Dehkan farms in Uzbekistan: land, registration and taxes

A dehkan farm grows and sells agricultural produce through the personal labor of family members. It may operate with or without legal personality. A standard plot is 0.06 to 1 ha (Article 8 of the Law), while registration and the registry extract are free.

In brief:

• The land right comes first; the farm is then recorded or registered as a legal entity.
• A standard plot is 0.06 to 1 ha (Article 8 of the Law); certain fodder projects have a higher limit.
• The statutory lease for the specified land is 30 years (Article 6 of the Law); seasonal sublease is limited to one year.
• Income from the farm’s own produce is not taxable (Article 13 of the Law), but land, water and social tax obligations remain.
• This form suits a family that works agricultural land itself and is prepared to comply with specialization, water limits and soil-protection rules.

Updated: 05 September 2026

Farm status and founders

What is a dehkan farm

A dehkan farm is an entrepreneurial household that grows and sells agricultural produce on land granted to its head. Production is based on the personal labor of members (Article 3 of the Dehkan Farm Law). At the members’ choice, the farm may operate with or without forming a legal entity.

Unlike a dehkan farm, a farmer enterprise has a different membership model, larger land parameters and must be a legal entity. It is intended for commercial production on leased land. A subsidiary household, in contrast, operates on a personal household plot (Article 3 of the Subsidiary Household Law) and is governed by a separate law.

This article covers a farm based on the work of family members. The rules for a commercial producer on larger land are explained in the farmer enterprise article, while a separate family-owned legal entity is covered in the family enterprise article. These distinctions matter before entering the land procedure.

Who may establish a dehkan farm

The head may be a legally capable Uzbek citizen or a stateless person permanently residing in Uzbekistan who has reached 18 years of age (Article 4 of the Law). The lease, sublease or preserved inherited lifetime-possession right to the land must be granted to that person.

The Law gives a complete family list of eligible members (Article 5 of the Law):

• the head of the family and the head’s spouse;
• parents;
• children, including adopted children;
• grandparents and grandchildren;
• spouses of adult children and grandchildren, full and half-siblings, and their spouses, provided that they have reached working age.

The head represents the farm and signs agreements without a power of attorney. During temporary incapacity or a prolonged absence, the head may authorize one member to perform the role. After the head’s death, retirement, total incapacity or another statutory event, the members select a new head by agreement and record the decision in minutes. If they cannot agree, a court resolves the dispute.

Land and registration

How to obtain land for a dehkan farm

The land must be obtained before the farm is recorded or registered. Since 1 March 2024, agricultural plots, including plots for dehkan farming, have been leased through online auctions on E-auksion, except where the Cabinet of Ministers grants land under the Land Code.

The farm may operate on the statutory land categories (Article 6 of the Law):

• land subject to an inherited lifetime-possession right created before the new law, or transferred by inheritance or another ground allowed by the Law;
• leased reserve land, including restored land brought into use;
• specified unused forest-fund land, protected natural areas and land beside water bodies, subject to special safety and technical requirements;
• part of agricultural land released from the main crop and subleased for one season for an intermediate crop.

The three statutory lease categories are granted for 30 years (Article 6 of the Law). The creation of new inherited lifetime-possession rights has ended. That right survives only (Article 32 of the Law) for farms created earlier and their permitted successors.

For a particular lot, check the auction card, land-management plan and title document. The Land Code refers allocation for dehkan farming to the special statutory regime (Article 55 of the Land Code), so the minimum areas for farmer enterprises must not be applied automatically to a dehkan farm.

How to register a dehkan farm

After the land right is obtained, the members choose between two forms. A farm without legal personality is created once the head has the land right and the farm is recorded. A farm with legal personality is created after the land right arises and the entity is registered. This sequence appears in the creation rule (Article 6 of the Law).

The head may apply in person at a Public Services Center or through the Single Interactive Public Services Portal. One special provision (Article 7 of the Law) establishes both the document list and the absence of a fee for recording or registering the land right and farm and issuing the extract. The extract states the head, members, specialization, legal form, date of recording or registration, and lease or sublease term.

Registration occurs in real time and takes no more than 30 minutes. When an individual wins on E-auksion, the electronic certificate for a farm without legal personality is sent to the winner’s account.

