Nearly 72 trillion sums will be allocated for lending and leasing in the service sector.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on February 27 to create conditions for the development of the service sector. The document was published by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The goal is to increase the volume of the service sector by 15% by the end of this year. Special attention is to be given to the IT and communications sectors, as well as financial services, for which a target indicator of 29.5% has been set.

It is also planned to create around 52,000 new service facilities and employ up to 3 million people in the sector. Of these, 10,000 enterprises and up to half of the jobs are expected to be created in Tashkent. The National Bank and other commercial banks will be responsible for implementing this initiative.

To this end, the president has tasked to allocate 67.4 trillion soums for the financing of the service sector. Additionally, 4.5 trillion soums is expected to be directed towards leasing non-residential premises to businesses through the mediation of developers.

From the state budget, 1 trillion soums will be allocated for infrastructure for 652 "driver" projects. This includes the improvement of 72 embankments and 2 parks, the organization of 154 round-the-clock shopping and entertainment streets, and 364 service complexes.

The reduced social tax rate of 1% for service facilities, introduced at the beginning of 2022, will be extended until the beginning of 2028. This rate will apply to employees under the age of 30 who earn a salary of at least 2.5 minimum wages (2,887,500 soums).

Moreover, starting from May 1, tax audits related to concealment or understatement of the tax base, conducted based on the results of automated risk analysis, will not require prior notification.

Additionally, the increasing coefficient for minimum rental rates for the use of real estate for tax purposes will become more flexible. Regional Councils and the Jokargy Kenes of Karakalpakstan will have the authority to differentiate this indicator based on types of activities and properties, alongside the territory.

Earlier, Spot reported that Zafar Khashimov was appointed head of the Association of Retail Trade and Public Catering Enterprises.