Buying land on E-auksion in Uzbekistan: steps and costs

To buy vacant non-agricultural land for business, choose a lot on E-auksion, check terms, pay the deposit, win the auction and register your right. Vacant plots are privatised through an electronic auction (art. 25). Payment normally takes 10 or 15 working days, subject to statutory exceptions; non-agricultural land qualifies for instalments and a 20% discount when early-payment conditions are met.

In brief:

• The listing must identify what is being sold: ownership of the plot or a lease right. Land allocation to foreign applicants follows a separate procedure.
• The notice is normally published 30 days before the auction; applications close at 09:00 Tashkent time on auction day.
• The deposit depends on the price and the lot’s rules. For plots with a starting price up to UZS 4.400.000.000, from the third bidding step the deposit must cover the bidder’s proposed price.
• Instalments require an initial payment of at least 35% in Tashkent, Nukus and regional capitals, or at least 15% in the other specified areas.
• The buyer acquires a right subject to conditions for using the plot: permitted activities and construction deadlines form part of the future project.

Updated: 07 September 2026

What is sold and what right you get

Ownership or lease

An ordinary business-land lot offers either ownership of the plot or a lease right. Uzbek citizens and legal entities (art. 13) may acquire land through privatisation. However, foreign nationals, stateless persons, foreign legal entities, foreign-invested enterprises, state bodies, institutions, enterprises and citizens’ self-government bodies are excluded from privatisation (art. 13).

The general maximum lease term for non-agricultural land is 100 years (art. 24 Land Code). Ordinary auction plots also have minimum lease terms according to the area’s category: 25, 20 or 15 years. Categories one and two require at least 25 years, category three at least 20 years, and categories four and five at least 15 years. The rule contains an exception for small industrial zones. The specific term appears in the listing and contract.

Foreign individuals and legal entities, international associations and organisations, and foreign-invested enterprises may be granted land leases for up to 25 years (art. 24 Land Code). That lease is granted by the Cabinet of Ministers, and the ordinary business-land regulation excludes these persons from its scope; a foreigner can register on the platform and still cannot bid for an ordinary business plot.

Where town-planning documents are absent or the plot does not meet their requirements, it is offered on a lease basis. Land leases for apartment-building construction have a separate eligibility requirement: bidders must be legal entities registered for VAT. VAT means value added tax.

Agricultural land follows separate rules. Since 1 May 2026, the new system for offering it has applied nationwide. Agricultural lots have their own area requirements. For industrial plantations and livestock farming, plots of 50 to 500 hectares may be offered following proposals from regional leaders, with their permitted use specified.

Agricultural land cannot be leased directly to foreign investors. Foreign-invested enterprises and foreign legal entities and individuals cannot enter the auctions for agricultural leases or take over those leases. The guide below concerns buying vacant non-agricultural land for business.

How the start price is set

For an ownership sale, the starting price is based on the plot’s market value (art. 28). A lease-right sale uses a calculation formula: C = S × T × B × G × F × M + E. S is the area; T is the area-category coefficient; B is land tax per square metre including local coefficients; G is the utility-network coefficient; F is the permitted-use coefficient; M is the plot-size coefficient; and E represents preparation and registration costs.

Selected examples of permitted-use coefficients are 1.4 for “business management, trade, catering and services”, code 3.0; 0.9 for manufacturing, code 4.0; and 0.8 for pharmaceuticals and food production, codes 4.2.4 and 4.2.7. Some service subcategories have different coefficients: match the proposed project to its use code.

Example. Assume an area of 800 m², T = 15, B = UZS 1,000 per m², G = 1, F = 0.9, M = 1, and E = UZS 2,000,000. The starting price of the lease right is 800 × 15 × 1,000 × 1 × 0.9 × 1 + 2,000,000 = UZS 12,800,000. These inputs illustrate the arithmetic; use the rate and coefficients in the particular plot’s calculation.

When a lot is re-listed, a lower starting price may apply, subject to the restrictions governing that auction. Compare the valuation, current starting price and listing history: they are different measures.

How to buy: six steps

Step 1. Find the lot

On the E-auksion platform, look for land for business and urban development. Compare the region and district, land category, type of right, area, starting price, auction date and application deadline. Lots in small industrial zones and tourist areas, and those intended for individual housing or agriculture, follow their own regimes, described in the lots article.

In December 2025 the platform listed nearly 20,000 plots for entrepreneurs across the regions, from 4,676 in Karakalpakstan to 258 in Tashkent city. In the 5,000 newest lots we pulled on 6 September 2026, 337 were plots for business and urban development with a median start price of about 16 million soums, and their deposits ranged from 1.5% to 25% of the start price.

