Enterprise Uzbekistan from 2027: the Digital Technologies Center, who can be a resident, visas and taxes

As of November 2026, "Enterprise Uzbekistan" is the name Presidential Decree UP-233 of 26 November 2025 gives the International Digital Technologies Center; Constitutional Law ZRU-1169 of 19 August 2026 makes the Center a separate territory with a special legal regime running to 2100. Published on 20 August 2026, it takes effect on 21 February 2027. A resident is a legal entity in an activity approved by the Governing Council: a company formed under the Center's law, a company formed outside the Center (an Uzbek LLC or a foreign company), or a foreign company's branch or representative office (Article 22). Foreign employees and their families get visas for up to three years, with no confirmation of the right to work (Articles 36-37). Admission rules, the tax rates the law leaves open and the activity list are due within six months after entry into force (Article 82); as of 9 November 2026 there is no way to apply.

In short

• Name. Presidential Decree UP-233 of 26 November 2025 calls it the International Digital Technologies Center "Enterprise Uzbekistan". ZRU-1169 itself does not use the words "Enterprise Uzbekistan": it speaks of the "International Digital Technologies Center" (the Center) and protects that name (Article 8).
• Date. The law was published on 20 August 2026 and under Article 84 takes effect six months later, on 21 February 2027 (lex.uz shows the same date). Reports of "January 2027" or "five months" do not match the text of the law.
• Who can join. Legal entities in any of three forms, including a branch or representative office of a foreign company (Article 22). The conditions for admission and the list of activities will be set by Center decisions, which do not exist yet.
• People. An entry visa for the employee and family for up to three years, extendable without leaving the country, with no work-right confirmation and no quotas (Articles 36-37). Hiring runs through the Center's digital platform (Article 38).
• Money. Zero VAT on turnover inside the Center and on exports, profit tax exemption for income from priority activities, personal income tax of 12% or 7.5% for ordinary employees, and no VAT or customs duty on imported equipment (Articles 47-49, 53). Rates for turnover inside Uzbekistan have not been set by the Center yet.
• Term. Until 2100; the law guarantees that benefits cannot be worsened or ended early (Article 4).

What the regime is and what it is called

ZRU-1169 is the Constitutional Law "On the International Digital Technologies Center". The Legislative Chamber adopted it on 4 August 2026, the Senate approved it on 8 August 2026 and the President signed it on 19 August 2026. Lex.uz marks it "the act has not yet entered into force". The official text is in Uzbek; the Russian and English texts on lex.uz are marked as unofficial translations.

The law makes the Center a separate territory with a special regime in ten areas (Article 1), from the regulatory sandbox, taxes and customs to labor, currency operations, data protection and intellectual property.

Features of the regime that matter to a foreign company:

• Hierarchy of rules. In the Center the following apply in descending order: the Constitution, ZRU-1169, presidential decrees and resolutions, Center decisions, where necessary the principles of English common law and equity, and only then the rest of Uzbek legislation (Article 2). Some Uzbek law always applies: criminal law, anti-money-laundering, immigration control, family law, environmental law and others.
• Language. The Center's official working language is English; written transactions of participants are made in English by default, and the English text prevails if versions differ (Article 13). With state bodies, paperwork may be in Uzbek or other languages.
• Disputes. They go to the Tashkent International Commercial Court (Article 77), established under the Constitutional Law on the Tashkent International Financial Center.
• Guarantees. Confiscation, nationalization, expropriation and freezing of the assets of Center subjects are prohibited; the exceptions are final decisions of that court and restrictions under anti-money-laundering law, sanctions, criminal proceeds, insolvency or Center decisions (Article 31). Inspections follow a risk-based approach with the participation of Center bodies (Article 32).
• Territory. The President sets the boundaries (Article 5); their description is already approved in Annex 2 to Decree UP-233 (an area in Mirzo-Ulugbek district of Tashkent). If a project must be carried out outside the Center, the regime can be extended to a "production territory" (data centers, research centers, educational institutions) recognized by presidential decree. Virtual offices and remote participation are allowed (Article 5).

When the regime starts

Entry into force does not mean you can register: Center decisions have no force until they are adopted and published in English (Article 11), so the procedure for admitting residents may appear only after 21 February 2027.

Who can be a resident

Article 22 sets three rules.

• A resident is a legal entity operating in the Center in the activity types the Governing Council approves. An individual cannot be a resident (an individual can be an investor or an employee).
• Three forms are allowed: a legal entity formed under the law applicable in the Center; a legal entity formed outside the Center's jurisdiction (that is, an ordinary Uzbek LLC or a foreign company); and a branch or representative office of a foreign legal entity, or another entity admitted by Center decisions.
• Status comes from the register. It is granted after the entity is registered and entered in the Center's participants register (Article 22(3)); Center decisions will set how the register is kept (Article 23).

