications and a 39.5% rise in the number of applicants. The average VAT refund per application was 1.56 billion soums, down 37.7% from Q1 2024.

Roughly half of all reviewed applications (1,001) came from exporting companies, which received 1.52 trillion soums in refunds.

Industrial enterprises accounted for the largest share of total VAT refunds, receiving 3.29 trillion soums. They were followed by the services sector with 435.6 billion soums (9.3%) and the trade sector with 327.5 billion soums (7%).