Production, workers and land rights

What may be grown and how produce is sold

The farm chooses its specialization, crops, output and farming methods. It must also comply with national standards and sanitary, hygiene, veterinary and fire-safety rules. These limits govern its production activity (Article 12 of the Law).

The plot is used for production consistent with the specialization. Other crops may be grown between rows of the main crop or through crop rotation. Permanent and underground structures are prohibited; greenhouses and lightweight structures (Article 9 of the Law), as well as irrigation facilities, are allowed. Up to 10 notional head of livestock may graze while agricultural production continues.

The farm may transport its own produce within Uzbekistan and sell it using the registry extract without additional permits. Sales may take place in the field, at dehkan markets, in shopping centers and through mobile trading. The farm sets its own price, accepts cash or card payment and need not keep the records prescribed by cash-operation rules for business entities. These rights are combined in the sales provision (Article 13 of the Law).

The simplified documentation rule gives way where product-safety rules require evidence. For example, livestock from a dehkan farm must be slaughtered at a specialized facility, and meat may be sold only with veterinary and sanitary documents.

How members and hired workers work

Members perform the core work personally. Depending on the specialization, other people may be engaged only temporarily or seasonally under an employment contract (Article 15 of the Law). The contract and hiring details must be registered in the Unified National Labor System under the general employment rules.

The head must pay social tax. Payment is voluntary for other members and people engaged by the farm. A payment counts as one calendar year of employment record; a member may obtain the corresponding social insurance and benefits if they have no other permanent employment. The right to a share of produce and income and to act for the farm on the head’s instructions belongs to the farm members (Article 23 of the Law).

The minimum social-tax payment for employment-record purposes is one BRV, the base calculation unit, or 440.000 UZS a year (Article 408 of the Tax Code). The head pays it compulsorily and the other listed people voluntarily, by 31 December of the reporting year. For old-age pensioners and people with Group I or II disabilities, the minimum is reduced by half when supporting documentation is available.

Property, produce and income constitute joint common property (Article 24 of the Law), unless the members agree on shared ownership by defined shares. Members first answer for farming obligations with property created through their joint activity. If that property is insufficient, they answer with property belonging to them (Article 27 of the Law) as prescribed by law.

Example. When the head makes the minimum social-tax payment at one BRV, the annual payment is 440.000 UZS. Another member may voluntarily pay the same amount by the deadline so that the year counts toward their employment record.

May the land right be transferred or inherited

The answer depends on the type of land right. The head may allow another person to use all or part of land held in inherited lifetime possession for agricultural production while preserving the original right. The Land Code confirms this temporary-use arrangement (Article 24-3 of the Land Code) and requires an agreement between the parties.

Lease rights may be transferred to another person without changing the permitted purpose. As a general rule, the tenant must have used the land itself for at least three years (Article 24-5 of the Land Code), pay the auction-related amounts required by law and register the transfer. The special law also includes temporary use, bank accounts and lease transfer among the head’s powers (Article 22 of the Law).

After the head’s death, the members select a new head by agreement. The inherited lifetime-possession right passes by inheritance to the new head, while the lease or sublease agreement is amended. The same documentation process applies when a head is replaced in another statutory situation: the members record their decision in minutes and the registry information is updated.

Taxes, duties and support

Taxes and reports of a dehkan farm

Income from sales of the dehkan farm’s own agricultural produce is not taxable. The exemption is limited to its own produce; other transactions are assessed separately according to the legal form and nature of the income.

Both forms of the farm are payers of individual property tax if they own taxable property (Article 418 of the Tax Code). Individual land-tax rules also apply to farms with or without legal personality, while registered rent is treated as land tax (Article 433 of the Tax Code).

For agricultural land, the tax base is the normative value (Article 435 of the Tax Code). The tax authority calculates the amount and issues a notice by 1 March. A change in area or relief leads to recalculation within one month (Article 439 of the Tax Code).

The tax authority also calculates the water-use tax and issues the farm’s payment notice by 1 March. This process is stated in the calculation rule (Article 447 of the Tax Code). The farm pays once a year by 1 May (Article 448 of the Tax Code) following the tax period.

