Creative Industry Park Uzbekistan: residency and benefits

A legal entity, individual entrepreneur or self-employed person registered in Uzbekistan may become a resident if at least 80% of its income is creative-industry income. The Directorate reviews the application and business plan within 15 business days. A resident pays a turnover-based membership fee, receives reduced social-tax and personal-income-tax rates, and may use turnover tax regardless of income.

In brief:

• For an existing business, at least 80% of annual income must come from an approved creative activity.
• The application includes a business plan, and the decision is made within 15 business days.
• The membership fee is 0.1% of turnover for individual entrepreneurs and self-employed residents and 0.3% of turnover for legal entities.
• Until 1 January 2031, social-tax and personal-income-tax rates are reduced by 50%, and the usual income ceiling for turnover tax does not apply.
• The applicant’s central task is to prove that its activity is approved and to present measurable growth indicators in the business plan.

Updated: 05 September 2026

The Park and eligible activities

What the Creative Industry Park is

The Creative Industry Park is an extraterritorial structure (Article 3 of Law No. ZRU-970). Its regime is not confined to a group of buildings in Tashkent: a company or entrepreneur may obtain status regardless of its region of registration. Merely occupying premises in the campus under construction does not create residency; status arises after the Directorate’s decision and entry in the register.

The Directorate of Creative Industry Parks manages the Park. It is a limited liability company established by the Culture and Art Development Foundation. The Republican Council monitors and evaluates the Park, while the Directorate reports its results at least twice a year (Article 25 of Law No. ZRU-970).

Physical infrastructure is being developed separately on Farabi Street in Tashkent’s Shaykhantahur district: a green park, a school of digital design and programming, workshops, offices, co-working space, and film and sound-production facilities. The first phase is planned for 2026–2027 (Resolution No. PP-64 of 16 February 2026). The residence regime is regulated independently of the completion of those facilities.

Who can become a resident

A registered legal entity, individual entrepreneur, or self-employed person may apply. It must carry on at least one activity from the approved list and submit an economically justified business plan. A legal entity with a state share in its charter capital cannot become a resident (Article 28 of Law No. ZRU-970).

For an existing applicant, creative activities must account for at least 80% of total annual income. A newly formed business may be admitted without the indicator being tested, but it must meet the condition at the end of the financial year. Otherwise, the benefits already used are recalculated and recovered.

Example. An established design studio has annual income of UZS 1 billion, of which UZS 820 million comes from an activity on the approved list. Its share is UZS 820 million / UZS 1 billion × 100 = 82%, so it meets the test. If creative income is UZS 790 million, the share is 79%, and the condition is not met.

The business plan must contain measurable growth indicators: job creation, export volume, revenue growth, a product containing commercially exploitable intellectual property, and other indicators. The Directorate assesses the plan and key performance indicators individually, so matching an activity code to the list is not sufficient by itself.

This article does not explain how to incorporate a legal entity, register as an individual entrepreneur, or choose a business form. The article on business registration explains the registration process and required documents. It is relevant before the residence application if the applicant is not yet registered in Uzbekistan.

Which activities qualify

The law groups the creative industry into 15 fields (Article 10 of Law No. ZRU-970). The Cabinet resolution specifies 142 individual activities. The table below is a high-level, non-exhaustive guide; the legally operative list is Appendix 3 to Cabinet Resolution No. 90.

The list combines economic activities with specific occupations. In the application, it is better to reproduce the relevant item and explain what product is created, how it generates income, and how the business-plan indicators will be achieved. Certain design entries expressly exclude industrial manufacturing, so manufacturing a product and designing it may be assessed differently.

Application and admission

How to obtain residence status

First, the applicant submits an application through the web portal and attaches a business plan. Until the portal is fully operational, applicants must be allowed to submit materials directly to the Directorate. The Regulation does not set a separate application-review fee.

The document package is limited to the application and business plan: the Directorate may not demand other documents that the Regulation does not prescribe. The applicant is responsible for the accuracy of the information submitted.

If the documents do not meet the requirements, the applicant may correct and resubmit them within five business days. If the defects are not cured in time, the Directorate may leave the application unreviewed.

After accepting the documents, the Directorate obtains an opinion from the Expert Council and decides whether to register or refuse the applicant within 15 business days. The Regulation does not set a fixed expiry date for status: it remains in place until a voluntary withdrawal or a suspension or termination decision.

After a positive decision, the Directorate has three business days to enter the applicant in the Unified Register of Residents, issue a certificate, and notify the Tax Committee, Customs Committee, and servicing bank. The decision also constitutes consent to a public-offer agreement whose form is approved and published by the Directorate.

Example. If a complete package is accepted on 7 September, the 15-business-day period follows the working calendar, not a 15-calendar-day count. After a positive decision, the Directorate has a further three business days for the register, certificate, and notices. Public holidays and weekends do not count as business days in this calculation.

