Double taxation in Uzbekistan

An international agreement allocates taxing rights between two states and eliminates taxation of the same income twice. If its rule differs from the Tax Code, the international treaty applies (Tax Code, Article 2). The result may be an exemption, a reduced withholding rate, or a foreign-tax credit, but the method depends on the particular income and treaty.

In brief:

• A treaty applies to residents of the contracting states (Tax Code, Article 6), not to every cross-border payment.
• Check the country, income type, treaty version, and effective date before calculating tax.
• For relief at source, give the residence document to the tax agent no later than payment (Tax Code, Article 357).
• Foreign tax is creditable only under the statutory conditions and within the prescribed limit.
• Above all, the payer should keep the contract, residence certificate, and proof of the beneficial recipient before transferring the income.

Updated: 04 September 2026

How double tax treaties work

A treaty does not abolish taxes altogether. It determines which state may tax particular income, limits tax at source, and provides a method for eliminating taxation twice. A treaty forms part of Uzbekistan’s legal system and prevails if it conflicts with domestic tax rules. Each relief nevertheless applies only within the treaty’s scope: to the persons, taxes, income, and periods specified in it.

First, establish four elements: the recipient’s residence, the source state, the income type, and the existence of a permanent establishment. Then read the relevant article of the particular treaty. The phrases “may be taxed” and “shall be taxable only” produce different results: the first permits tax in the named state, while the second gives one state the exclusive taxing right.

Treaty relief does not pass automatically to every intermediary. A tax resident of a treaty state is not protected when it uses the treaty for the benefit of a person from another jurisdiction. For dividends, interest, and royalties, the beneficial entitlement to income is checked separately.

Where double tax treaties apply

Which countries have treaties

Check the country name, the document’s entry into force, later protocols, and the tax period from which its provisions apply. A treaty becomes binding in the manner and at the time set by the treaty itself (International Treaties Law, Article 25). Treaties in force are officially published (that Law, Article 29) in the National Legislation Database.

According to the Tax Committee, Uzbekistan has signed more than 50 agreements for the avoidance of double taxation with foreign states. These states are listed below. Europe: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Israel, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Estonia. Asia: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, the UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Japan.

The table gives verified examples, not a complete list of treaty states. It shows why an entry in an unofficial list is not enough.

For a calculation, open the treaty text on lex.uz and find its “Entry into force” article. Approval or ratification is a stage of the domestic procedure, but it is not always the date on which the other party completed its procedures and the treaty began to apply to taxes.

Who is a resident for treaty purposes

Residence is determined first under domestic law and, in a dual-residence case, under the treaty itself. As a general rule, an individual is a resident of Uzbekistan if present here for more than 183 calendar days (Tax Code, Article 30) in any consecutive twelve-month period beginning or ending in the relevant tax period. The article also contains special rules on counting, early recognition, and the centre of vital interests.

For entities, Uzbekistan legal entities are residents. A foreign company can also acquire that status for treaty purposes or because of its place of effective management (Tax Code, Article 33), unless the treaty provides otherwise.

When both states regard an individual as their resident, apply the sequence of tests in the particular treaty. For example, the Russia treaty examines a permanent home and centre of interests (treaty, Article 4), followed by habitual abode, nationality, and, if the issue remains, mutual agreement between the competent authorities. A country cannot be selected solely by passport or registration while skipping the preceding tests.

Which taxes and income a treaty covers

Each treaty has its own list of taxes and separate articles for income categories. The Russia treaty covers taxes on income and property (treaty, Article 2), as well as later substantially similar taxes. Uzbekistan’s domestic law treats dividends, interest, royalties, income from property, leasing, international transport, and technical services, among other items, as income of a nonresident entity without a permanent establishment. This is an open list of income (Tax Code, Article 351), so the substance of a payment matters more than the title of the parties’ contract.

If no treaty applies, domestic rates for a nonresident entity are 10%, 6%, or 20% (Tax Code, Article 353), depending on the income. A treaty may retain that rate, reduce it, or assign taxation exclusively to the other state.

Example. An Uzbekistan company accrues royalties of UZS 100,000,000 to a Russian company that is the beneficial recipient. Without treaty relief, the payment is other income: UZS 100,000,000 × 20% = UZS 20,000,000 of withholding tax. With a valid certificate delivered before payment, Article 12 of the treaty assigns taxation only to the residence state, so the Uzbekistan withholding is UZS 0. This result cannot be used if the facts or documents do not substantiate the treaty conditions.

