Excise Tax in Uzbekistan: Excisable Goods, Rates and Payers

Is excise a direct or an indirect tax?

Economically, excise is an indirect tax: it is built into the price of excisable goods and is ultimately borne by the buyer. The Code reflects this in the VAT mechanism: the VAT base is the value of goods including excise tax (Art. 248), and on import the VAT base includes excise tax and customs duty (Art. 254).

For profit tax, by contrast, aggregate income is determined excluding VAT and excise tax (Art. 297) — excise is not treated as the seller's income.

Excise rates may change during the year: under Art. 72 they can be revised by decisions of the President based on price dynamics and sales volumes, including on import. So check the current version of the Code on lex.uz before calculating. For an overview of the whole tax system, see our article on types of taxes in Uzbekistan.

Who pays excise tax

Taxpayers are listed in Art. 283. They are persons:

• producing excisable goods in Uzbekistan;
• selling natural gas to consumers;
• selling petrol and diesel to end consumers, including through filling stations, and gas through gas filling stations and points — end consumers are legal entities and individuals buying fuel for their own needs;
• the managing partner of a simple partnership — for production of excisable goods under the agreement;
• moving excisable goods across the customs border — they are taxpayers under customs legislation;
• foreign legal entities that produce or import excisable goods through a permanent establishment.

What is and is not taxable

The taxable object (Art. 284) is wider than a simple sale. Excise arises on the sale of excisable goods, including barter, free transfer and transfer as payment for labour or dividends; on contribution to charter capital or under a simple partnership agreement; on transfer to a participant on exit or liquidation; on tolling processing; on use for own needs; on import; and on sales of fuel to end consumers. Spoilage and loss of excisable goods are taxed separately, except in emergencies.

The following, in particular, are not taxable:

• sale of excisable goods for export (under the customs export procedure);
• sale of liquefied gas to households for domestic needs through specialised gas supply companies;
• import as humanitarian or charitable aid, and import financed by loans from international financial institutions where the exemption on import is provided by law;
• import by individuals within the duty-free allowance;
• natural wines (other than bottled) sold by producers in tasting areas on tourist routes.

Excisable goods and 2026 rates

The Code uses three types of rates (Art. 289): ad valorem — a percentage of value; specific — a fixed amount in soums per unit; and combined. Key 2026 rates as amended by Law No. ZRU-1108 of 25 December 2025:

• Tobacco products (Art. 289¹): filter and non-filter cigarettes, papirosy, cigarillos — UZS 340,000 per 1,000 sticks from 1 January 2026 and UZS 365,000 from 1 July 2026; hookah, smoking and pipe tobacco — UZS 600,000/kg, from 1 February 2026 — UZS 642,000/kg; nicotine liquid for e-cigarettes — UZS 2,000/ml, from 1 February — UZS 2,140/ml.
• Alcohol products (Art. 289²): rates are set per litre and separately for imported and domestically produced goods; for vodka, cognac and other spirits — per litre of anhydrous ethyl alcohol, with separate lines for wine and beer. Take the exact rate from the table in the article, according to the transaction date.
• Petroleum products (Art. 289³): petrol AI-80 and above — UZS 375,000 per tonne from 1 January and UZS 402,000 from 1 April 2026; diesel — UZS 360,000 and 385,000 per tonne respectively.
• On sales to end consumers: petrol AI-80 and above — UZS 525 per litre from 1 January and UZS 562 per litre from 1 April 2026.
• Polyethylene granules — 10%; natural gas — 12%.
• Drinks in consumer packaging: for sugary drinks the rate depends on sugar content per 100 ml; energy and tonic drinks — UZS 2,000 per litre, from 1 April — UZS 2,150; crisps in consumer packaging — UZS 15,000 per kg.

Tax base and calculation

The base is determined separately for each type of excisable good (Art. 285). With a specific rate, the base is the physical volume of goods; with an ad valorem rate for produced goods, it is the value of goods sold, but not less than their actual cost. For imported goods with an ad valorem rate, the base is the customs value. On sales of fuel to end consumers, the base is the volume of petrol, diesel and gas sold and used for own needs.

For hookah tobacco, smoking tobacco and heated products, the rate applies to the weight of tobacco raw material if stated on the packaging, otherwise to net weight. Sugary drinks whose sugar content is not shown on the packaging are taxed at the highest rate — a common cause of additional assessments for importers.

For imported goods with a combined rate, the tax is calculated on the ad valorem part but may not be less than the amount calculated at the specific rate (Art. 290).

Returns, payment and excise stamps

The excise tax period is a month (Art. 291). Returns are filed monthly no later than the tenth day of the month following the tax period, at the place of tax registration; for fuel sold through filling stations — at the location of the station (Art. 292). Payment is due no later than the filing deadline (Art. 293).

On import, the tax is paid within the time limits set by customs legislation. For imported goods subject to excise stamp marking, the tax is paid before the excise stamps are purchased.

A seller of fuel through a filling station must register as an excise taxpayer at the station's location by applying to the tax authority within ten days of selling excisable products (Art. 131).

Export of excisable goods

Exports are exempt from excise but must be supported by documents (Art. 288): the contract, the customs declaration marked as released for export, shipping documents stamped by the border customs post, and a bank statement confirming payment by the foreign buyer.

If foreign currency proceeds are not received within one hundred and eighty calendar days of release of the goods for export, the sale becomes taxable — excise must be charged.