Invoices in Uzbekistan: rules and deadlines

As a general rule, an invoice is issued on the shipment or service date. It is normally an electronic document: the purchaser has 10 calendar days to accept it, or one day for goods subject to mandatory digital marking. A cash-register receipt and several other documents replace an invoice in specified cases.

At a glance:

• legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and self-employed persons normally issue an invoice when making a supply (Article 47 of the Tax Code);
• the standard date is the calendar date on which goods are shipped or a service is provided, while monthly deadlines apply to certain operations;
• the purchaser accepts or rejects an electronic invoice with reasons within 10 calendar days, or one day for digitally marked goods;
• input VAT is creditable only under an invoice accepted in electronic form;
• before sending the document, check the transaction date, parties, product code, value and VAT.

Updated: 04 September 2026

What an invoice is

An invoice is a document in the prescribed form that confirms the actual shipment of goods or provision of services and their value. For a purchaser that pays VAT, it is a primary document supporting the credit for tax charged by the seller. For the seller, it records the supply and taxable turnover.

An invoice is not the same as a payment request. A payment request tells the customer how much to pay and to which account, while an invoice records a completed supply for accounting and tax purposes. An advance payment therefore does not itself replace the document for the shipment or service.

Who issues an invoice and when

When goods or services are supplied, legal entities, entrepreneurs and the self-employed issue an invoice to the purchaser unless an exception applies (Article 47 of the Tax Code). The obligation follows from the supply, not only from VAT-payer status: a seller that does not pay VAT also issues the document but does not state tax separately.

As a rule, the document is created and delivered to the purchaser on the calendar date on which the goods are shipped or transferred or the service is provided. For goods, the turnover date is the earlier of the invoice date and shipment date. For services, it is the date of the supporting document confirming performance (Article 242 of the Tax Code).

A foreign company registered in Uzbekistan as a supplier of electronic services to individuals does not issue invoices for those services. This is a specific electronic-services exception (Article 47 of the Tax Code).

When no invoice is required

An invoice need not be issued when the customer receives a cash-register receipt or another prescribed substitute document. The list of exceptions covers:

• payment in cash, by a personal bank card, or by a legal entity's or individual entrepreneur's corporate card in Uzbek soum, provided an online cash-register or virtual cash-register receipt is issued;
• a strict-reporting receipt for settlements with the public, but only while the cash register is under repair or electricity is temporarily unavailable at the place of trade and the receipt forms are registered with the tax authorities;
• exports supported by a cargo customs declaration;
• a bank transaction documented by a statement from the customer's account;
• the mass free distribution of goods;
• passenger transport for which a ticket, including an electronic ticket, is issued;
• payment through a bank for utilities and communication services where the primary accounting documents are available.

In these cases, the receipt, strict-reporting form or cargo customs declaration replaces the invoice. If a purchaser asks for an electronic invoice despite the exception, the seller may issue one; the value is then excluded from the monthly consolidated unilateral electronic invoice.

Invoice deadlines

The main deadline is the day of the transaction. Special rules apply to continuous services, long-term contracts, consolidated unilateral documents and intermediary transactions.

If the last day for issuing or accepting an electronic invoice falls on a weekend or non-working day, the deadline moves to the next working day. For an ordinary sale, whether payment occurs before or after is immaterial: payment is not the turnover date (Article 242 of the Tax Code).

How to complete an electronic invoice

The header must state the document number and party details: the invoice number; number and date of the contract or shipment or service document; supply date; names and postal addresses of the seller and purchaser; their taxpayer identification numbers; bank accounts, banks and bank codes; and VAT registration numbers.

The supplier category and purpose of the supply are selected first. Product lines are then completed in the prescribed form.

For a contract in foreign currency, the invoice is issued in soum at the Central Bank exchange rate on the supply date, and the foreign-currency document is attached. For a free transfer, the total line is marked “without payment”; for a contribution to capital, the contribution is identified.

How to sign and accept an invoice

For a legal entity, the electronic invoice is signed by the director or a person authorized by a power of attorney or another document. An individual entrepreneur or individual signs with their electronic digital signature. Where an individual has no digital signature, the system accepts the document automatically; it is then printed in two copies, one for the individual and one signed for receipt and retained by the seller.

An electronic signature is equivalent to a handwritten signature if its authenticity is verified, its certificate was valid at verification or signing, and the signature was used for its intended purpose (Article 4 of the Law on Electronic Digital Signatures). Subject to those conditions, a document signed using a legal entity's digital signature is equivalent to a paper document bearing its seal.

The purchaser must use its digital signature to accept the electronic invoice or reject it with reasons within 10 calendar days. The period is one calendar day for goods subject to mandatory digital marking. If the purchaser does neither, the document is deemed accepted. An electronic invoice for a transaction that did not actually occur does not, however, prove shipment or performance.