By 15 March (Article 17 of the Law) of the next year, the farm submits a certificate to the citizens’ self-governance body describing crops, volumes produced and sold, and the number of greenhouses. This separate obligation does not replace the tax accounting of a legal entity or employer.

Land-tax example. If the plot’s normative value is 440.000.000 UZS, the basic tax is 440.000.000 × 0.95% = 4.180.000 UZS. With a regional coefficient of 1.2, the result is 5.016.000 UZS.

Water-tax example. For 1,000 m³, the basic amount is 1,000 × 107 = 107,000 UZS. With both water-saving technology and a meter, the 0.5 coefficient reduces it to 53,500 UZS. Without either, the 1.1 coefficient raises it to 117,700 UZS.

Detailed bases, reliefs and local coefficients are explained in the land-tax article and water-use tax article. Those calculations become relevant once cadastral information and actual water-use data are available.

Land and water duties

The farm must use the plot for its permitted purpose, preserve productivity and prevent damage. A land user must protect and restore fertility, follow agronomic measures and irrigation standards, periodically level irrigated arable land and report degradation. The Soil Protection Law (Article 17) provides the list.

Agricultural water is used within the quota and limit. The farm prepares a water-use schedule and agrees it with the supplier, as required by the planning rule (Article 31 of the Water Code). The water-use agreement is made with the water-supply organization and becomes effective upon electronic registration (Article 67 of the Water Code).

The abstraction point is registered and equipped with control and metering devices, and data is entered in an electronic log. At month-end the parties prepare an electronic statement by the fifth day (Article 49 of the Water Code). The statement and system data support both water accounting and the tax base.

Support provided to dehkan farms

A dehkan farm may obtain ordinary or preferential loans, leasing and insurance. Security may include property rights in the plot, members’ private property and the future harvest. These options appear in the financing provision (Article 14 of the Law), but each bank or program applies its own eligibility and security criteria.

State support covers lending, insurance, leasing, inputs, infrastructure, market information, trading space, exports and technology. The Law establishes these support directions (Article 18), rather than an unconditional payment to every farm.

Farms may jointly grow, store, process and sell produce, buy inputs and equipment, use water and protect plants. They may voluntarily form a production cooperative (Article 16 of the Law) for those purposes. The cooperative’s charter and liability are governed separately.

Under the agricultural insurance regime, a producer pays 50% of the insurance payment (Article 27 of the Law), and the remaining 50% is reimbursed to the Fund from the national budget. Application depends on the approved product and risk, the insurance agreement and the annual budget allocation.

Example. If the insurance payment is 4.400.000 UZS and the agreement qualifies for the program, the producer pays 2.200.000 UZS and the budget reimburses another 2.200.000 UZS to the Fund.

Closure and liability

When the farm ceases operating

The special ground is tied to land. The farm ceases when the inherited lifetime-possession right ends or the lease or sublease expires. The registration authority receives an electronic notice, after which a cessation entry (Article 25 of the Law) is made in the registry.

The land right may end upon voluntary surrender, expiry, liquidation of the legal entity, non-permitted or irrational use, soil damage, systematic nonpayment, or failure to use agricultural land for one year. The complete applicable list must be checked against the Land Code (Article 36) and the plot document.

For a land violation, the control authority first warns the user and submits a formal proposal. The district or city hokim then brings a claim within one month (Article 38 of the Land Code), and the court orders compulsory termination. An inspection report or warning therefore does not itself replace a judgment, but it requires the farm to correct the violation and preserve evidence.

Liability for violations

The consequence depends on the violation and the farm’s legal form. If crops are not planted consistently with the specialization, land tax is charged at three times the amount (Article 10 of the Law). An unauthorized permanent or underground structure must be removed at the head’s cost within 15 days after written notice; otherwise, the matter goes to court.

If prohibited use, soil damage or unauthorized construction recurs for three consecutive years, a court may consider withdrawing land held in inherited lifetime possession or terminating the lease or sublease early. Separately, mismanagement or non-permitted use of land carries a fine of 3.080.000–4.400.000 UZS (Article 65 of the Code of Administrative Liability) for an individual and 6.600.000–8.800.000 UZS for an official.