This article does not cover the complete corporate income tax calculation or allocation of a permanent establishment’s expenses. The article on corporate income tax explains a resident’s tax base and reporting, while the material on a permanent establishment explains its creation, registration, and tax accounting. They are relevant when a payment is connected with a nonresident’s substantive activity in Uzbekistan.

How to claim treaty relief

How to apply relief at source

The tax agent applies relief before transferring the income. Tax agents include legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, permanent establishments, and nonresident representative offices; the complete composition appears in the list of tax agents (Tax Code, Article 352).

The payer’s sequence is as follows:

1. Find the treaty in force and the article covering the payment.
2. Establish the recipient’s residence and the certificate period.
3. Check whether the income is attributable to a permanent establishment in Uzbekistan.
4. For dividends, interest, and royalties, identify the beneficial recipient.
5. Obtain the certificate and additional documents before the payment date.
6. Keep the rate analysis and report the payment in the tax return.

Beneficial entitlement belongs to the person who independently uses or disposes of the income. A foreign company with limited authority that performs only intermediary functions, assumes no risks, and passes the income on is not the beneficial recipient (Tax Code, Article 6).

If the payment passes through an intermediary, the tax agent may apply the treaty with the beneficial recipient’s state only if every recipient is disclosed. The documents must show the income amount, the person’s name, tax registration number, and state registration number where one exists. Without that allocation, the agent cannot simply use the intermediary’s certificate.

Anti-abuse rules operate alongside the treaty. The tax authority considers the actual economic substance (Tax Code, Article 14) and may disregard sham transactions or an arrangement primarily directed at an unjustified tax benefit. The Kazakhstan treaty additionally preserves domestic anti-avoidance rules (treaty, Article 27-1).

For a nonresident individual, a treaty may likewise permit payment without withholding or at a reduced rate. If the agent applies the treaty improperly, it must pay the unwithheld tax and interest (Tax Code, Article 400). The same financial risk for an entity follows from the rules for calculating tax at source.

Which documents prove tax residence

The foreign recipient provides an official document from its country’s competent authority. The Tax Code permits three forms of evidence (Tax Code, Article 358):

• an original bearing consular legalisation or an apostille;
• a notarised copy of that original;
• a paper copy of an electronic document posted on the competent authority’s internet resource.

Legalisation is not required for a verifiable electronic document or where a different procedure is established by an international treaty or mutual agreement between the competent authorities. If the certificate states no period, residence for this article is confirmed for the calendar year in which the document was issued or posted.

An Uzbekistan resident can obtain its own QR certificate for a foreign tax authority. Under the administrative regulation, the competent authority issues it within three working days. If no period is specified, the certificate confirms residence for its calendar year of issue. An application is made through state electronic services or in person.

For an ordinary Uzbekistan company, additional documents establishing registration are obtained from state data. A foreign company effectively managed in Uzbekistan proves the management location, while a foreign citizen or stateless person attaches identity and residence documents and evidence of the period spent in the country.

A certificate proves residence but does not replace the contract, invoice, acceptance certificate, or evidence of beneficial entitlement. The tax agent may request that evidence separately, especially where the recipient transfers money to a related party or performs no functions of its own.

How to credit foreign tax in Uzbekistan

A resident includes foreign income in the Uzbekistan tax base and credits tax actually paid abroad up to the Uzbekistan tax on that income. For a legal entity, taxable income in Uzbekistan, an international treaty, and a tax-payment document (Tax Code, Article 342) are all required. A foreign document must be translated into the state language.

The treaty may state the same limit. For example, the Russia treaty allows foreign tax to be deducted, but not beyond the Uzbekistan tax (treaty, Article 23) calculated on the relevant income.

Example. An Uzbekistan company earned UZS 100,000,000 of taxable profit in a treaty state and paid UZS 18,000,000 of tax there. At the general Uzbekistan rate of 15% (Tax Code, Article 337), the tax on that income is UZS 15,000,000. The credit is limited to UZS 15,000,000; the remaining UZS 3,000,000 cannot be carried into the calculation as an additional credit under the rule described above.

A resident individual reports income from abroad in a return and claims the credit at year end. Foreign tax is credited under the entity rules (Tax Code, Article 399). The annual return is filed no later than 1 April (Tax Code, Article 397) of the following year, and the resulting tax is paid no later than 1 June.

How to recover excess withholding tax

A refund is relevant when tax has already been withheld at the domestic rate even though the recipient was entitled to an exemption or a lower treaty rate. For the beneficial recipient, Article 357 refers to the general procedure in Chapter 12 of the Tax Code. A written application may be filed within three years (Tax Code, Article 104) from payment; the general refund period after application is 15 days, but the amount is first applied to any unpaid tax debt.