How an invoice affects VAT

Possession of an electronic invoice does not by itself guarantee an input credit. The taxpayer may credit VAT charged by the seller when the goods or services are used in taxable activities, the document states VAT separately, the supplier is VAT-registered, and import or tax-agent VAT has been paid to the budget. These conditions apply cumulatively (Article 266 of the Tax Code).

The standard rate is 12% (Article 258 of the Tax Code). Catering, trade and service businesses that voluntarily elect the simplified procedure use a 6% rate (Presidential Decree No. UP-100 of 26 May 2026). Large taxpayers and enterprises in which the state holds at least 50% cannot use it. The seller receives no input VAT credit, but its customers may still credit the amount charged.

Example. A company sells services for UZS 10,000,000 excluding VAT. At the standard rate, VAT is UZS 10,000,000 × 12% = UZS 1,200,000 and the invoice total is UZS 11,200,000. Under a valid simplified election, VAT is UZS 10,000,000 × 6% = UZS 600,000 and the total is UZS 10,600,000.

A high-risk classification does not automatically invalidate an invoice. The purchaser may instead become the tax agent and pay the VAT in order to claim the credit. The credit is taken in the payment period or, if the reporting deadline has not yet arrived, on the invoice date. These high-risk invoice rules operate together with the risk-assessment system (Article 266-1 of the Tax Code).

This article explains how the document is prepared, rather than every rule for calculating and recovering tax. Our guide to value added tax covers taxable objects, rates, exemptions, credits and refunds; use it when checking the tax outcome rather than the invoice form.

When a unilateral invoice is required

Where goods or services are supplied without an invoice under a prescribed exception, the supplier normally creates one consolidated unilateral electronic invoice for the month. It is dated on the month's final day and created by the fifth day of the following month. Exports supported by cargo customs declarations and sales recorded by cash-register receipts are excluded, as are invoices issued at a purchaser's request.

A turnover-tax payer also prepares a unilateral electronic invoice for the following special expenses and income:

• transfer of customer-owned excisable goods for processing, transfer of the processed output to its owner, and the use of excisable goods for the taxpayer's own needs;
• a positive difference between the sale price and cost of excisable goods, as well as their spoilage, loss, unusability, shortage or damage;
• income under long-term contracts, repo transactions, securities and derivative financial instruments;
• income from disposal of fixed assets and other property, property or services received free of charge, and surpluses identified during an inventory count;
• income from writing off liabilities, assignment of a claim, or recovery of previously deducted expenses or losses;
• receivable fines, late-payment charges, contractual penalties and compensation for losses;
• the excess of positive exchange-rate differences over negative differences;
• income arising when a participant waives the value of an ownership interest in favour of the legal entity in connection with forming, increasing or reducing its charter capital;
• profit of a controlled foreign company, dividends and interest.

This is the complete list of categories in the current rule for unilateral electronic invoices issued by turnover-tax payers.

Special invoice procedures

How to correct or cancel an invoice

The correction method depends on the reason. A change to the terms of a completed supply is recorded in an additional electronic invoice; an error in the original is dealt with by cancelling it and issuing a corrected invoice.

The additional document states that it is an adjustment, its own number and date, the original invoice's number and date, and the positive or negative difference in value excluding VAT and in VAT. A corrected invoice, by contrast, retains the number and date of the original document. If the correction changes a return already filed, an amended return must be submitted for the relevant tax period.

Example. A seller issued an electronic invoice for UZS 10,000,000 excluding VAT plus UZS 1,200,000 VAT. The purchaser then returned goods worth UZS 2,000,000 excluding VAT. The additional invoice records −UZS 2,000,000 in value and −UZS 240,000 VAT, and the purchaser reduces its earlier credit by UZS 240,000.

Intermediary invoices and reimbursed expenses

An intermediary reissues to the principal, in the intermediary's own name, the seller's invoice while preserving the seller's figures and identifying the seller. The document is retained in the issued-invoice journal but is not entered in the intermediary's sales register, and the intermediary does not charge the VAT shown. The intermediary issues a separate invoice and statement for its own fee, signed by the principal.

The intermediary's report must state the value and quantity of transactions with VAT shown separately, reimbursable expenses, remuneration, advances and the amount payable. Contracts, electronic invoices, acceptance statements and evidence of expenses and payment are attached. The report is delivered no later than five working days after the end of the transaction month; the principal then issues an electronic invoice to the intermediary within five working days.

For a purchase made using a corporate card, the receipt replaces the invoice. A VAT payer may register an online or virtual cash-register receipt through its personal account, enter the purchase in its register and claim input VAT by the 10th day of the following month.

When an invoice is combined with an electronic waybill

When inventory is sold and shipped at the same time, the electronic invoice is combined with the electronic consignment note, or electronic waybill. Combination is not required if goods move without a vehicle that must be registered or if the movement is not accompanied by a simultaneous sale.