When an application can be refused

The Directorate may refuse an application only on a ground stated in the Regulation. The complete list of grounds is:

• failure to cure identified document discrepancies within the prescribed period;
• a business plan that does not match the approved activities or extends beyond them;
• failure to file tax reports, inactivity, liquidation, or a court-ordered insolvency procedure at the time of review;
• an established misuse of a government programme or subsidy; or
• overdue taxes or fees.

The decision must state the reason, and the applicant is notified online. Once the reason is removed, the application is reviewed again. The refusal may also be appealed to a superior body or court.

Fees, tax benefits and foreign business

How much residency costs

The principal special payment is a turnover-based membership fee. Its rate depends on the resident’s legal form; the Regulation does not identify a separate fixed registration duty.

The specific payment periods and procedure are set in the agreement between the Directorate and resident. Before accepting the public offer, the applicant should check the calculation base, reporting period, payment date, and correction mechanism.

Example. With turnover of UZS 100 million, the membership fee of an individual entrepreneur or self-employed resident is UZS 100 million × 0.1% = UZS 100,000. For a legal entity with the same turnover, the fee is UZS 100 million × 0.3% = UZS 300,000.

Which tax benefits residents receive

From 1 May 2025 until 1 January 2031, residents apply social-tax and personal-income-tax rates reduced by 50%. Where the standard personal income tax rate is 12% (Article 381 of the Tax Code), half is 6%. Where the ordinary social tax rate is 12% (Article 405 of the Tax Code), half is likewise 6%.

During the same period, a resident may remain a turnover-tax payer regardless of its income. This exception removes the ordinary income ceiling for the regime, but it does not eliminate turnover tax or make the resident exempt from every tax. The resident may choose the generally applicable taxation system.

Benefits begin from the next month after registration as a resident, specifically on its first day. The Regulation also permits a resident to waive benefits in part and apply the ordinary system to the selected extent.

Example. If an employee’s taxable salary is UZS 10 million, personal income tax at 6% is UZS 600,000 instead of UZS 1.2 million at 12%. Social tax on a UZS 10 million base at 6% is also UZS 600,000 instead of UZS 1.2 million. The example assumes that the ordinary 12% rates would apply before the benefit.

This section explains the resident’s right to use turnover tax without the usual income ceiling. The article on turnover tax covers the taxable base, rates, reporting, and transition to VAT and corporate income tax. It is relevant when calculating the tax after choosing the regime.

Rules for exports and foreign contractors

From 1 January 2026 until 1 January 2030, a foreign contractor engaged for a resident’s project is exempt from three taxes (Article 483 of the Tax Code): VAT, corporate income tax withheld at source, and personal income tax. The work or services must be directly connected with the creative industry. The benefit does not automatically cover every foreign contract entered into by a resident.

A resident may use a virtual office, except where the resident is registered for VAT. A virtual office is a legal or postal address without physical occupancy through which employees work and interact with counterparties and public authorities.

For e-commerce, a resident may sell goods, work, and services for export through online stores without a customs cargo declaration and without entering information in the unified electronic system for foreign-trade operations. The resident must comply with the postal-service rules. This provision does not establish a general exemption from import duty or import VAT for equipment.

Resident obligations and support

Residents’ ongoing obligations

Status requires continuous compliance with the approved project. The resident’s obligations include operating under the approved list and business plan, complying with the public agreement, paying membership fees on time, undergoing an audit, clearing new activities, and participating in training programmes when requested by the Directorate.

A legal entity must arrange an annual audit of its financial and business activities and submit the opinion to the Directorate no later than 15 June of the year following the reporting year. Individual entrepreneurs and self-employed residents are exempt from this requirement. Tax and statistical reporting continue under the general rules and are used when status is monitored.

If a resident wants to add an activity that was not in the original business plan, it may begin only after approval of a new plan or an addendum. Before approval, income from the new line creates a risk of non-compliance with the residence conditions.

If a legal entity converts into another legal form, status, rights, and obligations pass to the converted entity. Following a conversion or change of name, the entity must apply to the Directorate within ten business days so the register can be updated.

Support provided by the Park

A resident may use shared workspaces and equipment, obtain business and intellectual-property advice, and join acceleration and education programmes (Article 27 of Law No. ZRU-970). Those opportunities are provided in the manner and scope organised by the Directorate.

The state-support framework includes subsidies, grants, and social orders (Article 18 of Law No. ZRU-970), preferential use of infrastructure and state property, information support, and intellectual-property assistance. These are support channels, not an automatic payment to every resident; each programme has its own rules.

The Park’s functions include infrastructure, investment attraction, growth in turnover and exports, job creation, workforce training, and support for innovation (Article 26 of Law No. ZRU-970). It may work with educational and research institutions, incubators, accelerators, and domestic and international partners (Article 29 of Law No. ZRU-970).

