The Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan approved a legislative act during a meeting held on August 8, aimed at reducing administrative pressure on businesses. This document introduces changes to the established procedure for suspending operations on commercial entities' bank accounts.
According to the current Tax Code, tax authorities have the right to suspend entrepreneurs' account operations for up to ten days. For imposing longer restrictions, an official court order is required.
The suspension of operations implies a complete halt of all outgoing transactions from the bank account and is used to ensure the fulfillment of tax obligations. However, as noted at the Senate meeting, the existing system generates a large number of lawsuits, even when the entrepreneur acknowledges the violation and does not contest the application of this measure.
According to the Supreme Court, between 2023 and 2025, economic courts reviewed over 960 thousand cases concerning the suspension of entrepreneurs' bank accounts. In 95% of these cases, the tax authorities' applications were granted. In the remaining 5%, rejections often occurred because the taxpayer had managed to rectify the violation before the case was heard.
Senator Erkin Gadoyev, presenting the report, emphasized that despite the possibility of lifting restrictions by the tax authority after fulfilling legal requirements, cases still have to be transferred to court, even if the entrepreneur has not filed objections.
The proposed law provides for separating the procedure depending on whether the entrepreneur agrees with the tax violation. If the entrepreneur admits the violation and does not object, the tax authority can independently suspend operations on their accounts, and subsequently cancel this restriction after the problem is resolved.
If there is disagreement with the tax authority's decision, the suspension of operations is possible only by court decision. Furthermore, upon receiving an objection from the taxpayer, the tax authority must apply to the court within three days. Along with this application, it must provide the court with the entrepreneur's objections, evidence of the violation committed, and confirmation of sending the relevant notification to the taxpayer.
If the court finds the taxpayer's arguments valid or determines that the violation has already been corrected, the account suspension must be lifted on the day the court decision enters into legal force.
During the session, the Senate stated that these changes are intended to reduce both temporary and financial costs for businesses, as well as decrease the number of cases sent by tax authorities to economic courts.
The 'Law on Real Estate Activities' has entered into force in Uzbekistan, having been approved on August 7, and is intended to regulate relations in the field of real estate services.
The State Agency for Management of State Assets has been appointed as the state body responsible for supervision in this area. Under the new legislation, real estate agents are now required to operate within a registered real estate organization and possess a qualified barcode certificate.
This certificate is issued by a professional public association after the specialist completes training and successfully passes the relevant examination. The right of real estate organizations and agencies to provide services arises after the data on these structures is entered into the Unified Register.
The law clearly regulates several types of activities that can be performed by real estate agents. These include intermediation in concluding transactions involving real estate and its rights, as well as organizing the trade of such properties.
Services for entrusted management of real estate objects are also provided, along with providing consulting, informational, and advertising services in the housing market.
In addition, the implementation of a multilisting system is planned in the sector. This system will be developed by the private sector and will allow real estate services to be provided under urgent contracts using a 'one-stop-shop' model, guaranteeing secure electronic data exchange.
