Tajikistan scores 55 points in EITI implementation

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 1.5 is mostly met, showing improvement since the 2023 targeted assessment. The objective of this requirement is to ensure that the annual planning for EITI implementation supports implementation of national priorities for the extractive industries while laying out realistic activities that are the outcome of consultations with the broader government, industry and civil society constituencies. Based on available documentation and stakeholder consultations, this objective has been mostly met. The 2024-2025 work plan, published after the conclusion of the 2023 targeted assessment, aligns with national priorities, demonstrated through plans for legal reforms, contract transparency and systematic disclosure. However, gaps remain in the work plan development process. While the EITI Council members were consulted, there are limitations in engaging a broader cross-section of affected communities, particularly those in rural or remote extractive regions, mainly due to capacity constraints. The work plan does not reflect activities to overcome constraints related to engaging broader constituencies and could benefit from a structured monitoring framework to systematically evaluate the impact of its activities over time. The 2024-2025 Tajikistan EITI work plan is publicly available on the Tajikistan EITI website, alongside previous work plans. The work plan’s objectives align with the national priorities set out in the “National Development Strategy of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period up to 2030”, which prioritises attracting quality investments to the extractive sector by improving the legislative framework to ensure sustainable economic development and social growth and awareness-raising about activities in the extractive sector through public access to information and involvement in the improvement of the extractive sector. While these priorities have guided Tajikistan’s EITI implementation since 2018-2019, the extent to which activities will drive progress toward national priorities is not well-documented, leaving the practical outcomes and impact of the work plan’s activities unclear. Stakeholder engagement in work plan development has improved, with the EITI Council (Tajikistan MSG) overcoming earlier challenges related to frequent turnover and funding gaps. The June 2024 EITI Council meeting minutes demonstrate participation from all constituencies, though consultations primarily reflect the EITI Council members’ views rather than broader stakeholder input. While there is evidence of broader consultations during 2021-2023, those were geographically limited to cities, and documentation of how broader stakeholder input specifically shaped the 2024-2025 work plan is limited. Gaps remain in engaging a broader cross-section of affected communities, particularly those in rural or remote locations. Stakeholders also reported technical capacity barriers for local groups outside the capital to meaningfully engage in the work plan development process. Furthermore, the work plan’s availability only in Russian potentially limits accessibility for non-Russian speakers. The work plan includes objectives within a reasonable timeframe, taking into account preparation of the 2022-2023 Tajikistan EITI Report and Validation schedules, addressing recommendations from previous EITI Reports and the 2023 targeted assessment. Key steps include developing an electronic data collection system, creating an extractive company association, advancing beneficial ownership legislation and creating a study of the legislative framework for contract disclosure. Another addition to the 2024-2025 work plan also includes the development and realisation of a communication strategy to raise awareness of extractive sector activities. Although the communication strategy has been developed, timelines, milestones and responsible parties for the realisation of the strategy’s components are absent. A structured monitoring, evaluation and learning framework to systematically track the impact of work plan activities is also absent, as encouraged by Requirement 1.5. The work plan outlines responsibilities, with specific parties assigned to various activities. However, several activities are carried over from previous work plans, indicating implementation challenges. These challenges are linked to turnover within the EITI Council and the continuous capacity-building needs to ensure knowledge-sharing and familiarisation of new members with the EITI process in the country. Capacity constraints and funding challenges were consistently raised during stakeholder consultations. Although the 2024-2025 work plan includes several capacity-building initiatives at both local and national levels, including training seminars and experience exchange visits, stakeholders noted they are often general in nature and lack a clear roadmap tailored to addressing ongoing implementation challenges. While most activities in the work plan have assigned costs, the funding for activities shows limited diversification, relying heavily on external support from the World Bank, with non-financial support from the government, such as providing office space and human resources. The work plan demonstrates efforts to expand EITI reporting to include broader issues, reflecting frontier and crosscutting themes in line with Requirement 1.5. It includes plans for a preliminary analysis of energy transition actions in the extractive sector, aiming to identify risks, opportunities and recommendations. Stakeholder consultations revealed that anti-corruption and gender were also considered in the work planning process, with Tajikistan receiving OECD recommendations to develop anti-corruption programmes for state-owned companies and establish corporate governance codes. Consulted civil society noted that government agencies’ openness to these initiatives, with plans for a national action plan. However, these themes are not explicitly included in the work plan, and there is limited evidence of efforts to expand reporting on other issues, such as revenue management and practices related to environmental management and monitoring.

The International Secretariat’s preliminary assessment is that Requirement 7.1 is mostly met, which shows a regression compared to the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to enable evidence-based public debate on extractive industry governance through active communication of relevant data to key stakeholders in ways that are accessible and reflect stakeholders’ needs. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicate that this objective has been mostly met, given Tajikistan EITI has facilitated public debate using various platforms, including a web portal hosting broad EITI activities, a Facebook page with multilingual updates, and public outreach events. These initiatives have engaged stakeholders, including government officials, companies, media and civil society. However, gaps remain, such as inconsistent regional outreach and the need for strengthening comprehensibility of disclosures. Since the last Validation in 2018, Tajikistan EITI has made various efforts to disseminate and broaden access to EITI information and the country's extractive sector. In 2021, with support from the U.S. Embassy and the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC), the EITI Tajikistan launched a web portal, initially to facilitate beneficial ownership disclosures. Its scope soon expanded to include broader EITI Council activities, such as news updates, legislative changes, meeting minutes and other relevant announcements. While most content is procedural, these efforts are part of a broader strategy to ensure strengthening of implementation process and that relevant core data are communicated to the public. Content on the Tajikistan EITI portal is primarily available in Russian, with some updates in Tajik, although consistent multilingual accessibility remains an area for improvement. Earlier EITI Reports were available in multiple languages, but the latest reports (2017-2021) are only in Russian, limiting accessibility for non-Russian speakers. Reports since 2018 have been shared mainly online, with no evidence of widespread distribution of physical copies. Consulted stakeholders noted that such approach may hinder access for rural communities and individuals with limited internet connectivity. Tajikistan EITI also maintains a Facebook page, mainly in Russian, with some updates in Tajik to cater to different linguistic audiences. Although the frequency of updates is inconsistent, there has been a gradual increase in engagement, including posts in Tajik, indicating efforts to widen dissemination of EITI data and foster more inclusive public dialogue. In addition to digital dissemination, the EITI Council has promoted EITI disclosures through outreach events and direct media engagement. For example, a public presentation of the 2019-2021 EITI Report in Dushanbe in September 2023 disseminated findings to stakeholders, including government officials, companies and civil society. It was attended by media outlets such as Asia-Plus and Radio Ozodi, supporting the broader public debate efforts. Government agencies within the EITI Council also hold biannual press conferences, providing opportunities for activists and journalists to inquire about the extractive sector, and facilitating follow-up inquiries without the need for formal written requests. This practice sustains media attention on issues relevant to national and local stakeholders. However, stakeholder consultations revealed some challenges in obtaining timely and comprehensive responses to inquiries. While the formal process includes a designated timeframe for responding to information requests, consulted stakeholders noted delays, particularly when data collection was required, and that some requests required multiple follow-ups. This highlights an ongoing need for greater efficiency in the information dissemination process, despite the positive steps taken with regular press conferences. Additionally, opportunities for reaching out directly to the national secretariat for information, such as during the preparation of the latest EITI Report, or to connect with extractive companies, were noted. The Outcomes and impact Validation template highlights that social and environmental issues have been periodically addressed in EITI dissemination efforts, with particular attention to companies’ environmental practices. Stakeholder consultations indicated consistent media engagement with extractive industry issues, noting an opportunity for fostering more robust public debate on these topics. Although some journalists have covered mining’s environmental impact and company practices, discussions around other relevant topics appear to be limited. While not all articles shared by the EITI Council explicitly referenced EITI, several covered key activities such as EITI reporting releases, the beneficial ownership portal, peer-learning workshops, and proposed amendments to the Law “On subsoil” as part of ongoing reforms. Efforts to engage regional audiences have been inconsistent, largely due to logistical and financial constraints. Civil society-led debates took place in areas such as Ayni, but participation from rural regions remained limited, especially in the period under review. Consulted stakeholders expressed interest in understanding mining’s benefits for communities, with civil society representatives noting that the EITI Report offered valuable insights into state revenue and companies' social contributions to regional development. However, according to stakeholder consultations, discussions were primarily voiced by organisations in Dushanbe, with less active engagement from regional stakeholders. The new 2024-2026 communications strategy aims to improve engagement with regional bloggers and journalists, enhancing EITI's public profile through various channels, including press tours, social media and other traditional channels, such as radio, television and print media. Civil society played an important role in EITI outreach, promoting discussions on environmental and social impacts. The coalition “Transparency for Development” has contributed to these efforts, maintaining a website to inform the public, including youth, about EITI activities. However, it appears that, since 2022, engagement has weakened. In 2020, with support from Publish What You Pay, the civil society organisation (CSO) coalition developed a 2021-2023 advocacy strategy to improve transparency and accountability in extractives, energy, ecology, gender equality and anti-corruption. However, implementation faced significant challenges, including funding shortages, COVID-19 disruptions and leadership changes, resulting in many initiatives unfulfilled. A new communication strategy for 2024-2026 aims to revitalise civil society activities, although timelines, milestones and responsibilities remain unclear. Stakeholder consultations and the Outcomes and impact Validation template highlighted that some extractive companies have engaged in public outreach, including press tours and community meetings, regarding their operations, upcoming activities, social obligations and local impact development. The company constituency also emphasised collaboration with local councils and schools to maintain good relations and a platform for companies and community members to exchange views on project plans and address community expectations. While these outreach efforts appeared to contribute to transparency, their integration into the EITI process is unclear. Moreover, the Outcomes and impact Validation template indicates that, occasionally local government entities hold budget hearings to discuss resource allocation. However, consulted stakeholders noted that meaningful citizen participation could be further strengthened, in particular, to engage stakeholders from extractive areas. Between 2022 and 2023, the EITI Council organised several events to promote resource management dialogue and raise awareness about the EITI process among key stakeholders. From 2023 onwards, Tajikistan EITI undertook targeted capacity-building efforts, including seminars on EITI requirements, a study visit to Armenia and regional training. Although Tajikistan EITI has conducted seminars and participated in regional learning exchanges, there is no evidence of systematic production of user-friendly reports or summaries that simplify EITI data for broader public engagement. One consulted civil society representative stressed the need for better visualisation and more concise reporting. There is no evidence of produced brief summary reports or thematic briefs for the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report, as encouraged by Requirement 7.1. Development of such materials could strengthen public understanding of the sector’s contribution to the economy and further facilitate debate about natural resource governance.