In the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan, the intervention of the Business Ombudsman (Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs' Rights) has led to the cancellation of an unjustified tax claim worth 100 billion soms against a company. Tax authorities had erroneously imposed a massive land tax debt, despite the land in question having been returned to the state reserve and removed from the company's balance sheet two years prior.

An investigation into the case revealed that tax officials demanded payment for 2,951.2 hectares of land, which the entrepreneur had already returned to the state reserve. Due to technical errors in the database, the businessman's numerous appeals were ignored for an extended period, and the debt remained recorded in the system, highlighting persistent administrative flaws.

Following the Ombudsman's involvement, tax authorities were instructed to conduct a recalculation. As a result of the review, the 100 billion soms in unjustified debt was fully written off from the enterprise's account. This incident raises serious concerns about the efficiency of tax administration and the bureaucratic hurdles still facing businesses in Uzbekistan.

Notably, this entrepreneur has encountered similar bureaucratic issues before and previously defended his interests successfully with the support of the Business Ombudsman. This underscores that despite ongoing efforts to improve the business climate, significant challenges remain, necessitating further reforms to streamline processes and reduce red tape.

Source: podrobno.uz