A business can propose a location for a future lot. Priority is given to sites proposed by entrepreneurs seeking to expand their operations who have ready projects. Information about vacant land is prepared and coordinated through YERELEKTRON; this prepares the site for listing; the applicant then bids like everyone else.

The khokim must take measures to list vacant land within ten days of its recording in the state land cadastre. The period runs from cadastral recording, which follows the approval of the site, not from the entrepreneur’s submission.

Step 2. Check the lot before the deposit

First compare the plot’s terms with your project. A bidder may inspect the site, study the documents and request additional information from the party commissioning the auction.

The mandatory information about the land lot includes:

• the plot’s unique number, location and outline on the YERELEKTRON electronic map;
• the type of right, land category and permitted use;
• the area in hectares;
• digital photographs of surrounding objects from at least two sides;
• the purpose and types of neighbouring areas and objects;
• information on available capacity for connection to external utility networks;
• the distance to public roads;
• a list of the types of structures that may or may not be built;
• the starting price;
• the amount of agricultural and forestry production losses;
• restrictions on the plot or the right to use it;
• for plots in small industrial, youth industrial and entrepreneurial zones, the investment and jobs required by the investment agreement;
• other information on the conditions and procedure for using the land.

Lease listings must also state the term and include a draft lease. Compare the outline and area with cadastral documents, permitted use with the future building, utility capacity with expected consumption, and construction deadlines with financing. The connection information covers capacity at the boundary; works inside the plot are priced separately.

In special zones, investment and job requirements must be assessed as terms of that particular lot. Check the entry for agricultural and forestry production losses separately: it can substantially change the budget for a plot transferred from another land category.

This article explains the sequence for buying land. The guide to choosing lots on E-auksion describes the platform’s categories, how to read attachments and what to inspect on site. Use it when comparing plots before paying a deposit.

Step 3. Register, obtain the signature, pay the deposit

An electronic digital signature is referred to below as an EDS. The operator, the Electronic Online Auctions Organisation JSC under the State Assets Management Agency, issues participants a certificate for bidding free of charge and remotely, including foreign nationals.

For the principal applicants covered here, the registration details are as follows. An Uzbek citizen needs a personal identification number of an individual (PINFL), a bank account or card for the deposit refund, an address, email address and mobile number. A resident legal entity or entrepreneur operating without a legal entity needs a taxpayer identification number (TIN), bank details and contact information. After completing the details, the applicant undergoes identification and signs the offer using an EDS.

Applications for the lot close at 09:00 (GMT+5) on auction day. The platform account must hold enough money for the deposit. One BRV, the base calculation unit, is used for the monetary thresholds; the applicable amount is the BRV on the notice date. Amounts in the table are automatically recalculated using the current BRV, so check the original calculation for an older notice.

The general deposit schedule, where the lot category has no special procedure, is:

Check both the percentage and amount against the notice: other asset types and special auctions may use different schedules. When making an offer independent of the bidding step, the deposit is calculated against the proposed price. The amount initially paid to enter the auction may therefore be insufficient for a later bid.

Example. With an assumed starting price of UZS 220.000.000 and a 10% deposit, pay UZS 22.000.000: 220.000.000 × 10% = UZS 22.000.000. The deposit secures participation and is credited to the winner’s price.

An application may be withdrawn before applications close. From that deadline until the auction ends, withdrawal is prohibited. The deposit is credited back to the platform account and, on request, refunded to a bank account or card. Ordinary bidders receive refunds within three working days after the auction ends or is declared unsuccessful; the reserve winner’s period follows payment or execution of the contract by the winner, depending on the procedure. Provide valid refund details.

Step 4. The auction

The auction starts on the stated date at 10:00 (GMT+5). An ordinary sale requires at least two participants. With a sole applicant the auction fails and the lot is re-listed.

From publication of the notice until the auction ends, a bidder may submit an independent price offer that is not tied to the bidding step. It remains undisclosed before bidding starts; once bidding begins, it confirms willingness to buy at that price.

The general auction step is 10% of the starting price, or 5% where the starting price exceeds UZS 880.000.000, subject to the regulation’s exceptions. Bidders have ten minutes to confirm the next offer. If nobody exceeds the last confirmed offer within that period, the bidder who confirmed it wins.

For land and the other assets specified in the rule with a starting price up to UZS 4.400.000.000, from the third step the platform account must hold at least the applicable deposit against the bidder’s offer. Example. If a 10% deposit applies and the offer reaches UZS 300,000,000, the required security is 300,000,000 × 10% = UZS 30,000,000. Existing security counts towards that total; only the shortfall needs to be added.

The bidder with the previous confirmed offer becomes the reserve winner. If the main winner refuses or fails to pay, the reserve winner may be offered the plot at their confirmed price. Reserve status also carries payment obligations.