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 7.2 is mostly met. While Tajikistan has an existing open data policy from 2016 and summary data files are published in open format, the Secretariat’s view is that the objective of enabling broader use and analysis of extractive industry information through the publication of data in open and interoperable formats has been mostly met due to limited availability of extractive sector data in an open format and opportunities to update the open data policy. Tajikistan EITI adopted an open data policy, approved in December 2016 and published on the Tajikistan EITI website. The policy defines the terms for the access, release and reuse of EITI data in Tajikistan, emphasising the availability of data in open and machine-readable formats to enhance transparency and support public debate. Consulted stakeholders acknowledged a need and incentive to update the policy to reflect more recent financial periods and developments, given that the policy primarily covers the period of 2015-2016. While the open data policy exists in line with the EITI Standard, consulted government representatives indicated that data publication was also guided by internal legislative and regulatory acts. The EITI Council has also completed and published summary data files for the 2019-2021 EITI Report on the Tajikistan EITI portal, following the template approved by the EITI Board. Despite this, EITI disclosures are not consistently available in open formats and machine-readable format (e.g., CSV or Excel) on other government or company platforms, limiting broader data analysis. According to stakeholder consultations and the 2022 UK government-funded open data mapping report, about half of government agencies have data request mechanisms in place, indicating progress toward openness in information disclosure. However, implementation varies significantly with different response times and formats. A study by the National Association of Independent Media found that government websites do not always contain complete data, often lack proper formatting, are not updated on time and face risks of data deletion. The Transparency Validation template states that the government adheres to an open data policy through the systematic disclosure of data via the Agency on Statistics under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan website. However, the data available on this open data portal is limited, with no bulk download option for extractive industries data in open format. Although government agencies and companies are expected to publish data under an open license and inform users that information can be reused without prior consent, this does not appear to be fully implemented. The government currently ensures systematic disclosure of EITI data solely through EITI reporting. Data contained in the 2019-2021 EITI Report was not published in an open format on the government or company portals, except for the summary data file. The Outcomes and impact Validation template notes that some government agency websites may be inaccessible due to technical issues, delaying the availability of information or redirecting it to other web portals. There is no evidence that Tajikistan EITI data is coded or tagged to be inter-operable with other databases, as encouraged under Requirement 7.2. While reports and summary data files are available in machine-readable formats on the EITI Tajikistan website, further efforts are needed to enable integration with other public datasets to allow for better comparison and analysis of EITI disclosures.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 7.3 is mostly met, which shows a regression compared to the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to ensure that EITI implementation is a continuous learning process that contributes to policymaking, based on the MSG regularly considering findings and recommendations from the EITI process and acting on those recommendations it deems are priorities. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicate that this objective has been mostly met, given there are tools and mechanisms in place for tracking the recommendations, but progress on key recommendations has been limited, with no systematic, prioritised approach to addressing them. In response to recommendations from Tajikistan’s second Validation in 2018, the EITI Council developed a Corrective Action Plan, approved in November 2020 and updated in 2024 to address gaps identified in the 2023 targeted assessment. During the period under review, the EITI Council aimed to meet quarterly, allowing stakeholders to monitor corrective actions and discuss implementation challenges, with the national secretariat producing reports for each meeting. During these meetings, the EITI Council addressed various recommendations, such as the March 2023 discussion on a draft Presidential Decree to declassify data on precious metals production and export for 2019-2021. However, while these discussions demonstrate ongoing engagement with EITI recommendations, progress in implementing many of these recommendations has been limited. According to the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report, four of the eight past recommendations were fully or partially implemented, while the remaining four were still pending. Some barriers remain due to a lack of resources and technical difficulties, which have slowed progress on key issues, such as automating data collection and disaggregating payments by project. Tajikistan EITI has identified information gaps and discrepancies, but progress on addressing them has been limited. As part of 2019-2021 EITI Report, the Independent Administrator made several key recommendations, including the development of a prioritised action plan, mandating extractive industry companies to complete and submit all EITI forms for reconciliation, formalising reporting requirements for legal entities through a government decree, automating data collection, and including social responsibility clauses in extractive contracts. However, progress has been uneven, and some critical recommendations, like data declassification for gold and silver production, still awaiting government approval. Although efforts to integrate EITI recommendations into legislation are ongoing, they are fragmented, and coordinated follow-up remains a challenge. While approaches to review the implementation of EITI requirements exist, it remains unclear how they are systematically prioritised and tracked. The Corrective Action Plan addresses each requirement separately, without an overarching strategy or clear timelines, making it difficult to determine if any areas are prioritised at the national level or if key recommendations are being addressed in a timely and coordinated manner. Stakeholder consultations also revealed that fragmented responsibilities among government departments and inconsistent follow-up, especially due to personnel changes, have contributed to the lack of a robust system for learning from and acting on EITI recommendations. The EITI Council has organised public hearings, workshops and information campaigns between 2021 and 2023, which provided opportunities for stakeholders to offer feedback on the EITI process. However, there appears to be no clear mechanism to track, prioritise and act upon feedback, making it difficult to ensure that stakeholder concerns are adequately addressed. Continuous tracking of recommendations outside of EITI Validation cycles is not fully evident, suggesting that improvements are needed to transform EITI implementation into a continuous learning process. The EITI Council has taken steps to address recommendations for strengthening government systems and natural resource governance, such as plans to create an automated data collection system in the 2024-2025 work plan. However, follow-up on these initiatives remains sporadic, and key reforms lack robust tracking mechanisms. The work plan also includes a preliminary analysis of the risks and opportunities related to energy transition in the extractive sector, while stakeholder consultations revealed ongoing efforts to integrate anti-corruption measures and gender considerations into the EITI process, aligned with the 2023 EITI Standard. While these initiatives demonstrate the EITI Council's intention to address broader governance issues, the lack of a structured follow-up and tracking framework risks limiting their impact.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 7.4 is partly met, which shows a regression compared to the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to ensure regular public monitoring and evaluation of implementation, including evaluation of whether the EITI is delivering on its objectives, with a view to ensuring the EITI’s own public accountability. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicate that this objective has not been met, given the sporadic nature of public monitoring and evaluation of EITI implementation prior to 2023, gaps in systematic reflection on outcomes and impact and the need for a more formalised approach to annual reviews and stakeholder feedback. The EITI Council has held meetings to discuss EITI implementation, as evidenced by protocols from 2019 to 2024, albeit with fewer and less frequent meetings in the years leading up to 2023. Stakeholder consultations indicated that meetings provided a platform for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of EITI activities, including discussions on EITI Report preparation, work plan implementation and addressing recommendations from the International Secretariat. The EITI Council meeting protocols show active participation from all constituencies in the review process. The EITI Council has made efforts to address recommendations from previous Validations and EITI Reports, as evidenced by discussions in EITI Council meetings and the development of a Corrective Action Plan in response to the 2018 Validation. However, gaps remain in the systematic review of outcomes and impact, including the tracking and public documentation of progress on these recommendations. Consulted stakeholders confirmed that the EITI Council discussed implementation progress in its meetings, but there appears to be no documented evidence of annual efforts to review outcomes and impact of EITI implementation on natural resource governance. No annual progress reports have been produced or publicly published since 2018. Consulted stakeholders noted the use of the work plan to track the outcomes and impact of each activity. Additionally, some outcomes of activities are documented in the Outcomes and impact Validation template. Consulted government representatives noted that progress was described within the work plan and posted on the Tajikistan EITI website, allowing for more dynamic tracking of activities. While the Secretariat acknowledges these efforts, it does not consider the work plan equivalent to a formal annual review that evaluates EITI’s broader impact. Further consultations revealed that the shift from producing formal reports to a more flexible, ongoing work plan review was attributed partly to capacity issues. This suggests the need for more capacity-building to better equip stakeholders in evaluating and documenting the broad impact and outcomes of EITI implementation. The Outcomes and impact Validation template summarises activities and efforts to enhance EITI’s impact and gather wider views on the EITI process. Consulted government stakeholders noted these efforts provided an opportunity for community feedback on various issues, including the social and environmental impacts of extractive activities. Between 2021 and 2023, EITI Tajikistan organised information campaigns, public hearings, debates and workshops in three regions of the country, engaging local stakeholders and gathering views on EITI processes, including EITI reports, work plans and Validation results. Some of these activities engaged media and are documented in publications shared with the International Secretariat, though these mainly report on activities rather than outcomes or impacts (for example here and here). The feedback provided by stakeholders was reportedly incorporated into subsequent reports and work plans. However, it remains unclear whether stakeholders had the opportunity to provide input specifically on EITI outcomes and impact, and there is no documentation that their views were documented or reflected in any formal review. Stakeholder consultations revealed that capacity constraints have limited CSOs’ outreach activities, affecting the extent of broader stakeholder engagement. While Tajikistan has made progress in several aspects of EITI implementation, including advancements in beneficial ownership disclosure (Requirement 2.5), formalisation of licensing procedures for artisanal and small-scale mining, the establishment of a “single window” for licensing processes, and disclosure of size and region of licensed areas, there appears to be limited documentation on impact of such activities. Regarding encouraged aspects of this requirement, the EITI Council periodically focuses on disseminating and expanding the scope of EITI reporting, including considering gender issues through outreach events. However, consulted stakeholders expressed interest in this topic and opportunities to further work on addressing gender considerations in the EITI process.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 1.1 is mostly met, as in the 2023 targeted assessment. The objective of this requirement is to ensure a full, active and effective government lead for EITI implementation, both in terms of high-level political leadership and operational engagement, as a means of facilitating all aspects of EITI implementation. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicate that the objective of operational engagement is mostly met, although there remain concerns about funding and ensuring sustainability of resources for EITI implementation. The government has issued public statements indicating its commitment to EITI implementation, has appointed a senior representative to lead EITI implementation and has secured donor funding for EITI implementation. Moreover, government representatives regularly attend EITI Council meetings and government agencies provide data for EITI reporting. However, there appears to be scope for government representatives to enhance using the EITI process to inform reforms and to better align EITI implementation with national priorities. There is also limited evidence of the government representatives on the EITI Council driving the process for other government agencies to follow up on recommendations from EITI reporting and Validation corrective actions. In particular, there is a need to further demonstrate how government is addressing barriers to disclosure in key thematic areas, including the legal framework for beneficial ownership and disclosure of production and export data on precious metals. Tajikistan joined EITI in 2013. Over the years, government representatives have issued public statements in various fora to demonstrate commitment to the EITI. The 2023 targeted assessment established that, in 2022, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) sent letters to the EITI International Secretariat re-confirming government commitment to EITI implementation. While representatives of the government constituency expressed their commitment to EITI during stakeholder consultations, there appears to be limited evidence of how the government has acted on previous corrective actions and previous commitments. The EITI Council is chaired by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Bahromzoda Parvina, who took over from the former Deputy Minister, Karim Gulmurozoda in June 2024. The EITI Council meeting minutes confirm that government representatives have consistently attended EITI Council meetings in 2023-2024. A new National Coordinator was appointed in May 2024 after the previous coordinator had been in position for two years. Consulted stakeholders indicated that frequent rotations could affect stability and continuity of EITI-related reforms. Stakeholder consultations and available documentation indicate that funding for EITI implementation remained limited in the period under review. The 2023 targeted assessment highlighted plans to establish a national secretariat funded by the government. While there is a National Coordinator and support staff, dedicated staff are balancing EITI activities with their primary responsibilities. Consulted stakeholders noted that there were approximately five people who regularly provided support to EITI implementation, including experts on the extractive sector, data collection and communication. It was also noted that government funding was primarily covering allocation of the national secretariat staff and office space, however, no specific government funding was dedicated to implementation activities in 2023 and 2024. Stakeholder consultations and available documentation highlight several laws and policies that the government has been putting in place to address barriers to disclosure. These include legislation to improve transparency of the licensing process and proposed suggestions to the Law “On subsoil” related to disclosure of beneficial ownership information. These proposed amendments are yet to be approved. The government has also worked on the modernisation of the mining cadastre although it was not accessible at the time of this assessment. Data on precious minerals are, however, not disclosed due to the state secrecy legislation. While this issue was discussed by the EITI Council, there appears to be limited progress in ensuring disclosure of production and export data on precious metals. Available documentation demonstrates limited evidence that the government constituency is involved in outreach or use of EITI data. Documentation submitted as part of Validation cites examples of government being quoted on mineral production, environmental concerns in the mining industry and investment incentives in the mining sector. However, beyond EITI reporting, there is limited evidence of government representatives coordinating their participation on EITI implementation. Since the suspension of Tajikistan in 2022 due to missing a reporting deadline, the country has taken steps to reinvigorate EITI implementation. These steps have included renewing the EITI Council, appointing an EITI Champion and a National Coordinator, and producing the 2019-2021 EITI Tajikistan EITI Report which was published in May 2023. The government has secured the World Bank funding to support EITI implementation for the period 2024-2025 which has contributed to the development of a 2024-2025 work plan, with some activities already having been implemented. Government representation on the EITI Council comprises the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Ministry of Justice, the Main Department of Geology, the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources and the State Committee for Investments and State Property Management. The government representatives are at mid-senior level often with designation as chief specialist or head of department. Consultations indicated that there is currently limited capacity in understanding the full scope of the EITI Standard within the EITI Council, including the government constituency. This is largely due to the EITI Council renewal. Government representatives appear to be primarily focused on EITI reporting. EITI Council meeting minutes from the September 2023 meeting indicate discussions on the Tajikistan EITI work plan, the EITI Report, a study tour to Armenia that was held in July 2023 for peer learning on EITI disclosures and discussions on improving civil society engagement in EITI implementation. While the meeting minutes do not have an attendance register, they do note that there was attendance by members of the EITI Council from all constituencies. The government constituency does not appear to have developed a plan to address corrective actions and recommendations from the 2023 targeted assessment. While donor funding was secured to support EITI implementation, this does not appear to cover aspects related to staffing of the national secretariat. The 2024-2025 EITI work plan indicates some link to the national objective of attracting investment in the sector. However, there is limited evidence of government leadership in aligning the work plan objectives to national priorities and providing strong strategic direction to EITI implementation.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 1.2 is mostly met, as in the 2023 targeted assessment. Consulted stakeholders expressed limited views on the objective of ensuring a full, active and effective engagement of companies in the EITI, both in terms of disclosures and participation in the work of the MSG. Available documentation indicates that this objective has been mostly met due to participation of the company constituency in the core activities, such as preparation of the EITI Report, but noting limited evidence of active and effective engagement in other aspects of EITI implementation, such as outreach and the use of EITI data. According to stakeholder consultations, EITI Council representatives of the company constituency are selected independently based on the official invitation by the Ministry of Finance. The national secretariat facilitates the nomination process for the companies through sending out letters to the largest companies and asking them to nominate their representatives to the EITI Council. As of August 2022, six companies were members of the EITI Council, namely Anzob, Aprelevka, Zaravshan, Pakrut, Tajik-Chinese Mining Company and Talko Gold. Available documentation indicates that company representatives in the EITI Council participated in EITI Council meetings, contributed to the content and review of EITI Reports and the work plan, and ensured timely data submission for EITI reporting. During stakeholder consultations, company representatives confirmed their input into the EITI process and readiness to provide the necessary data. However, there is no evidence of companies contributing to discussions related to the disclosure of data on precious minerals. Consulted stakeholders also highlighted the usefulness of EITI in improving transparency on company operations. A total of 11 out of 14 material companies provided the necessary data to the Independent Administrator for the 2021 fiscal year. There is no evidence of any legal or regulatory obstacles to company participation in the EITI process. Minutes from the EITI Council meetings show that companies have attended meetings, although the minutes do not provide details on the substantive issues that company representatives engage in. Stakeholder consultations confirmed that companies regularly attend in-person EITI Council meetings, consultations and workshops. The 2024-2025 work plan indicates that there are plans to explore the possibility of creating an association of extractive companies, which was a recommendation from the 2023 targeted assessment. Stakeholder consultations did not give any indication of progress towards this action point. There appeared to be no clear mechanism for companies to coordinate input into EITI implementation in the period under review. The company representatives on the EITI Council did not confirm any outreach or consultation activities with extractive companies in the regions on key EITI documents, such as the work plans for the period 2022-2023 and 2024-2025. While there is limited evidence that companies used EITI data, documentation submitted for Validation indicates that companies provided information on the extractive sector to the media and representatives of CSOs based on request.

The International Secretariat’s assessment, informed by broad stakeholder consultations and by the findings of an external expert, is that Requirement 1.3 is mostly met, as in the 2023 targeted assessment. The objective of this requirement is to ensure that civil society is fully, actively and effectively engaged in the EITI process, and that there is an enabling environment for this. Available documentation and broad stakeholder consultations indicate that the objective of this requirement has been mostly met. Although there remain to be concerns about the broader civic space, the EITI continues to play a role in offering a platform for civil society involvement in the EITI process, similar to the prevailing situation during the targeted assessment. Stakeholder views on freedom of expression There were varying views among stakeholders during consultations on whether civil society representatives engaged in the extractives sector have experienced any obstacles to participation. Civil society representatives on the EITI Council indicated that they could participate in the EITI process and public debate on natural resource governance effectively. They indicated that civil society is fully, actively and effectively engaged in the EITI process, and that there is an enabling environment for their participation in the EITI. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council disagreed with the characterisation that restrictions in the broader environment create a challenging context. In addition, the comments noted that civil society in Tajikistan has been the driving force for EITI implementation over the last ten years. Civil society representatives highlighted that they perceived government engagement to be limited. This notwithstanding, civil society organisation (CSO) representatives on the EITI Council noted that they could fully and publicly express themselves on topics that may be considered sensitive, including on corruption and environmental impact. The Secretariat noted the limited documented evidence of civil society engaging on what may be considered sensitive topics. However, during stakeholder consultations, civil society representatives on the EITI Council highlighted that they had publicly engaged on work related to anti-corruption. There is also evidence of civil society advocating for disclosure of precious metals data, which is considered confidential information, according to relevant legislation (see Requirement 3.2). Civil society engagement on this issue appears to have largely been within the EITI Council. On the other hand, some stakeholders outside the EITI Council indicated that the broader environment for civic space impacted the ability of civil society to fully express their views on natural resource governance issues that may be considered sensitive. Stakeholders, including development partners, recognised that the EITI provided a platform for civil society, particularly those on the EITI Council, to express itself on the EITI and on extractive governance issues. However, some civil society stakeholders noted that the broader environment was characterised by limited space for civil society to freely express itself and fully engage on natural resource governance issues, such as corruption in the extractive sector. It was noted that there was limited media independence and plurality nationally and more broadly, which potentially limited independent media reporting on extractive resource governance. Assessment on freedom of expression The broader context and the engagement of civil society in EITI implementation in Tajikistan does not appear to have significantly changed from the time the 2023 targeted assessment was concluded. Constraints to freedom of expression in the broader context remain, and these give rise to a challenging environment in the country leading to self-censorship, including among EITI stakeholders. It should also be noted that while the finding in the targeted assessment that EITI provides space for civil society participation in natural resource governance issues still holds true, there is limited evidence of the follow-up on the corrective actions on this requirement from the targeted assessment. The assessment on this requirement notes a breach of the EITI Protocol: Participation of civil society on expression and therefore remains ‘mostly met’ considering the absence of significant changes and progress on corrective actions from the period of the targeted assessment. Based on consultations with stakeholders and international reports, tensions in Tajikistan’s autonomous region, which were discussed in the 2023 targeted assessment, appear to have eased. The comments from the EITI Council noted that the situation in the autonomous region is not related to the EITI process. This Validation did not identify any material incident related to this issue that would have any bearing on this assessment. Assessment on other aspects of the Civil Society Protocol While the process of CSO registration is bureaucratic, there is no evidence that there were restrictions to the operation of civil society, including access to funding. In addition, civil society could freely associate and coordinate its participation in the EITI process in the period under review. Civil society stakeholders highlighted the limited availability of funding for their work but noted that this had not represented a barrier to effective engagement in EITI implementation. Stakeholder consultations highlighted that there was limited access to decision makers and decision-making platforms. Government agencies hold bi-annual media briefings to provide an opportunity for public engagement and question and answer sessions. However, it appears that there was limited feedback on questions that may be asked even where these were made in writing. CSO composition and participation in EITI implementation Civil society members on the EITI Council are diverse, have consistently attended the EITI Council meetings and provided input into the EITI process, including development of the work plan, the EITI Report and preparations for Validation, in the period under review. The constituency has agreed a procedure for nominating representatives to the EITI Council (see Requirement 1.4). While the civil society representatives on the EITI Council were able to fully participate in EITI implementation, there is limited evidence of wider constituency engagement in the EITI. Some stakeholders highlighted that civil society representatives on the EITI Council did not have the room to effectively advocate for more impactful EITI implementation. The broader civil society environment indicates that civil society organisations in Tajikistan operate under difficult conditions, in particular for organisations working on civil and political rights. Stakeholder consultations indicated that the EITI remained a key platform for CSOs to promote transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. Through the national umbrella coalition “Transparency for development”, the CSO constituency has structures for communicating and consulting with CSO representatives who do not sit on the EITI Council. Consultations with civil society representatives on the EITI Council indicated that they were focused on reforms related to beneficial ownership disclosures and anti-corruption. In addition, civil society has been intentional in reaching out to stakeholders in the regions. Annexe A on civil society engagement provides a more detailed overview on civil society engagement.