The nonresident must link the claim to a particular payment and demonstrate treaty entitlement for the relevant period: residence, income type, withholding, and beneficial entitlement where required. For an individual, the right to a refund of tax withheld under a treaty is expressly confirmed by a special rule (Tax Code, Article 401).

If the dispute concerns a nonresident’s sale of shares, participatory interests, or immovable property, a separate procedure governs calculation and registration of the transaction. Its documents and deadlines cannot automatically be transferred to dividends, interest, royalties, or services.

Permanent establishments and nonresident profits

A permanent establishment changes the taxation mechanism: instead of straightforward withholding from the gross payment, the nonresident calculates the profit attributable to its activity in Uzbekistan. The domestic definition covers a fixed place of business, a construction site exceeding 183 days, and services performed for at least 183 days; preparatory and auxiliary functions may be excluded under the prescribed conditions (Tax Code, Article 36).

The treaty threshold may differ. For example, the Russia treaty treats a construction site as a permanent establishment only when it lasts more than 12 months (treaty, Article 5). The tax agent therefore compares both texts and applies the treaty limitation if the nonresident is entitled to the treaty.

When paying for services, the agent must consider the individual invoice and the total duration of one project or related projects. If the activity creates a permanent establishment, Article 357 prohibits treating the income as an exempt ordinary payment to a nonresident without a permanent establishment.

How to resolve disputes and exchange information

The mutual agreement procedure supplements domestic appeals. If actions by one or both states result in taxation contrary to the treaty, the Russia treaty permits an application to the competent authority within three years (treaty, Article 25) from the first notification of the disputed action. Always check the exact addressee and deadline in the applicable treaty because numbering and wording may differ.

The competent authorities also exchange necessary tax information (treaty, Article 26). Information received is confidential and is used for assessment, collection, enforcement, prosecution, or determination of appeals concerning covered taxes. For a taxpayer, this means that the foreign certificate and payment documents should be consistent with the transaction’s actual structure and both parties’ reporting.

What to check before paying a nonresident

Before payment, the tax agent should assemble a single file for the transaction. It should allow another specialist to reproduce the classification without oral explanations:

• the current text of the treaty and protocols;
• the article covering the income and the article eliminating double taxation;
• a residence certificate for the relevant period;
• the contract, invoice, acceptance certificate, and amount calculation;
• evidence of the beneficial recipient for dividends, interest, and royalties;
• a permanent-establishment analysis for services and related projects;
• a calculation under both the domestic and treaty rates;
• a record of the date documents were received and the payment date.

If the conditions are not substantiated by the payment date, the agent withholds tax under domestic rules. Improper relief makes it liable for the unwithheld amount and interest (Tax Code, Article 354). The report on the income of a nonresident entity is filed by the 20th day (Tax Code, Article 355) of the following month; most agents transfer withheld tax no later than the day after payment.

The principal outcome of the review is not the lowest rate in isolation, but demonstrable alignment of the recipient, income, and documents with a particular article of the treaty in force.

Frequently asked questions

What is double taxation in simple terms?

It is a situation in which two states impose tax on the same cross-border income: for example, the source state withholds tax from a payment while the residence state includes the same income in the overall tax base. A treaty allocates taxing rights and usually eliminates taxation twice through an exemption, a limited withholding rate, or a credit for tax paid. It does not mean that the income is automatically exempt in both countries.

Is there a double tax treaty between Uzbekistan and Russia?

Yes. The treaty applies to residents of one or both states and contains separate rules for business profits, dividends, interest, royalties, employment, property, and other income. Before payment, open the relevant article, prove the recipient’s residence, and check beneficial entitlement to passive income. The existence of a treaty does not replace those conditions.

Can a treaty be applied after the income is paid?

A reduced rate at source applies when the residence document is supplied no later than the payment date. If tax has already been withheld, the beneficial recipient may claim a refund of the excess under Chapter 12 of the Tax Code. This is a different process: tax is first transferred to the budget, after which the applicant proves treaty entitlement for the payment period.

Does a tax residence certificate need an apostille?

As a general rule, a foreign paper original requires consular legalisation or an apostille. Neither is required if an electronic document is posted on the competent authority’s internet resource or if a different procedure is provided by an international treaty or mutual agreement between the competent authorities. A notarised copy is accepted if the original meets the prescribed requirements.

How can double taxation of foreign income be avoided?

An Uzbekistan resident determines whether the foreign income is taxable here and checks the method in the particular treaty. A credit requires an international treaty, taxable income, and proof that the foreign tax was actually paid. The credit does not exceed the Uzbekistan tax on the same income. An individual claims it in the annual return, while a company reflects it in its corporate income tax calculation.