Center decisions may add requirements: activity types and conditions, registration procedure, grounds for suspending or ending resident status. The Governing Council may also restrict use of the regime for particular entities in the interests of security (Article 4(3)).

For investors the law names four categories (Articles 26-30): institutional investor (funds, financial institutions), startup investor, resident-investor (a resident that invests in Center startups) and infrastructure investor. The Center's special legal regime does not apply to infrastructure investors, but they are exempt from all taxes on income from selling or leasing facilities put into operation (Article 30).

What this means for a foreign IT company: IT Park resident status is open to legal entities registered in Uzbekistan (paragraph 7 of the Regulation, Cabinet Resolution No. 589), so a foreign company first sets up a local entity (see our article on IT Park residency); the Center law, by contrast, expressly provides for a branch and a representative office. One caveat matters: admission of "another entity" and the conditions for branches will be set by Center decisions, which do not exist yet.

Visas and foreign employees

This is the most concrete block of the law (Articles 34-38).

• Who is an employee. A citizen of Uzbekistan, a foreigner or a stateless person under an employment contract or by appointment to a position (Article 34).
• Visa. An entry visa for a foreigner coming to work in the Center is issued through a consulate, at an international airport, or inside Uzbekistan through internal affairs bodies (Article 36(1)). The term is up to three years for both the employee and family members.
• Basis. Issue, extension, shortening and cancellation of visas follow a submission (petition) from the Center's administration. A visa can be extended without leaving the country.
• Right to work. Foreign employees hired by Center participants are exempt from confirming the right to work in Uzbekistan; ordinary restrictions and quotas do not apply to them (Article 37). Center decisions will set how they are engaged and how their status is confirmed.
• Registration. Employment, registration and records of foreign employees run through the Center's digital platform (Article 38).
• Labor rules. By default Uzbek labor legislation does not apply to Center participants unless Center decisions say otherwise (Article 71(4)). The law allows flexible schedules, remote work and bonus pay systems (Article 73), and prohibits forced and child labor and discrimination (Article 72).

The law does not say a three-year visa turns into a residence permit; that is a separate institution, as is the route for people working outside the Center (see our article on the residence permit).

Taxes, customs and currency

General rule (Article 44): Center bodies, participants and their employees are exempt from all taxes and fees on income received under the special regime, except the three taxes in Article 46: VAT, profit tax and personal income tax. Their elements are set by Center decisions. Income inside the Center and in the rest of Uzbekistan is accounted for separately (Article 44(5)).

The law does not name the VAT rate for turnover "inside Uzbekistan" or the profit tax rate on Uzbek-source income, and the list of "priority activities" has not been published, so "zero tax" applies only to income earned within the special regime.

Currency. The law has no separate currency benefits: financial and banking activity and currency operations in the Center are governed by the law itself and "other legislation" (Article 61). Services are provided by accredited partners, and foreign bank branches may open with the Central Bank's agreement (Article 60). Under Decree UP-233 (paragraph 6) the Central Bank sets special rules on banking services and currency regulation for residents; as of 9 November 2026 we found none, so promises of "unrestricted convertibility" and profit repatriation are not yet backed by any text.

How it differs from IT Park

On the text, the tax benefits of the two regimes cannot be combined: the law says the rules of its tax chapter do not apply to residents of information technology parks or to taxpayers using tax benefits under a special regime (Article 44(3)). So the regime will have to be chosen for each legal entity. Center decisions have not yet described how to move from IT Park to the Center. If you hold IT Park residency, do not give it up until the rules are published.

What has not been adopted yet

• The list of activities and priority areas under the law (Articles 4, 22, 48). A preliminary list is in paragraph 5 of Decree UP-233: software development, consulting and outstaffing, BPO, R&D, game development, digital content, AI, data centers and cloud services, and education in digital technologies.
• The registration procedure for residents, the participants register and requirements for branches (Articles 22-23).
• Criteria for highly qualified employees, the procedure for engaging foreigners and the documents for the administration's petition (Articles 37, 49).
• VAT and profit tax rates for turnover and income in Uzbekistan, and tax administration rules (Articles 47-50).
• The process for recognizing "production territories" outside the Center (Article 5); the Center's own boundaries are already described in Annex 2 to Decree UP-233.
• Conditions for accrediting partners and participants' fees and payments (Articles 21, 33); Decree UP-233 mentions monthly contributions from residents but does not state the amount.
• The Center publishes all these decisions in English (Article 11); as of 9 November 2026 we did not find them.