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 1.4 is partly met with improvements compared to the 2023 targeted assessment. Available documentation indicates that the objective of ensuring that there is an independent MSG that can exercise active and meaningful oversight of all aspects of EITI implementation that balances the three main constituencies’ interests in a consensual manner has not been met due to limited evidence of the EITI Council’s engagement in the EITI beyond publication of the EITI Report, need to update the governing documents and opportunities to further codify nomination procedures. Consulted stakeholders expressed varying views on the fulfilment of the overall objective, noting some progress in reinvigorating the EITI Council’s work but providing limited evidence of follow-up on the corrective actions from the 2023 targeted assessment. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council highlighted that the EITI Council had provided oversight over EITI implementation, noting publication of four EITI Reports, preparation of analytical studies and dissemination activities. The comments also highlight that the EITI Council has worked on addressing the corrective actions from previous Validations which included legal amendments and reforms. The Secretariat acknowledges the EITI Council’s comments and efforts aimed at ensuring continued implementation of the core activities, and notes plans to expand the scope of activities as outlined in the 2024-2025 work plan (see Requirement 1.5). Considering steps taken to stabilise the process and plans to expand the scope but noting limited evidence of addressing corrective actions in the targeted assessment, the Secretariat assesses Requirement 1.4 as ‘partly met with improvements’. Tajikistan EITI Council membership was renewed at the end of 2022. Consulted representatives from the CSOs coalition confirmed that they had transparent elections without interference from the government. The company constituency also did not have any objection to the proposed approach of election to the EITI Council. At the time of this Validation, the EITI Council consisted of 19 representatives, including seven from government, six from industry, and six from civil society. The EITI Council consisted of 37% women and 73% men. Women represent 83% of the CSO constituency, in contrast to 14% and 17% of the government and companies’ members respectively. According to stakeholders, the nomination procedures for different constituencies did not have any specific provisions on gender considerations. During stakeholder consultations, the civil society and company constituencies highlighted that they had carried out independent nomination processes. However, both constituencies do not appear to have a documented procedure for nominating representatives to the EITI Council. The lack of information on the nomination process may hinder participation by current non-EITI Council constituency members which could affect the overall performance of the MSG. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council indicated that civil society has clear provisions for nomination of EITI Council members, and they are based on procedures established by PWYP globally. However, there is no clear evidence that these nomination procedures are publicly available and had been followed in the nomination of representatives to the EITI Council in 2022. After a period of instability, the EITI Council has contributed to building stability for the EITI process in Tajikistan ensuring the election of new EITI Council members, facilitating resourcing for EITI implementation and overseeing EITI reporting. EITI Council has provided oversight on EITI reporting and the development of EITI work plans. The government constituency communicated inside the EITI Council as well as with other governmental institutions that were not included in the EITI Council but engaged in EITI. However, such engagement appears to be mostly related to EITI reporting and not to broader national policies to which the EITI could potentially contribute. There was limited evidence of the EITI Council using the EITI platform to make substantive reforms on key EITI aspects such as ensuring disclosure of data related to precious minerals and disclosure of beneficial ownership and political exposed persons data. There is limited evidence of the EITI Council making use of the EITI to follow up on recommendations from the EITI Reports and Validation. In particular, there is limited evidence of the EITI Council making concrete steps on the corrective actions and strategic recommendations from the 2023 targeted assessment beyond developing an action plan. Since the EITI Council was renewed at the end of 2022, some members did not have previous experience with implementing the EITI. This has resulted in gaps in implementation and challenges in sustaining the EITI process for the period under review. Capacity-building activities were included in the 2022-2023 EITI work plan. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that serves as the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the EITI Council was largely followed in practice in the period under review. However, as identified during the 2023 targeted assessment, it does not fully address the requirements of the EITI Standard. Key omissions in the ToRs include provisions on changing EITI Council members, per diem policies, term limits and certain roles and responsibilities such as appointment of the Independent Administrator and provisions on representation of wider constituency. The ToRs do not specify the rules for the rotation of the EITI Council representatives. In practice, the Council is renewed when there is a major reshuffle in the government constituency and previous members change their positions. The recurring changes in government representatives have posed challenges to the sustainability of the EITI process. There appear to have been no reviews of the EITI Council’s ToRs since 2016. EITI Council meeting minutes are available and publicly disclosed on the Tajikistan EITI website, although they do not indicate the actual attendance by each member.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 3.1 is fully met, as in the previous Validation. Stakeholders did not express any opinion on whether the objective of ensuring public access to an overview of the extractive sector in the country and its potential, including recent, ongoing and planned significant exploration activities was met. Available documentation indicates that the objective has been fully met, with EITI reporting providing information on the overview of the exploration activities in 2019-2021. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report discloses the exploration licences that have been issued in 2019-2021. EITI reporting provides data on the commodity to be explored or mined, the company that holds the exploration or mining licence and the region where the commodity will be explored or mined. The report also provides an overview of the main exploration activities that were conducted in 2019-2021, including names of the main exploration projects and commodities discovered. While there is a limited overview of the extractive sector in the country, the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report refers to previous EITI reporting for such overview.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 6.3 is mostly met, which represents a regression compared to the previous Validation. Available documentation indicates that the objective of ensuring a public understanding of the extractive industries’ contribution to the national economy and the level of natural resource dependency in the economy has been mostly met. Available documentation shows that there are disclosures of total government revenues from the extractive sector, export data and number of people employed in the sector relative to wider economic activity, however, limited information is available on the estimate of informal activity in the extractive sector. Consulted stakeholders did not express any concerns related to meeting this requirement. The Secretariat will welcome views on the estimates of the informal sector from stakeholders. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report highlights the main economic indicators related to the extractive sector. This includes the number of companies, the production volume and the number of employees across industrial mining, coal mining, quarrying and the petroleum sectors in 2019-2021. This information is further disaggregated by region. The report also provides information on the growth in production volumes of the mining sector compared to total industrial production growth. The report notes that the share of employment in the mining sector amounted to 15.9% of the total number of people employed in industry in 2021. The Transparency Validation template provides further disaggregation by gender. Concerning encouraged aspects of this requirement, there appears to be no information on employment disaggregated by company and occupational level. However, stakeholder consultations indicated interest in this topic and noted the need for further work in this area. Documentation submitted for Validation discloses the size of the extractive industries in absolute terms and as a percentage of GDP. The disclosures also highlight the total government revenues from the extractive sector and its percentage contribution towards total government revenue, as well as exports of the extractive sector and its percentage contribution towards total exports of the country. EITI disclosures highlight employment data and the percentage contribution towards total employment in the country. These disclosures are not comprehensively covered in the EITI Report but are disclosed across different government sources, including national statistics and the state budget. Available documentation does not appear to include an estimate of the informal sector activity, including but not necessarily limited to artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), except for noting formalisation of the process of applying for ASM activities and providing partial data on how much gold was purchased from ASM in 2019 and 2020.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 2.1 is fully met, as in the previous Validation. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicate that the objective of ensuring public understanding of all aspects of the regulatory framework for the extractive industries, including the legal framework, fiscal regime, roles of government entities and reforms has been fully met through disclosure of relevant information through government and Tajikistan EITI portals. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report refers to the 2015-2016 Tajikistan EITI Report for full information on the legal and fiscal frameworks. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report discloses changes and amendments to the applicable legal framework and fiscal regime made within the reporting period. The main laws governing the extractive sector include the Constitution, Law “On subsoil”, Law “On investments”, Law “On licensing of certain type of activities”, Law “On PSAs”, Law “On oil and gas”, Law “On State secrecy”, Law “On concessions”, Law “On investment agreements”, Law “On precious metals and stones” and others as per the 2015-2016 Tajikistan EITI Report. The legislation can be publicly accessed on the legal portal of the Ministry of Justice and Tajikistan EITI website. Oversight of the extractive sector is divided among three government authorities – Main Department of Geology, Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, Ministry of Industry and New Technologies – which develop and implement government policies that regulate licensing, contracts and other activities relevant to their respective sector. Other government agencies involved are the Ministry of Finance, Tax Committee, Ministry of Economic Development, State Committee on Investments and State Property, and Statistics Committee. Available documentation indicates that two types of fiscal regimes apply to the extractive sector: • general tax regime that follows the Tax Code and • exempted, or special tax regime, to which production sharing agreements (PSAs), investment agreements and concession agreements are applied. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report elaborates on the reforms undertaken during the reporting period. For example, there were amendments to the general tax regime, such as timeframes of subscription bonus payments. For the special tax regime, there were amendments related to VAT exemptions for production and for imported goods, excise tax exemptions for PSAs. The reforms include the adoption of a new Tax Code in 2021-2022, which included adjustments to the number of taxes and some changes in tax rates. Additionally, documentation notes that legislation allowing local governments to issue ASM permits through their financial departments was adopted in the period under review. Finally, the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report highlights that the government developed a green economy strategy for 2023-2037, focusing on institutional reforms, attracting investment and promoting innovative technologies. Consulted stakeholders did not express any concerns related to public access and understanding of the regulatory framework for the extractive industries, and highlighted the importance of the recent reforms, in particular related to the formalisation of the ASM sector.