Uzbekistan: budget is replenished by illegal withdrawal of funds from entrepreneurs
On February 12, hundreds of entrepreneurs in the capital and regions of Uzbekistan found out that the Tax Service had withdrawn funds in national currency equivalent from $ 3,000 to $ 750,000 from their accounts. This led to massive indignation in the business area.
An unprecedented withdrawal campaign, that has paralyzed thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, was reported by the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA).
On February 12 and 15, 2021, the victims met with the leadership of the Tax Service of Tashkent, but didn’t receive a satisfactory explanation. Now, they want to hire a lawyer with the involvement of public attention.
Rallies at Tax Service offices continue, and those, who claim their rights, are threatened with increased tax inspections.
Appeals to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Tax Service have so far been unsuccessful. These organizations evade a direct answer, why money was withdrawn from the accounts of some enterprises without investigation, and others are pending.
The active stand of entrepreneurs led to the fact that it caused a backlash from the government agencies. On February 19, reporters from national television arrived at the building of the State Tax Committee of Uzbekistan and recorded interviews with those entrepreneurs, who were ready to announce a version of events beneficial to the Tax Service.
“Those, who don’t hide their critical position, have already entered the list of enterprises that are beginning to be checked by the tax and prosecution authorities,” clarifies the AHRCA.
The association cites a message from a tax officer, which refers to instructions from above – to take steps to urgently replenish the state budget.
Now enterprises are running out of money. There is nothing to pay employees, to fulfill contracts, and they still have to try to avoid fines from business partners. Many are forced to suspend banking operations; the exact number is still unknown. At the meeting with entrepreneurs, a representative of the Tax Service named 10,000 enterprises that were on the monitoring list; the official website of the Tax office reports on 396 enterprises in Tashkent.
The number of appeals from affected businessmen is growing, including those who received notifications about the seizure of their working capital in the coming days. There are already three Telegram groups of affected entrepreneurs: “Soloq to’lab nohak ayblanganlar” (3015 subscribers), “VAT refund” (811), “Stop racketeering stop tax” (344).
At the same time, those entrepreneurs, who tried to obtain written confirmation of the return of funds to their bank accounts, report increased surveillance and threats from employees of the State Security Service.
AHRCA states that the Republican Prosecutor’s Office refuses to investigate the legality of the actions of the State Tax Committee. The head of the department, Sherzod Kudbiev, is a close relative of the first lady Ziroat Mirziyoeva. Rise in Kudbiev’s career began in the second half of 2016, when Shavkat Mirziyoev came to power.