Calculate your maximum bid from the project’s economics: the expected value of the finished property or income from its use, less construction, connections, documentation, taxes, financing and the required profit. The starting price is the seller’s number; the maximum bid is yours.

Step 5. Pay the price, in full or by instalments

The general full-payment period is 10 or 15 working days: ten where the final price is below UZS 2.200.000.000, and fifteen where it equals or exceeds that threshold. The rule expressly permits special procedures. The deposit counts towards payment, so the winner transfers the shortfall rather than paying the entire price on top of the deposit.

Non-agricultural land qualifies for a 20% discount if paid for in full within fifteen working days. It does not apply where the plot was sold after its starting price had been reduced by more than 50%. The 15-working-day discount window and the 10- or 15-day payment deadline are read together in the notice and the payment documents.

Example. A plot is won for UZS 200,000,000, the discount applies and the deposit is UZS 20,000,000. The discounted price is 200,000,000 × 80% = 160,000,000. The balance to transfer is 160,000,000 − 20,000,000 = UZS 140,000,000.

Under an instalment plan, the principal is paid in equal monthly portions, with interest charged on the unpaid balance at the Central Bank’s key rate. The initial payment is due within fifteen working days:

Example. On a price of UZS 200,000,000, the minimum initial payment in Tashkent is 200,000,000 × 35% = UZS 70,000,000. In other settlements covered by the corresponding row, it is 200,000,000 × 15% = UZS 30,000,000. In the first case, the remaining principal after the initial payment is UZS 130,000,000. Interest is charged on the balance at the applicable rate and increases total payments above the principal.

For an ownership purchase by instalments, the state warrant carries the endorsement “without the right of disposal” until full payment. For a lease, a restriction is also registered. The buyer may use the land under the registered right; selling or transferring it waits for full payment.

Step 6. Contract, state warrant and registration

For an ordinary purchase paid in full, the operator issues the protocol by the following working day after payment. Lots that do not require full payment on the platform follow a special documentation sequence. Keep the protocol, payment records and lot terms.

For a lease, the winner confirms the contract using an EDS through the personal account within 10 working days of receiving the protocol. The regional office of the State Cadastre Chamber registers the lease within two working days of receiving the contract.

For ownership, the law links issuance of the state warrant to full and timely payment (art. 29) and sets a period of one working day. In the auction procedure, the regional office issues the warrant within one working day of receiving the protocol; instalments use the disposal restriction described above. Ownership is registered within two working days of receiving the warrant.

Based on the warrant or lease, the plot’s boundaries are marked on the ground within three working days. The right arises after boundary marking and registration (art. 31 Land Code), and is evidenced by an electronic extract from the register (art. 33). A winning notification alone is insufficient to begin using the site. The cadastral authority sends information to the tax service where the land is located.

What costs to budget for beyond the bid

The table shows the basic charges and who bears them; those covered from the lot’s proceeds are inside the price you pay. The basic charges in this procedure are:

Example. At an assumed price of UZS 200,000,000, ordinary operator remuneration is 200,000,000 × 1% = UZS 2,000,000, included in the payment. Registration of a legal entity’s land right and the boundary report at these tariffs amount to 2.200.000 + 880.000 = UZS 3.080.000, but are covered from the proceeds in the procedure described. Connections, design and construction are calculated separately for the project.

Individuals and legal entities receiving land compensate the prescribed production losses (art. 28 Land Code). For a plot transferred from agricultural land or the forest fund, the calculated losses are added to its starting price when listed through YERELEKTRON. The amount depends on land quality and development costs for equivalent new land, including lost agricultural output. The amount is shown in the lot documents and is already inside the starting price of a plot listed through YERELEKTRON.

This section covers the costs of acquiring a plot. The land tax guide explains subsequent assessments, rates and payment deadlines. Use it to calculate the cost of holding land after registration.

What happens after refusal or non-payment

If the winner fails to pay on time or refuses the required contract, the results are cancelled and the deposit is not refunded; it remains with the operator. The risk covers the entire security paid. For example, if the deposit has risen to UZS 30,000,000, the amount at risk is UZS 30,000,000.

The winner is excluded as a dishonest participant for one year, then permanently upon repetition. The restriction also reaches direct founders and entrepreneurs and other businesses established by them, with an exception for shareholders of joint-stock companies. The cost of non-payment is therefore the deposit plus a year out of the market for the winner and its founders.

An auction is declared unsuccessful in these cases: no applications; only one application; no confirmed offers, subject to the exception for independent price offers; failure by the winner and reserve winner to meet payment or contract requirements; or irremediable defects in the object. The reason appears in the notice, after which the repeat-auction procedure applies.