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 2.4 is partly met. Available documentation indicates that the objective of ensuring the public accessibility of all licenses and contracts underpinning extractive activities from 2021 onwards as a basis for the public’s understanding of the contractual rights and obligations of companies operating in the country’s extractive industries has not been met. At the time of this Validation, no contract disclosure policy was available and relevant agreements which provide the terms attached to the exploitation of extractive resources were not disclosed in full in the period under review. Consulted stakeholders expressed different views on meeting this objective, noting both the progress in publication of lists of licenses, contracts and investment agreements in the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report as well as opportunities for further work on disclosure of full texts of subsoil agreements. According to the Government Decree “On the rules of defining the amounts of subscription bonus, bonus of commercial discovery and conclusion of contracts”, all companies are required to sign a contract after receiving a subsoil use license. The Secretariats understanding is that, unless specified otherwise, the general tax regime provided in the Tax Code is applied to these contracts. For the special tax regime, several types of agreements are applied, including PSAs, concession agreements and investment agreements which are governed by specific legal frameworks. Available documentation indicates that the current legislation does not require disclosure of full texts of licenses, contracts and other types of agreements which provide the terms attached to the exploitation of oil, gas and mineral resources. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report explains that contracts are considered as addenda to licenses, primarily detailing the applicable tax regime which is covered by the Tax Code. Consulted stakeholders noted that most projects were governed by the standard fiscal regime, with relevant terms available through applicable legislation and core license data disclosed through EITI reporting. They also noted that some strategically important projects benefited from preferential taxation under respective agreements, which were negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The authorised government entity responsible for concluding contracts is the Main Department of Geology. While it manages the register of concluded contracts, the register does not appear to be publicly accessible. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council noted that the EITI Report includes a register of contracts. Annexe 8 to the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report discloses a list of contracts concluded within 2019-2021, providing information on the names of subsoil users, deposits, type of commodity, location, agreement #, duration of contracts, subscription bonus amounts, commercial discovery bonus amounts and royalty rates per contract. Most of the contracts provided in the list is for production, with only one contract for exploration. It is not clear if the EITI Council agreed which exploration contracts are considered material and should be disclosed. Notably, the list given in the Annexe 8 primarily covers the quarrying sector. Overall, in 2021, 71 contracts were concluded, including one for oil and gas, one for gold and silver, one for alluvial gold, and two for silver. There were no concession agreements signed during the reporting period. Review of the EITI reporting identified that the Annexe 8 does not fully align with the list of licenses that is provided in the Annexe 7. Consulted stakeholders explained that this discrepancy might be due to the time gap between the license award and the conclusion of contracts. Although the list of contracts does not fully align with the list of licenses provided in the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report, it includes some projects of large-scale companies, such as Aprelevka, and revenue data, including subscription bonuses, commercial discovery bonuses, and royalty rates. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council noted that companies which applied for exploration permit were exempted from paying signature bonus and therefore were not included in the list of contracts. However, the full texts of licenses and contracts are not disclosed. Consulted stakeholders noted that it was possible to request subsoil use agreements from relevant government authorities. However, it remains unclear whether all types of subsoil use agreements can be accessed upon request. The Law “On investment agreements” is applied for strategic projects in all sectors of economy, including the extractive sector. The register of investment agreements is managed by the State Committee on Investments and State Property. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides links to the list of investment agreements and information on investments which gives general information on the investment flows into the country. In addition, the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report includes a list of eight investment agreements (Annexe 9) concluded between 2019 and 2021, covering various sectors of the economy, such as food and beverage projects, electric power metering, and others. The list includes information on the project name, involved parties, location, date of signing, and validity; with full texts not being disclosed. Some of these investment agreements are described in the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report, with information on investment amounts. Additionally, the report provides a sample summary of an investment project, including details on planned capacities, investments, costs, and other specifics, with a note that similar summaries can be found on the website of the State Committee on Investments and State Property. However, the provided link appears to refer to the same general register of investment agreements mentioned earlier, covering all sectors of the economy, without the detailed summaries shown in the sample. The report also provides information on planned investment agreements, including the expected investment amounts and locations. Overall, analysis of available documentation and stakeholder consultations revealed that there was no disclosure of the full text of contracts, licenses and other agreements governing subsoil use in the period under review, except for few investment agreements available on the website of the authorised investment agency. Consulted stakeholders highlighted progress in availability of lists of relevant agreements and activities related to contract transparency, included in the 2024-2025 Tajikistan EITI work plan. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council emphasised that licenses and contracts are usually relatively short and that all relevant information is disclosed through EITI Reports. The comments also confirm that the list of contracts in the EITI Report is comprehensive. The Secretariat acknowledges these comments and efforts to provide the main terms of licenses and contracts through EITI reporting but maintains the assessment of ‘partly met’ considering that full texts of licenses, contracts, investment agreements, PSAs and other types of subsoil agreements are not publicly disclosed, and noting no clear policy on contract transparency.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 6.4 remains not assessed, given that several encouraged aspects of this requirement remain to be addressed by Tajikistan EITI. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides a detailed overview of legal provisions and administrative rules related to environmental management and monitoring of extractive investments in the country. However, limited information is available on actual practices in the period under review, including, for example, disclosure of environmental impact assessments. Consulted stakeholders expressed interest in this this topic and potential for further work on strengthening monitoring on environmental impact in the extractive sector.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 2.2 is mostly met, as in the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to provide a public overview of awards and transfers of oil, gas and mining licenses, the statutory procedures for license awards and transfers and whether these procedures are followed in practice. Stakeholder consultations and available documentation indicate that this objective has been mostly met. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides an overview of the legal framework for licensing processes, including on regulations for small-scale and artisanal mining, and explains how tenders are conducted. However, there appear to be lack of detailed information on the technical and financial criteria for direct negotiations, including weighting of such criteria, limited transparency in the rules that determine which award procedure should be used and limited data on tender details. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides an overview of licensing process established in the legislation for the extractive sector, such as the Law “On subsoil”, Law “On licensing of certain types of activities”, Regulation “On specifics of licensing of certain types of activities” and Decree “On subsoil use tender procedures”. According to the abovementioned legislation, subsoil licensing is implemented through tenders and direct negotiations. In addition, in 2019, the government adopted legal acts on small-scale and artisanal mining that regulate the issuance of permissions to individual applicants by local authorities. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report states that, in case of several applications to one license object, a tender process is conducted. In case of only one application, the decision on either direct negotiations or re-launching tender should be made. Available documentation and the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report does not appear to provide information on approaches to selecting either direct negotiations or re-launching tender in case of only one application. Meetings of the government tender commission are closed, and the decision on the winner must be approved by several government entities. After receiving written approvals or rejections from these entities, relevant documents are sent to the Government of Tajikistan for the final approval. Consulted stakeholders noted that this approval process could be very time-consuming, sometimes taking up to a year. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that, according to the Regulation “On the specifics of licensing of certain types of activities”, the transfer of subsoil use license to other physical and legal persons is prohibited. According to the Decree “On subsoil use tender procedures”, the winner of tender is identified based on the following criteria: 1) meeting legal, financial and technical criteria; 2) the mount of subscription bonus; and 3) the amount of expenditures for socio-economic development of the region, infrastructure development and support of national employees. However, the decree does not provide further details on how these criteria are applied, including weighting of each criterion. The decree states that the results of the tender are announced in the official media sources but does not clarify what information about bidders needs to be disclosed. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report briefly describes two tenders for exploration and exploitation, providing the number of applications and winners but not including specific details on technical and financial criteria and their respective weightings. While consulted stakeholders noted that technical and financial criteria are the same for tenders and direct negotiations, it is not clear where this is codified in applicable legislation. The Transparency Validation template provides links to the websites where the data is systematically disclosed, however, the links appear to be not accessible or redirect to the latest Tajikistan EITI Report. The report specifies that there was only one license award for oil and gas production in 2019-2021 and it was awarded via direct negotiations. The report also provides a list of exploration licenses for the extractive sector and a list of production licenses for the mining sector. Information about the recipient(s) of each awarded license is provided. The report also provides a list of investment agreements concluded in 2019-2021, notes that no concessions were signed in the period under review but does not appear to confirm if any PSAs were signed in 2019-2021. However, there appear to be no clarification on whether beforementioned subsoil use rights were awarded through tender or direct negotiations. Lastly, the report notes that several tender processes were initiated in 2019-2021 but were not concluded due to no applications. Available documentation does not appear to clarify if any licenses or contracts were awarded through a bidding process in 2019-2021 and there is no disclosure of tender information, such as applicants and selection criteria used to award the licenses. In addition, in the period under review, a “single window” portal was initiated by the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies to speed up the issue of licenses online. The register contains a separate list of awards for common minerals extraction but does not appear to be applicable to the metal mining and petroleum sectors. According to the Transparency Validation template and stakeholder consultations, there were no non-trivial deviations from the current licensing procedures in the period under review. However, it is not clear what methodology was applied to assessing any non-trivial deviations in the period under review. Additional brief analysis of the current licensing system’s efficiency is provided in the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report, which highlights several challenges, including bureaucracy, delays in processing applications, lack of transparency, and high license fees. This is an encouraged aspect of the requirement, and the International Secretariat welcomes this review. As previously mentioned, the licensing of subsoil use is managed by different government agencies, and there is no central licensing authority. In response to these challenges, amendments to the Law “On licensing” have been made to establish a single licensing authority and a unified electronic license register. However, the status of these efforts remains unclear. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council highlighted the Government is the main licensing entity and that relevant state agencies serve as executive entities. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report and consulted stakeholders indicated that amendments to the Law “On subsoil” has been suggested to enhance transparency and natural resource governance. This document is aimed at improving the access to information on subsoil use and licenses such as tender conditions and results as well as implementation of tender conditions on concluded contracts.