A breach of the rules and limits for abstraction from artificial water bodies carries a fine of 1.320.000–2.200.000 UZS (Article 74 of the Code of Administrative Liability) for an individual and 3.080.000–4.400.000 UZS for an official. Repetition within one year raises the ranges to 3.080.000–4.400.000 and 6.600.000–8.800.000 UZS respectively.

For a farm with legal personality, the Water Code sets financial sanctions per thousand cubic meters: 88.000 UZS for excess abstraction, 132.000 UZS without an agreement, 22.000 UZS without control and metering devices, 176.000 UZS without a special-use permit, and 132.000 UZS for unauthorized abstraction. Repetition within one year multiplies them by five. This sanction scale (Article 164 of the Water Code) applies to legal entities.

Example. If a legal entity takes one thousand cubic meters over its limit, the financial sanction is 88.000 UZS. If the same violation recurs within one year, the fivefold amount is 440.000 UZS.

Changes and formation checks

What changed in 2025–2026

• The Water Code of 30 July 2025 took effect on 31 October 2025. Its practical points for a dehkan farm are the registered agreement, quota, limit, schedule and electronic water records.
• Decree UP-183 of 13 October 2025 established that a dehkan farm’s water volume is determined using irrigation norms. A legal entity has ten days to confirm the electronic statement or upload objections; otherwise, the statement is treated as agreed.
• Resolution PP-47 of 5 February 2026 introduces, from 1 October 2026, payment of half the calculated water-saving subsidy in advance and half after commissioning. If the system is not installed within two months, the advance must be returned.
• The same PP-47 of 5 February 2026 makes smart meters mandatory from 2027 for businesses operating rice-growing and fish-farming land; without a meter, the water-use tax rate doubles.

What to check before establishing a farm

First identify the members, head, specialization and need for legal personality. Compare the land lot with the permitted area, term, water quota and practical ability to grow the selected crop. Before bidding, assess access, irrigation, soil quality, construction restrictions and equipment costs.

After obtaining the land, retain the lot card, auction record, agreement and cadastral extract. For registration, prepare kinship details, the land document and, if legal personality is chosen, constitutional documents. Once work starts, agree the water schedule, register the water agreement, document seasonal workers and maintain the information needed for the annual certificate.

For financial planning, separate the exemption for income from the farm’s own produce from its other obligations. Check the normative land value, projected water volume, coefficients, social tax, insurance and the terms of any particular subsidy. This calculation shows whether the dehkan-farm form suits the family before it assumes land and credit obligations.

Frequently asked questions

Is a dehkan farm a legal entity?

Not necessarily. The members choose whether to form a legal entity. In either case, the head must first obtain the land right. The farm without legal personality is then recorded, while the farm with legal personality is registered. The choice affects constitutional documents, banking and accounting procedures, employer status and the application of financial sanctions.

How much land may a dehkan farm receive?

The standard range is 0.06 to 1 ha. In designated regions, a fodder-crop project may receive up to 5 ha. For an intermediate crop, a farmer enterprise or another agricultural business may sublease 0.06 to 10 ha for no more than one year and without a right of onward transfer.

Is there a fee to register a dehkan farm?

No. The special law charges no state duty or fee for registering the land right, recording the farm or registering it as a legal entity, and issuing the extract from the Unified State Register of Dehkan Farms. This does not eliminate a possible auction price for the lease right or the farm’s ongoing taxes.

May a dehkan farm hire workers?

Yes, but the members’ personal labor remains the basis of the farm. Other people may be engaged for particular work on a temporary or seasonal basis under employment contracts. The head is liable for harm to such a worker’s life or health while the worker performs their duties. A permanent staffing model should be assessed separately against the intended form of business.

May a house be built on dehkan-farm land?

No. Permanent and underground structures are prohibited on the plot. The Law permits greenhouses, other lightweight structures and irrigation facilities. After written notice, an unlawful structure must be removed at the head’s expense within the statutory period. Failure to comply leads to court proceedings and may affect the land right.

When does a dehkan farm cease operating?

The special law links cessation to the end of the land right: termination of inherited lifetime possession or expiry of the lease or sublease. The land right itself may end for non-permitted use, soil damage, systematic nonpayment, prolonged non-use or another Land Code ground, usually following a warning and court procedure.