Tajikistan plans a 3% turnover tax on online trade: what changes in the Tax Code
The government has sent Tax Code amendments to parliament: a separate 3% regime for e-commerce, a VAT registration threshold raised to 3 million somoni and a tiered simplified regime. Here is what it means for online shops.
Tajikistan's Tax Code is being prepared for noticeable changes, and one of the main ones concerns people who sell online. The government has approved draft amendments and submitted them to parliament, the Tax Committee reports. The bill has not been adopted yet: the current rules apply until the law takes effect.
A separate regime for e-commerce
Online trade currently has no tax regime of its own. The draft proposes one at 3% of turnover — that is, of all sales revenue rather than profit, so expenses would not reduce the tax. The regime is aimed at sellers working through online shops, online platforms and other e-commerce channels. Who exactly will be able to use it and which activities will qualify has not been specified in the published materials yet.
A VAT threshold three times higher
Today, businesses must register for VAT once their income over any 12 consecutive months exceeds 1 million somoni. The draft raises this threshold to 3 million somoni. For small businesses, including online shops, the obligation to pay VAT would kick in at a much higher turnover.
A tiered simplified regime
Most taxpayers under the simplified system currently pay 6% of income. The proposed scale is:
- up to 500,000 somoni — 6%;
- 500,000 to 2 million somoni — 4%;
- 2 to 3 million somoni — 3%.
At the same time, the list of activities excluded from the simplified regime may grow: examples include construction, consulting and audit, marketing, leasing, security services, the production and sale of medicines, large markets and shopping centres, and some transport and logistics services. For businesses with income of 3 to 7 million somoni, a separate procedure is proposed — tax on income minus documented expenses.
The draft also exempts some foreign-source income of residents from tax and changes the deduction mechanism for cashless payments — the details will be known once the final text is published.
What online shop owners should do
- Change nothing yet. The amendments are still under discussion; the new rates apply only after the law is adopted and comes into force.
- Run the numbers both ways. 3% of turnover suits high margins and low costs; with large expenses another regime may work out better — worth discussing with an accountant once the final text appears.
- Follow the official sources. The final text of the amendments and the explanations are published by the Tax Committee — rely on them rather than on retellings.
- Get sales records in order. A turnover tax is based on all revenue, so it pays to track online payments, cash on delivery and marketplace sales in one place already.
The websites of Tajikistan's online shops are collected in the Online stores & commerce section of our catalog. We will follow the bill and report when the changes are finally adopted.
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