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 2.3 is partly met, which represents a regression compared to the previous Validation. While there have been some improvements in disclosing data on size and location of extractive projects, the objective of ensuring the public accessibility of comprehensive information on property rights related to extractive deposits and projects has not been met. The public registers operated by the relevant government bodies were not accessible at time of the draft assessment, and the information provided through EITI reporting does not comprehensively address all aspects of the EITI Standard, such as dates of application and coordinates. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council expressed its disagreement with the preliminary Secretariat’s assessment, noting progress in disclosure of information on size and location of extractive projects and partial disclosures of dates of application. The comments note that disclosure of coordinates is not possible as such data are considered to be a state secret, according to relevant legislation. The comments also highlight that license registers are publicly available on the Tajikistan EITI website which has been overseen by the Ministry of Finance since 2023. It is also noted that the MoF has sent formal requests to relevant government agencies to publish license data. The Secretariat commends the efforts to disclose size and location of extractive projects and steps taken to disclose some data on dates of application but maintains the assessment of ‘partly met’ due to limited progress on establishing a publicly available register or cadastre system(s) that provides timely and comprehensive information. While publication of license data through an EITI Report could be an interim solution, the rationale for requiring a publicly available license register is to ensure sustained and regular disclosure of data by the entity responsible for the license information. The approach taken by the EITI Council demonstrates efforts to make information on license more accessible but further steps are required to address the objective of ensuring the public accessibility of comprehensive information on property rights related to extractive deposits and projects. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report and the Transparency Validation template provide lists of licenses issued between 2019 and 2021: 23 licenses for geological exploration, 23 licenses for mineral production, one license for oil and gas production, and four investment agreements. The number of licences appear to differ in the initial and updated versions of the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report. The links to license registers on various ministries’ websites provided in the report were not accessible at the time of this Validation. As a result, the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report remains the only publicly available source of this information. The license information provided in the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report discloses the following data points: • license holder • date of application • license number • duration of license (from, until) • commodity being produced • size and • geographical location of license areas. However, dates of application are not available for some licenses and the coordinates of the allocated license areas are not disclosed. Although the coordinates of the license areas are not given due to the restrictions under the Law “On State secret”, consulted stakeholders emphasised the progress in disclosing the information on the size and location for each license area.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 2.5 is partly met. Available documentation indicates that the objective of enabling the public to know who ultimately owns and controls the companies operating in the country’s extractive industries to help deter improper practices in the management of extractive resources has not been met, due to limited progress in establishing legal background for disclosure of beneficial ownership (BO) information, including information on politically exposed persons, and opportunities to strengthen timeliness of data disclosures. Stakeholder consultations highlighted progress in developing the Tajikistan’s EITI beneficial ownership portal and proposal for legislative amendments but emphasized the need for continued efforts to ensure timely and regular disclosure of relevant data. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council argued for an upgrade to ‘mostly met’, noting the efforts related to the development of the BO portal and plans to update the portal after publication of the 2022-2023 Tajikistan EITI Report. The Secretariat acknowledges these accomplishments but considers that the broader objective and significant aspects of the requirement have not been fulfilled. The EITI Council could build on the steps taken to further develop the legal framework and enhance disclosure practices on beneficial ownership transparency. While the definition of a beneficial owner is available in several laws, including the Law “On joint-stock companies” and the Law “On combating money laundering obtained by criminal ways, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”, existing regulations do not fully align with Requirement 2.5 of the 2019 EITI Standard and do not appear to require public disclosure of beneficial ownership information. Furthermore, based on available documentation, the definition of a politically exposed person (PEP) has been incorporated in the Tajik legislation but mechanisms for disclosure of such data are not clear. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report indicates that the EITI Council recommended amending the Law “On Subsoil” in 2021-2022. The proposed changes aimed to enhance beneficial ownership transparency by introducing clear definitions and mandatory disclosure requirements. Stakeholder consultations indicated that this law has been under discussion since then, and that, currently, the Law “On state registration of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs” serves as a legal basis requiring collection of beneficial ownership information of natural persons. Consulted stakeholders noted further plans to amend the legislation to lower the threshold from 25% to 0%. The state unified register on taxpayers provides limited company details, such as identification numbers (EIN and INN), full company name, date of registration and current status (for example, active). Additionally, the Ministry of Finance maintains a register of licenses, however, it was not available at the time of this Validation. The Tajikistan EITI beneficial ownership portal offers information on owners (names), countries (without clarification on whether country refers to nationality or residence), shares, PEP statuses and links to stock exchange listings, where relevant, for 40 extractive companies but does not include a reference year for disclosed beneficial ownership data. Review of the portal showed that in some cases data includes beneficial owners (natural persons) while in other cases legal owners are provided. Information on encouraged aspects of Requirement 2.5, such as national identity number, date of birth, residential or service address, and means of contact are not disclosed. Stakeholder consultations indicated that data were collected in 2021 and not updated since then. It also appears that the register does not include all extractive companies as the total number of companies was above 70 in 2021. It is not clear if the portal discloses beneficial owners for all extractive companies, especially those being partially owned by foreign companies. Challenges with accessing beneficial ownership information from foreign companies are highlighted in the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report. Names of the stock exchanges and company IDs have been disclosed for publicly-listed companies, however, no links to the stock exchange fillings appear to be included in the register. Based on available documentation, none of the portals analysed appear to disclose comprehensive information on the names of beneficial owners, their nationality, and their country of residence. It is also unclear if any PEPs were identified since no information appears to be provided in the respective column on the Tajikistan EITI beneficial ownership portal. Consulted stakeholders noted that information on PEPs was not collected and/or required to be disclosed as per beneficial ownership legislation. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council noted that information on natural persons was provided for private companies’ share, while the name of a relevant government entity was provided for the state’s share. The Secretariat acknowledges these comments but considers that natural persons are not provided for some companies, in particular for companies with foreign ownership, raising issues around comprehensiveness of disclosure. Available documentation does not appear to indicate if the EITI Council has analysed and/or established an approach for participating companies to assure the accuracy of the beneficial ownership information they provide. Available documentation does not specify entities that failed to disclose all or parts of the beneficial ownership information. It is also not clear if applicants for subsoil rights are required to submit beneficial ownership information. Consulted stakeholders from the government constituency confirmed that beneficial ownership information is requested from all applicants when companies apply for a license or any other subsoil use permit. While available documentation, including the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report, indicates that the working group under the EITI Council has assessed gaps and weaknesses in the disclosure of beneficial ownership information, the status of plans to overcome the identified challenges is not clear since they were submitted to relevant government entities in December 2022.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 2.6 is mostly met, as in the previous Validation. Available documentation indicates that the objective of ensuring an effective mechanism for transparency and accountability for well-governed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state participation more broadly through a public understanding of whether SOEs’ management is undertaken in accordance with the relevant regulatory framework has been mostly met. The disclosed information, despite gaps, provides some degree of understanding of state participation with the disclosure of a list of SOEs and subsidiaries, level of ownership, and some information on applicable rules and practices for state participation. The report also provides clarity on the absence of reinvestments, third-party financing, loans and guarantees during the period under review. There is scope to comprehensively address Requirement 2.6, including rules for transfer of funds between SOEs and the state, reinvestment, third-party financing, information on terms attached to the state’s share and rules for providing loans and loan guarantees. There is also limited diagnostic of whether practices follow rules related to state participation. Consulted stakeholders expressed limited views related to the progress on addressing the objective of Requirement 2.6 and are invited to provide further feedback to the draft assessment. On the definition SOEs, according to the Law “On state enterprises” and EITI reporting, there are two main types of SOEs – state unitary enterprises and state enterprises with the right of operational management. The Secretariat’s understanding is that both types entail 100% state ownership. At the same time, there appear to be other types of companies, such as open joint-stock companies and limited liability companies, which could also be majority state-owned and engaged in extractive activities on behalf of the government. On the materiality of state participation available documentation does not confirm if state participation gave rise to material revenue in the period of 2019-2021. At the same time, the report notes 28 companies with state participation which represented a significant share of all companies operating in the extractive industries in the period under review. In addition, the 2015-2016 Tajikistan EITI Report indicates that SOEs provided significant contribution to the total production volumes in the extractive sector in 2016. The Secretariat’s understanding is that the situation remained to be similar in 2019-2021. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides a list of 28 companies with state participation and notes that 24 of them had 50+1% state ownership and one company had 50% state ownership in the period under review. It is not clear if all companies in the list had exploration and/or production license or otherwise substantially engaged in the extractives industries. For example, the State Commission of the Republic of Tajikistan on Mineral Reserves appears to be primarily involved in accounting of reserves of mineral deposits and carrying out relevant examinations. It is also not clear if the EITI Council agreed a specific threshold for Requirement 2.6. Based on the threshold set for reconciliation, it appears that there were three material companies with majority state ownership – JV LLC Aprelevka (51%), Fon-Yagnob mine (100%), OJSC Sementi Tochik (100%). In addition, one material company – CJSC Talco Gold – was 50% state-owned in the period under review. At the same time, the MoF’s monitoring of large-scale SOEs appears to include JV LLC Aprelevka (51%), JV LLC Zerafshan (30%) and CJSC Talco Gold (50%). Some consulted stakeholders noted that there were five material SOEs in 2019-2021 – JV LLC Aprelevka (51%), Fon-Yagnob mine (100%), OJSC Sementi Tochik (100%), CJSC Talco Gold (50%) and JV LLC Zeravshan (30%). The EITI Council is invited to confirm the list of all SOEs that hold exploration and/or production license and the list of material SOEs for 2019-2021 EITI reporting. Applicable legislation There are several laws and regulations, such as the Law “On state enterprises”, the Law “On joint-stock companies”, the Tax Code, which apply to companies that are majority state-owned. The relationship between these laws and degree of their harmonisation regarding state participation in the extractive sector remains unclear. There is a need for EITI reporting to state more clearly what the prevailing rules governing state participation are for different types of SOEs and whether any significant reforms are planned. Subsidiaries and joint ventures The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report includes subsidiaries and joint ventures in the list of companies with state ownership. Consulted stakeholders from the government constituency confirmed that the list was comprehensive. Transfers of funds between the SOE(s) and the state The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report does not appear to clarify if state can transfer funds to SOEs and whether this happened in practice in the period under review. The report provides a table with subsidies for exploration activities under the Main Department of Geology, but it does not appear that the list reflects any state transfers to SOEs. Consulted stakeholders from the government constituency noted that there was no practice