Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, Abrorkhodja Turdaliev, stated in an official letter that the proposal to provide tax authorities with information on large peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers contradicts Article 41 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan. This was reported by Kursiv Uzbekistan.
Article 41 guarantees every person the right to be an owner and ensures the confidentiality of banking operations, deposits, and accounts by law. The Central Bank noted that the initiative to disclose P2P transfer data has previously faced public criticism.
The regulator informed the Tax Committee that the draft resolution conflicts with the law on banking secrecy. According to the Central Bank, implementing the proposal could violate citizens' constitutional rights, increase the use of cash, lead to funds leaving the banking system for informal circulation, and expand the shadow economy.
Additionally, the regulator assessed that such a measure could widen the gap between cash and non-cash payment volumes. The Central Bank emphasized that the draft regulatory act was developed by the Tax Committee. However, the regulator stated it has no information on why a threshold of 500 times the base calculation value (206 million soums per month) was chosen for data submission.
The Central Bank also noted that modern technical and organizational information security measures ensuring the protection of banking secrecy and personal data have already been implemented in the banking system in accordance with the law.
In late June, the Tax Committee put up for public discussion a draft Cabinet of Ministers resolution approving the procedure for banks to provide information on accounts or deposits of legal entities and individuals to tax authorities. Transfers from close relatives and transfers between a person's own cards are excluded.
The project faced criticism during public discussion. Users argued that such a norm could violate citizens' constitutional rights and negatively affect trust in the banking system. Later, the Tax Committee stated that the initiative does not abolish banking secrecy and does not grant tax authorities free access to citizens' accounts. According to the committee, the project aims to establish uniform rules for information exchange between banks and the tax service.
Recall that in May 2023, the Central Bank opposed the transfer of banking secrecy information on P2P transfers to tax authorities. “I think our views are stricter than the discussions in the media,” said former Central Bank Chairman Mamarizo Nurmurodov at the time. In April of this year, Central Bank Chairman Timur Ishmetov, speaking about the possible tightening of P2P transfer monitoring, stated that whatever decision is made, it must comply with banking secrecy requirements.
Earlier, similar initiatives to control transfers between individuals have been criticized for posing a risk to banking secrecy and potentially increasing cash turnover.
Source: www.gazeta.uz