What changed in 2025–2026

• From 22 November 2025, the discount rule applies as amended by Presidential Decree UP-223 of 21 November 2025: non-agricultural land retains the full-payment discount, except where the starting price was reduced by more than half.
• From 1 May 2026, Presidential Decree UP-68 of 24 April 2026 extended the new agricultural leasing system nationwide. It governs agricultural leases only.
• From 1 July 2026, Cabinet Resolution 246 of 15.05.2026 added agricultural and forestry production losses to the information supplied about a lot. Review that component of the plot’s cost as well.

After the purchase

Build on time

The plot’s documents set deadlines for design, starting and completing construction, and commissioning. The maximum commissioning period runs from the land allocation date:

Presidential or Cabinet acts may set different deadlines. For a plot at the boundary between ranges, check the deadline expressly stated in its documents. Time lost through government action or inaction declared unlawful by a court is deducted from the period; for force majeure, the court may extend the period. Keep documents evidencing the causes of delay where they matter for applying these rules.

If deadlines are breached, the khokimiyat must bring a court claim to cancel the right and sell the plot again. The amount actually paid for the land is refunded less preparation and auction costs, but only within the repeat-sale proceeds and from those proceeds. Restoring the site, demolishing structures and clearing the land are paid by the former holder.

Example. The buyer paid UZS 200,000,000 for the plot. The next auction brings UZS 170,000,000, with UZS 5,000,000 in preparation and auction costs. On those assumptions, the refund is 170,000,000 − 5,000,000 = UZS 165,000,000. Demolition and clearance costs are excluded from this example.

Land tax during construction

Ongoing charges for using the land continue after acquisition. Rent for state-owned land is treated as land tax (art. 28 Land Code) and paid to the budget under the procedure for land-tax payers. Purchasing a lease right at auction does not replace that recurring payment.

For newly sold plots outside Tashkent, Nukus and regional capitals, 50% of the land-tax rate applies until commissioning, for no more than three years. If commissioning is late, the relief is recovered in full, with interest at the Central Bank’s key rate.

Example. If ordinary tax for the relevant period is UZS 12,000,000, meeting the relief conditions reduces the payment to 12,000,000 × 50% = UZS 6,000,000. The UZS 6,000,000 saved is recoverable if the commissioning condition is breached, together with the prescribed interest.

Transfer the right or privatise later

Rights and obligations over non-agricultural land leased through auction may be transferred to another person within the lease term (art. 24 Land Code). Construction deadlines do not restart: the new holder takes over the obligation to meet them. Restrictions connected with unpaid instalments must also be considered.

Later privatisation of an auctioned leasehold plot is permitted after full payment, if it meets town-planning documents approved after the sale and the lease contains no other conditions. The option is open to Uzbek citizens and legal entities that qualify for privatisation, on application and for the buyout price.

Buying land and constructing a building involve different procedures. The guide to land for business and construction covers the architectural and planning assignment, design, expert review and commissioning. Use it before moving from a registered land right to construction.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner buy land at E-auksion?

Foreign nationals, foreign legal entities and foreign-invested enterprises are excluded from privatisation. The Land Code provides a separate Cabinet allocation procedure for leases to the specified foreign persons. Registration on E-auksion and the EDS certificate are available to foreigners; eligibility for a given land lot is decided by the lot’s rules. Agricultural auctions and transfers of agricultural leases are also restricted for them.

How much is the deposit for a land lot?

The notice shows the amount and percentage, while the general deposit schedule depends on the starting price. Some categories have their own scales, shown in the lots article. Independent offers and later price increases may require more security. The winner’s deposit counts towards payment; other bidders receive it back under the completion rules, and the reserve winner after the main winner fulfils the applicable conditions.

How long do I have to pay after winning?

The general rule is 10 or 15 working days: ten for a final price below UZS 2.200.000.000, and fifteen at or above that threshold. Legislation and the lot documents may provide a special procedure. For the land discount, check full payment within the required period and the history of starting-price reductions; for instalments, check the deadline and amount of the initial payment.

Is there an instalment plan for land?

Yes. The term is one year in Tashkent and three in Nukus and regional capitals, with at least 35% initially. It is five years in other settlements and ten in category four and five districts, with at least 15% initially. The initial payment is due within fifteen working days. Interest accrues on the unpaid debt, and disposal restrictions apply until full payment.

What happens if I win and do not pay?

The results may be cancelled, the deposit paid is not refunded, and the lot is offered to the reserve winner or re-listed under the applicable procedure. Exclusion from participation also applies and may affect founders and businesses connected with the winner. A reserve winner who refuses or fails to pay loses their security as well.

When may I start using the plot?

After the required documentation conditions have been met: boundary marking and registration (art. 31 Land Code). Obtain the lease or state warrant and register extract, and check instalment restrictions and permitted use. Construction also requires the authorisation procedures applicable to the building. The auction protocol records the result; the right arises with the registration extract.