SEOUL, April 28 (AJP) - Uzbekistan tax revenues surged 54 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, driven by a sharp uptick in provincial commercial activity and property-related receipts. This jump in tax revenues indicates that Uzbekistan's fiscal reforms are effectively capturing a much larger share of domestic wealth, transforming a previously informal economy into a transparent and sustainable national budget.
Figures released by the Center for Economic Research and Reforms (CERR) on Tuesday indicate that the fiscal expansion was most pronounced in the Navoi, Syrdarya, Tashkent, and Khorezm regions, where average growth rates hit 33 percent. This jump in collections suggests that the national push to formalize the private sector and broaden the tax base is gaining traction outside the traditional economic center of the capital.
The shift reflects a widening of the country's economic geography, as industrial hubs and agricultural regions now contribute a more significant share to the national bottom line. Land tax revenues grew by 33.8 percent and personal income tax receipts rose by 15.2 percent, while customs revenues saw a nationwide increase of 19.5 percent. The Navoi region proved to be a major outlier in trade activity, recording a 77.6 percent spike in customs receipts, followed by the Namangan region at 64.2 percent.
Export performance mirrored the domestic gains, with total merchandise exports climbing 30 percent during the quarter. Navoi again led the country with a 71.4 percent increase in export volume, while the Tashkent region recorded 52.4 percent growth. Other regions, including Samarkand, Namangan, and Bukhara, maintained steady export trajectories with growth ranging between 27 percent and 31 percent. These figures indicate that regional manufacturing and processing capabilities are increasingly linking provincial economies directly to international markets.
Lending activity provided the liquidity necessary to sustain this growth, as commercial banks increased loan disbursements by 9.1 percent. The Samarkand region saw the most aggressive expansion in credit, with loan volumes soaring 69.5 percent, while lending in the Bukhara, Khorezm, Fergana, and Tashkent regions grew by an average of more than 43 percent. This capital injection coincided with the registration of 22,443 new business entities in March. While the city of Tashkent remains the primary site for new firms with 4,759 registrations, the Khorezm and Samarkand regions combined for nearly 4,000 new enterprises.
Market institutionalization also showed gains, as trading volume on the Uzbek Republican Commodity Exchange rose 20.8 percent. The Syrdarya region recorded the highest growth in exchange activity at 68.4 percent, while the Navoi and Namangan regions averaged 33 percent increases. Property tax revenues grew by 10.7 percent nationwide during the review period. Customs revenues in the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the Samarkand region increased by an average of 32 percent.
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