In the first half of 2025, the Customs Service of Tajikistan exceeded its revenue targets for state budget collections. Instead of the planned 5.1 billion somonis, nearly 5.7 billion somonis were received, surpassing the target by 623 million somonis, or 11.7%. This marks an increase of 1.1 billion somonis compared to the same period last year.
Customs revenue significantly surpasses the target
According to a press release from the Tajik Customs Service, the target for major customs payments in the first half of 2025 was greatly exceeded, with strong performance across several categories.
- VAT collections exceeded the plan by 7.5%, amounting to 298.4 million somonis, contributing significantly to the overall revenue increase.
- Duties on goods and vehicles surpassed the plan by 33.3%, reaching 210.4 million somonis.
- Excise duties grew by 6.4%, totaling 27.3 million somonis.
- Non-tax payments, including fines and fees, added 42 million somonis to the budget.
However, there was a sharp drop of 75.4% in export duties, which fell short by 14.9 million somonis compared to the plan.
Reforms and new technologies in action
The Tajik Customs Service attributes much of the revenue boost to the implementation of the "Single Window for Customs Clearance of Export-Import and Transit Operations" system, which transitioned document submission from paper to electronic form across 11 participating agencies.
This reform has simplified and increased the transparency of foreign trade procedures and public service delivery. Additionally, a risk management subsystem was introduced, incorporating a Data Mining module powered by artificial intelligence. This technology identifies goods requiring inspection and automatically assigns documents to different control levels based on risk.
The system has reduced reliance on human input, minimized subjective decisions, and accelerated customs operations, significantly contributing to the successful surpassing of revenue targets.
Import goods exemptions and benefits
In the first half of 2025, tariff and tax exemptions—both partial and full—accounted for 71.6% of the total volume of imported goods under the "Release for Free Circulation" regime.
Of the total goods and vehicles imported under this regime, 28.4% (worth 994.7 million USD) were subject to taxation. The customs value of partially exempted goods was 1.7 billion USD (49.5%), while fully exempted goods were valued at 775.5 million USD (22.1%).
The total customs value of goods and vehicles imported with tax and tariff exemptions was 2.51 billion USD, with customs duties waived amounting to 401.1 million USD.