The Directorate rents equipment, laboratories, production space, offices, and classrooms and provides a virtual-office service and document preparation for starting a business. The initial auction rent for a resident is reduced by 50%. The final rent depends on the auction outcome and lease agreement.

Example. If the ordinary initial auction price is UZS 20 million for the period, the resident’s starting price is UZS 20 million × 50% = UZS 10 million. This is a calculation of the initial price, not a cap on the final rent after bidding.

When status is suspended or terminated

The Regulation contains the complete list of grounds for loss of status:

• the actual activity does not match the approved list;
• the resident breaches its obligations under the agreement with the Directorate;
• a court applies an insolvency procedure to the resident: supervision, judicial rehabilitation, external management, or liquidation proceedings;
• the resident voluntarily withdraws;
• the resident fails to submit activity information, tax or statistical reports, its business plan, audit report and opinion on time, or submits inaccurate information; or
• another ground arises under legislation.

The Directorate and Expert Council conduct an annual review of the business plan, growth, and key performance indicators. If an error is found, the resident must submit a remediation plan within two business days.

If no plan is submitted or the breach recurs, the Directorate may suspend status for up to 30 days or terminate it. After a status-loss decision, it has three business days to notify the tax and customs authorities and the servicing bank.

Tax benefits cease from the next month after loss of status, specifically on its first day. For a voluntary withdrawal, the withdrawal date is the date on which the Directorate receives the application. If a new resident fails the 80% income test at the end of the financial year, benefits already used are recalculated and recovered separately from the end of future benefits.

Example. If status is terminated on 18 November, benefits cease on 1 December. The Directorate then has three business days to send the notices. If the annual review first identifies a correctable error, the resident has two business days to submit a remediation plan; failure to do so creates a ground for suspension for up to 30 days or termination.

Changes and application checks

What changed in 2025–2026

• UP-61, 26 March 2025 launched the Park’s organisation and provided benefits from 1 May 2025 until 1 January 2031.
• PP-64, 16 February 2026 defined the first-stage infrastructure for 2026–2027 and a 50% reduction in the initial auction rent for a resident.
• Cabinet Resolution No. 90 of 3 March 2026 approved the Park Regulation, residence procedure, and list of 142 activities.
• From 1 January 2026, the foreign-contractor exemption (Article 483 of the Tax Code) applies to work and services directly connected with the creative industry; it ends on 1 January 2030.

What to check before applying

First, match the actual product to a specific line of the approved list, not merely one of its 15 broad fields. Then calculate the share of creative income for the completed financial year. A new business should prepare a model that will meet the 80% test by the end of its first financial year.

The business plan should show measurable jobs, exports, revenue, and commercially exploitable intellectual property. Before filing, check tax reporting, overdue debt, liquidation or insolvency proceedings, and any misuse of government programmes or subsidies. Separately budget for the turnover-based membership fee, the annual audit required of a legal entity, and the reporting calendar with the Directorate.

Frequently asked questions

Can a self-employed person become a Creative Industry Park resident?

Yes. The Regulation permits a legal entity, individual entrepreneur, or self-employed person registered in Uzbekistan. A self-employed applicant must carry on an activity from the approved list, submit a business plan, and maintain the required share of creative income. The membership fee is 0.1% of turnover. The annual audit opinion required of legal entities does not apply to a self-employed resident.

Must a resident lease premises in the Park?

No. The regime is extraterritorial throughout Uzbekistan, so status does not depend on leasing premises in the Tashkent campus. A resident may separately rent equipment, a laboratory, office, or other space from the Directorate. A virtual office is also available if the resident is not registered for VAT. The lease and residence status are legally separate relationships.

What documents are required for a Creative Industry Park application?

The Regulation specifies an application and an attached business plan. The Directorate may not demand documents that the Regulation does not prescribe. The plan must describe an approved activity and measurable indicators, including jobs, exports, revenue growth, and a product with commercially exploitable intellectual-property elements. The applicant is responsible for the accuracy of the information submitted.

When do a resident’s tax benefits begin?

Benefits begin on the first day of the month following registration as a resident. Social-tax and personal-income-tax rates are reduced by 50% until 1 January 2031, and turnover tax may be used without the ordinary income ceiling. Following loss of status, benefits end on the first day of the next month. A new business may face a later recalculation if its annual creative-income share is below 80%.

Can a refusal be appealed or the application filed again?

Yes. The refusal decision must identify a specific reason, and notice is sent online. After the reason is removed, the application is reviewed again under the ordinary procedure. The applicant may also appeal to a superior body or court. Before filing again, it should cure the formal defect and check its tax reporting, debt, and the business plan’s consistency with the approved list.