Digitising a company in Uzbekistan: where things stand in 2026

Most managers treat digitisation as a question about the future. In Uzbekistan a large part of it is already in the past — you did not choose it, it arrived through legislation.

Electronic invoices are mandatory. Online cash registers are mandatory. The tax authority reconciles the data automatically.

The question is no longer whether to digitise. It is this: does your internal system talk to the mandatory external ones, or do your staff run between them by hand?

This briefing is written for managers running a company in Uzbekistan, including foreign-owned operations and those considering setting up here.

What is already mandatory

Electronic invoices. Mandatory for all business entities since 2020. A buyer can only reclaim VAT shown on an invoice received electronically. In other words, a paper document is now a problem for your counterparty as well as for you.

IKPU classification codes. An identification code for every product and service. An incorrect code means a query from the tax authority. These codes also have to be correct in your inventory database, otherwise every invoice is corrected by hand.

Online cash registers. Mandatory in retail, consumer services and catering, for both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

Electronic signature and document flow. Contracts, acceptance certificates and related documents are signed electronically.

What changed in 2026

The significant change is in enforcement: the tax system now reconciles goods received against goods sold automatically.

The logic is simple. You received goods through an electronic invoice but did not put them through the till. The system sees the discrepancy and asks you to explain it.

What this means in practice: your internal records have to agree with the external data. Previously inventory sat in a ledger, invoices were issued separately, and if the two did not match, nothing happened. That is no longer the case.

What this requires of your systems

Three requirements. They have moved from "nice to have" into "problems if absent".

1. Inventory and invoicing must run on the same data. When goods arrive, the invoice data should already be in the system. Double entry is not just lost time — it is the source of the discrepancies the tax system now looks for.

2. IKPU codes must live in the product record. If the code is selected manually each time an invoice is issued, errors are inevitable. The code is set once, on the product card.

3. Till data must write back to inventory. A sale is recorded at the till, but if the warehouse balance does not fall, two sources of truth contradict each other.

When all three sit in one system, reconciliation takes care of itself. When they sit apart, someone reconciles them by hand every month.

IT Park residency: who it applies to

This mainly concerns technology companies, but managers of other businesses ask about it too, particularly those with an in-house IT team.

The principal benefits of resident status:

The exemption period is set in legislation and has been extended before — always verify the current position against an official source, because these rules change.

An important limitation: not every technology-related business qualifies. There is a defined list of permitted activities. If your primary activity is manufacturing or trade, having an internal IT department does not make you eligible.

This is frequently misunderstood and costs companies time.

Where to start

A practical order, beginning with what matters most:

1. Check reconciliation. Do your inventory, till and invoice figures agree? If not, find the source of the gap. This check takes a day and gives you the clearest possible priority list.

2. Start with inventory. Everything else rests on it. If the balance is wrong, so are the invoice, the reporting and the product cost.

3. Clean up IKPU codes once. The code is attached to the product record. It is a one-off task that removes an error that otherwise recurs every month.

4. Add integrations in stages. Not all at once: invoicing first, then the till, then banking.

5. Bring electronic signature into the process. When contract and acceptance approval runs inside the system, documents stop going missing and it is clear who signed what and when.

Three mistakes

Running the mandatory systems separately. Invoices handled in the state portal, inventory in a ledger, the till somewhere else. At the end of every month a person reconciles them manually. Until that work is automated, errors are inevitable.

Leaving integrations until the end. The system is built, and only then does someone say "now let us connect invoicing". In reality integration requirements shape the architecture and have to be accounted for at the start.

Treating accounting software as an ERP. Accounting software produces statutory reporting; an ERP runs operations. They do not replace each other. They connect through integration, and each does its own job.

In summary

The mandatory part of digitisation in Uzbekistan is already in force. Only one choice remains: whether your internal system talks to the external ones, or people move data between them by hand.

Practical steps:

1. Compare last month's inventory, till and invoice data
2. Identify the source of any gap — manual entry, delay or an incorrect code
3. Start with the inventory module, then add integrations in stages
4. Tax rules change — review the current position with your accountant once a year