In addition to the invoice details, the combined document includes transport information: the mode of transport; the carrier's name and taxpayer or personal identification number; vehicle details; the driver's and delivery officer's personal identification numbers; and loading and delivery addresses. The contract details, distance and freight charge are added for a freight forwarder, third-party customer and specified transport arrangements.

After electronic acceptance, the system assigns a QR code to the combined invoice and waybill. The person responsible for delivery confirms receipt and delivery, while the consignee confirms completion of the transport; a rejection must give a specific reason.

What to do if the invoice system fails

During a technical failure of the information system, an invoice may be issued on paper only if the failure is officially confirmed by the operator. Once the system is restored, the document must be entered electronically within five days using the date of the paper copy.

Transactions involving state secrets are also documented on paper. At least two copies are prepared: the purchaser receives one and the supplier retains the other.

Compliance, updates and checks

Liability for invoice errors

Using an incorrect goods or services identification code that does not correspond to the seller's product range or activity results in a fine equal to 1% of the supply value stated in the electronic invoice or cash-register receipt (Article 223 of the Tax Code).

If a non-VAT payer or seller making an exempt supply improperly states VAT in an invoice, the supplier must remit that VAT to the budget and pay a fine equal to 20% of the VAT (Article 225 of the Tax Code). The “Without VAT” statement therefore has substantive importance.

If an invoice is declared invalid, the purchaser must adjust the input VAT previously credited in the tax period in which the ground arose. This input-credit adjustment is required even if the electronic invoice was accepted automatically: a document does not validate a fictitious transaction (Article 269 of the Tax Code).

What changed in 2025–2026

• Presidential Decree No. UP-153 introduced real-time electronic-invoice risk analysis from 1 January 2026. High-risk invoices should account for no more than 10% of all invoices in a reporting period, and VAT on them is creditable after full payment by the seller or purchaser.
• Presidential Decree No. UP-100 permits eligible catering, trade and service businesses to elect simplified VAT at 6% from 1 June 2026 through 31 December 2029. Electronic invoices and receipts calculate the rate directly.
• The same Decree set the income threshold for transition to the generally established tax regime at 12,000 BCAs (5.280.000.000 soum) from 1 June 2026. This is a tax-regime threshold, not an invoice field.
• Under the same Presidential Decree No. UP-100, the Tax Committee and Ministry of Economy and Finance must introduce automatic refunds of negative VAT based on real-time risk analysis of invoices and returns by 1 October 2026. At the article's update date, this remains a future implementation deadline.

What an accountant should check before sending

Before signing, compare the electronic invoice against the contract, delivery note or acceptance statement and check:

• the document date and any special deadline for the transaction;
• the parties' names, addresses, taxpayer IDs, bank details and VAT numbers;
• the name, identification code, unit and quantity of the goods or services;
• the price excluding VAT, value, rate, VAT amount and total;
• the “Without VAT” statement where the seller may not charge tax;
• mandatory marking codes and electronic-waybill details where required;
• the signer's authority and the document's status in the purchaser's account.

This sequence follows from the mandatory invoice details and helps identify a discrepancy before it affects the accounts or input VAT credit.

Frequently asked questions

Must an individual entrepreneur issue an invoice without VAT?

Yes. The obligation to prepare an invoice follows from supplying goods or services, rather than only from VAT-payer status. Unless the transaction falls within an exception for a cash-register receipt or another substitute document, the entrepreneur issues an electronic invoice. The rate field states “Without VAT”, and no tax amount is shown.

When is an invoice issued for services?

An ordinary service is documented on the calendar date it is provided. Continuously supplied services use the monthly procedure: the invoice is dated on the last day of the month and submitted by the 10th day of the following month. Construction and long-term contracts without monthly acceptance are also documented monthly (Article 242 of the Tax Code).

Can an accepted invoice be cancelled?

Yes, where an error is found or the original must be changed or supplemented. The original electronic invoice is cancelled and replaced with a corrected document accepted by the purchaser. If the price or quantity changed, goods were returned, or a service was rejected, an additional invoice is used instead (Article 257 of the Tax Code).

Is an invoice issued before or after payment?

An ordinary invoice is linked to shipment of the goods or provision of the service, not to payment. It is issued on the transaction's calendar date. For goods, turnover arises on the earlier of the invoice and shipment dates; for services, it follows the supporting document date. An advance payment alone does not move the turnover date (Article 242 of the Tax Code).

What happens if the purchaser does not accept an electronic invoice?

If the purchaser neither accepts nor rejects an ordinary electronic invoice within 10 calendar days, it is accepted automatically. The period is one calendar day for digitally marked goods. Automatic acceptance does not legalize a transaction that never occurred: the invoice does not prove the supply.