How to prepare now

• Decide what you will run and where. If you already have a team in Uzbekistan, check your services against the preliminary list in paragraph 5 of Decree UP-233 (see above); the Governing Council will approve the final list.
• Choose the vehicle: LLC, branch or representative office. The law allows all three for the Center regime; IT Park needs an Uzbek company. If you need IT Park now and possibly the Center later, set up an LLC with a clean ownership structure; decide on moving to the Center once the rules are published, bearing in mind that the tax benefits of the two regimes do not combine (Article 44(3)).
• Do not hire foreigners informally. Until Center decisions are adopted the general rules apply: confirmation of the right to work (unless an exemption applies, such as IT Park resident status) and registration; processing on the Center administration's petition will come later. Plan the transition, not a workaround.
• Prepare English documents. Charter, intra-group agreement, employment contracts, IP agreements: in the Center written transactions are in English by default (Article 13).
• Separate the income streams. The law requires separate accounting of income by source (Article 44(5)): inside the Center and in the rest of Uzbekistan. Build this into your bookkeeping and contracts.

Common mistakes

• Assuming Enterprise Uzbekistan is already operating. Until 21 February 2027 there is no regime, and admission rules will come later.
• Building "zero tax" into a financial model based on press summaries: VAT, profit tax and personal income tax remain (Articles 46-49), and the exemption covers income within the regime.
• Choosing a branch without checking that Center decisions will accept that form for your activity.

How Pactum helps

We help foreign IT companies and investors prepare an Uzbek structure before the Center launches and avoid risk in the transition period.

• Registering an LLC or branch matched to your activity, with IT Park and the future Center regime in mind. From 1,500,000 UZS; for a representative office we quote after reviewing the task. See company formation in Uzbekistan.
• IT Park residency, the option available to IT companies today: preparing the application and structure. See IT Park residency.
• Work visas and work permits for foreign specialists under current rules, from 4,000,000 UZS. See work permit.
• Monitoring Center decisions and reviewing the structure once admission rules are published.

The result (registration, status, visa, permit) is decided by the state body or the Center's administration; we do not promise it. Prices are a lower bound, and a lawyer names the exact cost after reviewing the task. You can start with a lawyer consultation: 60 minutes, 300,000 UZS, credited toward the service fee.

Phone +998 78 113 81 01, Telegram, info@pactum.uz, office: 21 Afrosiyob Street, Tashkent.

Frequently asked questions

Can I become an Enterprise Uzbekistan resident now?

No. Law ZRU-1169 takes effect on 21 February 2027, and the procedure for registering residents and the register will be set by Center decisions, which must be adopted within six months after the law takes effect (Article 82). Until then you can prepare an entity or branch and the documents.

Can a foreign company open a branch in the Center?

Yes, the law expressly allows activity as a branch or representative office of a foreign legal entity (Article 22). The requirements and the list of activities will be set by Center decisions, which do not exist yet.

What visa do foreign employees get?

An entry visa for the employee and family members is issued for up to three years on the Center administration's petition and can be extended without leaving Uzbekistan (Article 36). Confirmation of the right to work is not required (Article 37). Additional requirements will be set by Center decisions.

What taxes does a Center resident pay?

Income under the regime is exempt from all taxes except VAT, profit tax and personal income tax (Articles 44, 46). VAT is zero on turnover in the Center and on exports, personal income tax is 12% for foreign employees and 7.5% for Uzbek citizens and stateless persons, and highly qualified foreigners are exempt (Articles 47-49). Income from Uzbek sources is taxed under a Center decision; the rates are not set yet.

Should we wait for the Center instead of IT Park?

The Center is not better, just different: it admits a branch of a foreign company, runs to 2100 and offers visas of up to three years on the administration's petition, but its admission rules do not exist yet, while IT Park works today (its residents also hire foreigners without work-right confirmation). One legal entity cannot combine the tax benefits of both regimes (Article 44(3)).

Sources

• ZRU-1169 of 19.08.2026 "On the International Digital Technologies Center" (English translation on lex.uz), Articles 2, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 22, 23, 26-33, 34-38, 44-50, 53, 60-61, 71-73, 77, 82, 84
• Presidential Decree UP-233 (DP-233 in the lex.uz English version) of 26.11.2025 "On organizing the activities of the international center for digital technologies", paragraphs 2-7, Annex 2
• Regulation on the Technology Park (Cabinet Resolution No. 589 of 15.07.2019), paragraphs 7 and 17