Accounting consultation: which questions it solves and how to get a precise answer

Questions clients bring

• Choosing a regime: turnover tax, or VAT and corporate profit tax. An individual entrepreneur may switch to VAT voluntarily, and back to turnover tax only after at least 12 months and with annual income not exceeding UZS 1 billion (Article 462(3) and (6) of the Tax Code).
• A return generated by the tax authority differs from the books: five days are given to correct it, but no later than the filing deadline (Article 81 of the Tax Code).
• An error in a filed return: if it understated tax, an amended return is mandatory (Article 83 of the Tax Code). When it is filed after the payment deadline, liability is waived on two conditions: the return is filed before the taxpayer learned that the tax authority had detected the error or ordered a tax audit, and the arrears and penalty interest are paid before filing.
• Tax invoices: when an additional or corrected ESF is needed (Article 47 of the Tax Code).
• Payroll and payments: deadlines, the minimum wage, deductions, final settlement on dismissal.
• Prior-year errors: the tax authority may audit and reassess taxes until the limitation period expires — three years after the end of the tax period, unless the Tax Code provides otherwise (Article 88 of the Tax Code).
• Notices and demands from the tax authority: what to reply and which documents to attach.

Formats: one-off, retainer, online

A one-off consultation closes one question: you send a description and documents and receive an answer and a list of actions. It suits cases where the books are being kept but a second opinion or a decision on a non-standard transaction is needed.

Retainer support is needed when questions arise regularly: the specialist knows your business and gets involved before a decision, not after. It is usually part of a bookkeeping service.

An online consultation takes place by video call or in writing. Files are enough — bank statements, contracts, ESFs, filed returns; for a one-off question there is no need to hand over your e-signature key or the password to your taxpayer personal account.

What you can find out for free

A taxpayer has the right to receive free of charge from the tax authorities information on current taxes and how to pay them, reporting forms and explanations on how to complete them (Article 21 of the Tax Code). For general questions this is often enough.

A written clarification from the tax or finance authority carries even more weight: if arrears arose from following it, no penalty interest is charged (Article 110 of the Tax Code) and fault for a tax offence is excluded (Article 215 of the Tax Code) — provided the clarification was not based on incomplete or inaccurate information from the taxpayer.

A paid review is needed where the answer depends on your documents and figures. The initial conversation to understand the task and its scope is free with us.

How to prepare: three levels of question

In every case, state the period: the rules change — for example, from 1 January 2026 a new version of the turnover tax rules for individual entrepreneurs applies (ZRU-1108). Beyond that, the set of documents depends on the question:

• A general question (which regime, which returns): the business form, the regime, VAT payer status, whether there are employees.
• A question about a transaction: the contract, tax invoices, acceptance certificates or delivery notes, bank statements and how the transaction is already recorded in the books.
• A question about a notice or demand from the tax authority: the document itself, the return for that period, data from the personal account and the response deadline.
• For any level — a precise wording with the regime, document and dates, for example: «LLC on VAT, issued an ESF in September, in October the buyer returned part of the goods — how should the correction be documented and in which period should it be recorded?» With such a description, the answer comes with a reference to the rule, without «it depends» caveats.

What you receive

• an oral review with a conclusion and a list of steps — for simple questions;
• a written answer with references to articles of the Tax Code, the Law «On Accounting» and the Labour Code — when the decision will have to be justified to inspectors or a partner;
• a calculation of the tax consequences of the options;
• journal entries and the procedure for documentation;
• the deadline by which action is needed, and a risk assessment — fines and penalty interest.

Timing and cost

A general question is resolved during the conversation, a document-based question after the documents are reviewed; the deadline for a written answer is agreed in advance depending on the volume. If there is a statutory deadline — five days to correct a generated return (Article 81 of the Tax Code) or the deadline for responding to a demand — the consultation is planned around it.

The cost depends on the volume of documents and the number of periods, whether a written answer or calculation is needed, whether data must be reconciled with the books and how urgently the result is needed. If questions arise every month, a retainer format is more cost-effective.

When one consultation is not enough

A consultation answers a question but does not fix the books. If the question is a symptom of a systemic problem, a different format of work is needed:

• errors recur month after month — it is time to change the accounting process or outsource it;
• several periods need to be recalculated — this is an accounting restoration with amended returns (Article 83 of the Tax Code);
• income is approaching UZS 1 billion or imports are planned — the regime changes, and the books are restructured in advance (Article 462(7) and (13) of the Tax Code);
• the tax authority has ordered an audit — what is needed is preparation of documents and a position, not a one-off answer.

Who may provide advice

Audit firms may advise on bookkeeping and preparing financial statements, and on taxes if they have a tax consultant on staff or engage one under a contract (Article 33 of ZRU-677). A taxpayer's interests in tax relations may be represented by a tax consultancy firm or another representative (Article 21 of the Tax Code).

Mistakes that make a consultation useless

• a question without documents — the answer ends up conditional;
• asking after the transaction, when only the consequences can be assessed;
• expecting the consultant to take on responsibility: by law it remains with the taxpayer (Article 81 of the Tax Code);
• missing the five-day deadline for a generated return;
• handing over the e-signature key and passwords unnecessarily.