of state transfers to SOEs in the period under review. Available documentation does not comprehensively comment on rules and practices for dividend payments. At the same time, the previous Validation report notes that “wholly state-owned companies are required to pay 10% in dividends to the state and local budgets”, and “all joint-stock companies with a state share of 100% or less should agree on the payment of dividends at least once a year”. It is not clear whether these rules were applicable and whether any dividends were paid in the period under review, except for the amounts provided for JV LLC Zarafshan (30% state-owned in 2019-2021). Retained earnings The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that retained earnings are distributed by state unitary enterprises according to the SOE charter, but it is not clear what rules apply to other types of companies with significant state participation. EITI reporting does not provide any links or documentation to SOE charters and does not comment on whether SOEs retained earnings in practice in the period under review. The report notes that profits are distributed according to the share of ownership, however, does not appear to provide references to relevant legislation and information on actual practices in 2019-2021. Reinvestment The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that no reinvestment practices were observed during the reporting period. It is not clear if legislation allows it. Third-party financing The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that SOEs did not receive any third-party financing in the period under review. It is not clear if legislation allows it. Level of ownership (including changes) The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides a table that shows state ownership in extractive companies and notes that conditions for owning a state share are reflected in the charters of enterprises, investment agreements, concession agreements and production sharing agreements. However, such documents do not appear to be in the public domain. The report also indicates that there were no changes in state ownership in 2019-2021 and notes that such changes are usually reflected in the state unified register. Consulted stakeholders from the government constituency confirmed no changes in the level of ownership in the period under review. Loans or loan guarantees The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report that no guarantees or loans or loan guarantees were provided from the government to the SOEs during the reporting period. However, it is not clear if local legislation allows to provide loan and loan guarantees. The report does not comment on the existence of any loans or guarantees from the SOEs to extractive companies. Audited financial statements The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that local legislation provides for independent audit, but it is not clear which companies are required to undergo it. It is noted that audits adhere to auditing standards to provide an independent opinion on the accuracy and compliance of financial statements and related information with international or national accounting standards. In 2021, JV LLC Zarafshan and JV LLC Aprelevka were required to undergo audits. Furthermore, Articles 23 and 24 of Tajikistan’s Law “On Accounting and Financial Reporting” mandate that public interest entities, including large state enterprises, publish their financial statements and audit reports in the media. Transparency Validation template provides a link to a register of financial statements for large SOEs but the full texts of the audited financial statements are not available for all companies. For example, the information on JV LLC Aprelevka appears to be incomplete. The publication of financial statements is expected. With regard to encouraged aspects of this requirement, Tajikistan does not publicly describe the rules and practices related to SOEs’ operating and capital expenditures, procurement, subcontracting and corporate governance, such as composition and appointment of the Board of Directors, Board’s mandate and code of conduct.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.2 is not applicable. The Transparency template notes that this requirement is not applicable in Tajikistan. The Tax Code allows for the payment of taxes in kind (Article 311). Stakeholder consultations confirmed that this provision was not applied in the period under review. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report does not seem to provide any information on the in-kind revenues. Consulted stakeholders noted that the National Bank of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Finance buy majority of gold produced in Tajikistan based on international prices, such as the London Stock Exchange prices. In addition, the charter of the state enterprise Tilloy Tochik notes that all produced gold is transferred to the Treasury depository under the MoF. It is not clear if any gold is further resold to third parties.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.5 is partly met, which represents a regression compared to the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to ensure the traceability of payments and transfers involving SOEs and strengthen public understanding of whether revenues accruable to the state are effectively transferred to the state and of the level of state financial support for SOEs. Available documentation indicates that this objective has been not met due to limited information available to transactions related to state-owned enterprises. Further clarification of the applicability and scope of reporting on these matters is necessary. Available documentation provides incomplete information on Requirement 4.5. The Transparency template notes that “...the 2015-2016 EITI Report confirms that SOEs do not collect revenues from other extractive companies on behalf of the government. The report discloses information on dividends paid by 7 significant extractive industry SOEs. The 10% net profit payout was below the EITI Council materiality threshold and thus remained undisclosed.”. However, it is not clear if the same approach was applicable to 2019-2021 and whether reporting on Requirement 4.5 was requested in the period under review. It is not clear if SOEs made payments to the government from the operations they are involved in and if there were other transfers from SOEs to government or from government to SOEs.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 6.2 is partly met, which represents a regression compared to previous Validation. Available documentation indicates that the objective of disclosing SOE’s extractive-funded expenditures (QFEs) on behalf of the government to ensure accountability in their management has not been met. While the EITI Report provides information on quasi-fiscal expenditures for one SOE, the agreed definition and rationale for the scope of reporting are unclear. Given the importance of quasi-fiscal expenditures in the national priorities, there is potential to further enhance comprehensiveness of reporting and public debate on the topic. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report refers to the National Development Strategy of Tajikistan for 2030 which highlights the issue of quasi-fiscal expenditures and emphasises the role of increasing transparency and accountability through measures such as public disclosure of information, including quasi-fiscal expenditures in financial reporting, and enhancing parliamentary oversight and civil society participation in the budget process. Based on available documentation, it is not clear which definition of QFEs was approved by the EITI Council and which types of QFEs were considered for the 2019-2021 reporting cycle. The report refers to the analytical study on QFEs conducted in 2018, however, it is not clear if the EITI Council considered recommendations in the study. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that the reporting form on QFEs was approved in March 2023 (EITI Council protocol). Review of the form indicates that companies were requested to provide information on their quasi-fiscal expenditures, however, no specific definition or categorisation appears to be included in the form. According to EITI reporting, two material companies – OJSC Sementi Tochik and Mine Fon-Yagnob – were selected for providing information on QFEs. However, it is not clear why other material companies with significant state participation, such as JV LLC Aprelevka, were not included in the scope. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides the amount of QFEs for one reporting company and separate information on in-kind contributions of the same company. The QFEs cover financial support to low-income families, educational institutions, coal in kind, medical equipment for mitigation of the COVID-19 pandemic but does not provide information on the recipients. The Transparency template refers to the following link but it was not accessible at the time of this analysis. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council notes that 14 companies were considered state-owned, based on the Law “On state-owned enterprises”. Of these 14 companies, two were considered for disclosures of quasi-fiscal expenditures. The Secretariat acknowledges this information but maintains the score of ‘partly met’ given absence of a clear definition and an explanation rationale for the scope of reporting.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 3.2 is partly met, which represents a regression compared to the previous Validation. Available documentation indicates that the objective of ensuring public understanding of extractive commodity(ies) production levels and the valuation of extractive commodity output, as a basis for addressing production-related issues in the extractive industries has not been met due to limited availability of production volumes and values on the main commodities produced in Tajikistan, such as gold. Consulted stakeholders indicated legal challenges related to disclosure of data on precious metals and highlighted the ongoing steps aimed at addressing them. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report discloses production volumes and values for coal, oil, lead concentrate, zinc concentrate, antimony concentrate, copper concentrate and one more unspecified ore concentrate. It is not clear if this list is comprehensive as production data on, for example, precious metals have not been disclosed for 2019-2021. The Transparency template provides gold and silver production volume and value data as per previous reporting. Consulted stakeholders across all constituencies indicated that such data were considered to be confidential, according to the Law “On the state secrets”. Stakeholders highlighted that the EITI Council had requested to lift confidentiality clauses for production data on precious metals for the 2019-2021 fiscal years, but the request was still under consideration at the time of this Validation. Analysis of publicly accessible information (see here for example) indicated that some information on production of precious metals is available through media publications, however, it does not appear to provide comprehensive and disaggregated data on production of each of the precious metals in the period under review. The 2019-2021 EITI Report additionally provides production values for large-scale companies for aggregated categories (coal, oil and natural gas, non-energy raw materials, metal ores, other commodities). The report includes information on the main regions where production was concentrated in 2019-2021. The report includes sources of the production data but not information on how the production volumes and values disclosed in the EITI Report have been calculated.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 3.3 is mostly met, as in the previous Validation. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicate that the objective of ensuring public understanding of extractive commodity(ies) export levels and the valuation of extractive commodity exports, as a basis for addressing export-related issues in the extractive industries has been mostly met, given availability of some export data but considering opportunities to strengthen comprehensiveness of disclosures on precious metals. Consulted stakeholders indicated legal challenges related to disclosure of data on precious metals and highlighted the ongoing steps aimed at addressing them. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report and Transparency template provide export volumes and values for lead concentrate, zinc concentrate, antimony concentrate, copper concentrate and coal. It appears that export volumes exceeded production volumes in 2019-2021. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that majority of exports come from Sogd region. The report also specifies the main countries to which extractive commodities are exported. It is not clear if the list of exported commodities is comprehensive, considering that the list of all produced commodities could be specified further (see Requirement 3.2). Analysis of publicly accessible information identified that export data for precious metals is available through the UN Comtrade database. However, it is not clear if the EITI Council considered this source and comprehensiveness of data disclosed through it. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council noted that it considered that it was not required to provide detailed information on all exported extractive commodities. The EITI Standard requires comprehensive disclosure of all exported commodities which is key to meet the overall objective of this requirement. Consulted stakeholders across all constituencies confirmed that oil and gas were not exported in the period under review due to low production quantities that were primarily directed for domestic use. Consulted stakeholders across all constituencies indicated that export data on precious metals were considered to be confidential, according to the Law “On the state secrets”. Stakeholders highlighted that the EITI Council had requested to lift confidentiality clauses for production data on precious metals for the 2019-2021 fiscal years, but the request was still under consideration at the time of this Validation. The Transparency template provides partial data for export values for 2020 and 11 months of 2021; however, sources of this information are unclear. The Transparency template also provides a list of different sources where export data are available. However, it appears that relevant government portals provide either aggregated information for different sectors or data only on a particular commodity. It does not appear that any of the sources provides comprehensive and disaggregated information on all extractive commodities that were exported in 2019-2021. With regard to encouraged aspects to this requirement, the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report includes sources of the export data but information on how the export volumes and values in the EITI Report have been calculated does not appear to be disclosed.