Tajikistan has taken steps in recent years to improve its business environment through reforms around registration, taxation, licensing etc. Key facilitative measures include – a one-stop shop for business registration bringing down time taken to just 3 days; online filing and payment systems for taxes and customs duties; eliminating minimum capital requirements for business start-ups.
However— challenges remain around financing, skill development, corruption and red tape. Access to credit is still limited— with high interest rates around 28% deterring SME investments. Skills shortages, especially for technical and vocational skills, impacts hiring and productivity. And while procedures have eased substantially, complicated regulations still pose issues for doing business.
Going forward the government aims to improve Tajikistan’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index to 80 by 2025, from the current 106. This involves further modernizing commercial laws around insolvency, contract enforcement and arbitration. Improving connectivity and logistics infrastructure is also a priority.
To further streamline regulations, a new Tax Code and revised Customs Code were introduced in 2021. This simplified tax compliance, eliminated duties on various imports and rationalized customs procedures.
Reforming commercial laws around contract enforcement through commercial courts modernization is another priority reform area to boost investor confidence in the local dispute resolution system.
Developing public-private partnerships (PPPs) is also being encouraged to attract private capital for infrastructure and social service delivery projects. If successfully implemented, ongoing reforms can significantly cut operating costs and risks for businesses over the long term.