Azerbaijan records 7.5% growth in active VAT payers by November

BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 6, 2026. The number of active value-added tax (VAT) payers in Azerbaijan rose by 7.5% as of November 1, 2026, compared to the same date last year, according to the State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy.

According to the data, as of November 1, 2026, the number of active taxpayers increased by 5.4% from the beginning of the year to 905,579, while the number of active VAT payers rose by 7.5% to 62,779.

As of the same period, the number of active business entities (facilities) increased by 6.8% to 248,695.

Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Economy, Elvin Jamalov, said that one of the most reliable indicators of the formalization of the economy is the number of registered taxpayers and business facilities. He made the remarks while presenting the draft law "On the State Budget of Azerbaijan for 2027" at its first reading during a meeting of the Parliament's Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship.

"Since 2018, the number of active taxpayers has doubled, the number of VAT payers has increased 3.5 times, and the number of active business facilities has grown 1.7 times. This process has continued this year as well," he added.

He recalled that in the first nine months of this year, tax revenues reached 107.2% of the forecast, including 102.9% in the non-oil and gas sector, while 80.6% of the annual forecast had already been met.

"Tax revenues increased by 9.4%, while non-oil and gas tax revenues rose by 12.6%, exceeding the nominal growth rate of non-oil and gas GDP (7.6%). The private sector accounts for 75% of revenues from the non-oil and gas sector.

The share of non-oil and gas tax revenues in the state budget's non-oil and gas revenues exceeded 63%.

Mandatory state social insurance contributions increased by 8.5%, reaching 5 billion manat ($2.9 billion), with the forecast fulfilled by 105.6%. Amid the formalization of the labor market, the sustained growth in social insurance contributions in recent years has made a significant contribution to strengthening the financial sustainability of the State Social Protection Fund. In particular, the share of budget allocations in the fund's revenues fell from 36% in 2018 to 20% in the first nine months of this year," he noted.