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.1 is mostly met, as in the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to ensure comprehensive disclosures of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining as the basis for detailed public understanding of the contribution of the extractive industries to government revenues. Available documentation indicate that this objective has been mostly met, although there is a need to clarify rationale for agreed materiality thresholds and provide assessment of significance of any omissions. Consulted stakeholders did not express any concerns related to addressing this requirement but noted challenges with data collection due to the perceived voluntary nature of reporting. Materiality thresholds The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that the materiality threshold of 1% from total tax and non-tax revenues was agreed for the fiscal years under review. The scoping study for 2019-2021 provides a list of all tax and non-tax payments for each fiscal year and respective % contribution to total revenues. The study demonstrates that 11 and ten revenue streams were material in 2019 and 2020-2021 respectively. Consulted stakeholders confirmed that all relevant tax and non-tax payments were considered. The Secretariat’s understanding is that the scope of payments is the same under the general and special tax regimes, with possibility of tax deductions for the special tax regime, but the EITI Council is invited to provide further information on any differences. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that the materiality threshold of 15m TJS and 10m TJS was agreed for 2021 and 2019-2020, with 14 and 13 companies considered to be material in 2021 and 2019-2020 respectively. The scoping study for 2019-2021 includes information on options considered but provides limited information on the rationale for establishing specific materiality thresholds. In particular, the study provides the number of companies with total revenues below TJS 10m, from TJS 10m to TJS 15m, from TJS 15m to TJS 20m and above TJS 20m as well as their contribution in absolute terms and as a percentage of total tax and customs revenues from all companies. The scope of material companies agreed for the 2019-2021 reporting represents over 95% of total tax and customs revenues. At the same time, the scoping study does not appear to clarify why different thresholds were set for different years. For example, if the threshold of TJS 10m was set for 2021, as for 2019-2020, then five more companies contributing to 2% of total tax and customs revenues would need to be considered in reporting. Consulted stakeholders did not express any concerns with regard to agreed thresholds, except for noting challenges with collecting information on dividends. The scoping study and annexes to it also provide lists of companies that were not included in the reconciliation coverage in 2019-2021. List of material revenue streams and their descriptions The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides a list of material revenue streams. It appears that their description could be found in relevant laws and previous reports, but relevant references do not appear to be provided. Material company reporting The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that three companies did not report for the 2021 fiscal year and four companies did not report for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The report clarifies the total amount of non-reported payments but does not comment on the significance of such omissions. The report also names the companies and provides amounts of tax and non-tax payments that were not reported by each company. Available documentation does not appear to confirm if all other material companies reported on all material revenue streams. Government reporting The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that four government agencies were included in the reconciliation exercise. However, available documentation such as the summary data file for 2019-2021, appear to provide information only from two government agencies. There appear to be no disaggregated disclosure to show how much revenues other agencies collected and no assessment of omissions. Full government revenues The summary data file for 2019-2021 provides information on total government revenues per government agency and each revenue streams. Presented information appear to include revenue streams that were considered to be not material in the reporting period. Encouraged aspect of the requirement It is not clear if the companies making material payments to government have publicly disclosed their audited financial statements, or the main items (i.e. balance sheet, profit/loss statement, cash flows) where financial statements are not available.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.3 is not applicable. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report does not contain information on infrastructure provisions and barter arrangements. The Transparency template notes that this requirement was not applicable in the period under review.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.4 is not applicable. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report contains limited information on transportation revenues. The report notes that “Mineral transportation costs were included in line 29 in the original version of the reporting form. This line should have included all transportation payments made by the state and state-owned companies. However, due to the absence of payments for 2019-2021 in this category related to the state or state-owned companies, in accordance with the EITI Requirement 4.4, this payment was excluded by the decision of the EITI Council dated 26 May 2023”. It is not clear if the EITI Council considered the oil and gas sector for this requirement. Requirement 4.4 was not applicable during the previous Validation. The EITI Council is invited to comment on the applicability of this requirement in the mining and petroleum sectors in 2019-2021.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.7 is partly met. The objective of this requirement is to ensure disaggregation in public disclosures of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining that enables the public to assess the extent to which the government can monitor its revenue receipts as defined by its legal and fiscal framework, and that the government receives what it ought to from each individual extractive project. Available documentation indicates that this objective has been not met due to limited progress on disaggregating financial data by project, by individual government entity and company. Consulted stakeholders expressed limited views on this requirement. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report does not appear to provide disaggregation for each company/government agency for each revenue stream. For example, Tables 3.2.31-33 disaggregate revenue streams by company in the first column, but the revenues are aggregated per category, i.e. tax payments, custom payments. The summary data file for 2019-2021 provides further disaggregation, however, comprehensiveness of reporting could be further strengthened (see Requirement 4.1). While the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report explains that the EITI Council adopted EITI’s project definition, it also states that this definition is not technically feasible in Tajikistan. Therefore, in effect, it appears that the EITI Council has not yet adopted an effective/appropriate definition of project. It is also not clear if the EITI Council has identified and disclosed data on revenue streams that are levied/could be disclosed by project.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.8 is mostly met, which represents a regression compared to the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to ensure that public disclosures of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining are sufficiently timely to be relevant to inform public debate and policy-making. Available documentation and stakeholder views indicate that this objective has been mostly met, considering the delay in preparation of the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report was approved (see EITI Council meeting minutes from May 2023) and published in May 2023, which is in line with the extension request approved by the EITI Board in July 2022 (Board decision 2022-34/BC-324). However, the country was previously temporarily suspended due to missing the deadline for the 2019 EITI Report. Consulted stakeholders noted various challenges related to timely preparation of the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report; however, also highlighted that the extended deadline was met and noted that EITI reporting provided a valuable source of extractive sector data.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.9 is mostly met, as in the previous Validation. The objective of this requirement is to ensure that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure the reliability of disclosures of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicate that this objective has been mostly met, given adopted methodology for the reconciliation of company payments and government revenues but noting the absence of a statement on the comprehensiveness and reliability of the financial disclosures. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report describes the methodology for the reconciliation of company payments and government revenues, including a clear reference to international standards. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides an overview of audit practices. For example, the report notes that extractive companies were not required to undergo external audit in the period under review and that government data was audited by the Chamber of Accounts. The report confirms that the EITI Council agreed that relevant companies and government agencies provided sign-off on submitted data. Coverage of the reconciliation exercise was set at 95% for 2019-2021 but, considering that some companies did not report, the % was lower in practice. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes companies within the agreed scope of the EITI reporting process that did not provide the requested information. However, it appears that such information is not presented for government entities and there is no clear assessment of significance of omissions, except for amounts. Available documentation does not appear to include an assessment on the comprehensiveness and reliability of the financial disclosures. Sources of contextual information are provided but not comprehensively.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 5.1 is fully met, as in the previous Validation. The objective of Requirement 5.1 is to ensure the traceability of extractive revenues to the national budget and ensure the same level of transparency and accountability for extractive revenues that are not recorded in the national budget. Available documentation and stakeholder consultations indicated that this objective has been fully met due to availability of relevant information. Tajikistan has demonstrated transparency through detailed descriptions of the budget process in the relevant laws such as Law “On state budget” and providing public access to simplified budget information via the ‘Citizens’ Budget’. Additionally, consulted stakeholders noted that Tajikistan currently uses a national revenue classification system and has committed to transitioning to the GFS system by 2025, which would enhance alignment with international standards. According to the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report, there have been no changes in the revenue distribution policies and legislation since the issuance of the 2015-2016 Tajikistan Report. The 2015-2016 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that all payments from the extractive industry are recorded in the central or local budgets. A detailed description of the budget process that includes legal basis, budget structure, stages of budget process, audit of state finances are provided in the 2015-2016 Tajikistan EITI Report. It also describes the public involvement in the discussion of the budget and mandatory publication of approved budget and information on its implementation in the media. A simplified state budget called ‘Citizens’ Budget’ is used to briefly describe income sources and expenditures to wider public and available on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 5.3 remains not assessed, given that several encouraged aspects of this requirement remain to be addressed by Tajikistan EITI. Available documentation does not appear to provide any information on revenue management and expenditures, noting that disclosure of such data is encouraged.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 4.6 is not applicable, as in the 2016 Validation. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that there were no changes in the legislation for extractive revenue distribution and refers to the 2015-2016 Tajikistan EITI Report for further details. The 2015-2016 Tajikistan EITI Report specifies the taxes – vehicle tax and property tax – that are paid by extractive companies to local budgets. The Transparency template notes that this requirement was not applicable in Tajikistan in 2019-2021, without further detail on the rational. The 2016 Validation noted varying stakeholder views on whether such payments are directed to the local or state budgets and concluded that such payments were not material and not applicable. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council re-iterated that subnational payments remained to be not applicable. Even though the Secretariat did not find specific documentation of the EITI Council discussion on the materiality and applicability of subnational payments, the scoping study for 2019-2021 (available here) indicates that relevant taxes were below the materiality threshold set for revenue streams (see Requirement 4.1). The EITI Council is advised to discuss materiality and applicability of subnational payments for each reporting year and clearly document its decision.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 5.2 is not applicable, as in the 2016 Validation. The EITI Council is invited to review the applicability of this requirement for each reporting year, including confirming that there were no mandatory material transfers between national and subnational government entities that were related to extractive sector revenues, such as royalty and signature bonus. The Transparency template confirms that subnational transfers exist in Tajikistan but notes that they are not sector-specific. The Law “On the state budget in 2021” provides revenue-sharing mechanism for distribution of the revenues between the state and local budgets, without disaggregation by sector.

The International Secretariat’s assessment is that Requirement 6.1 is mostly met, as in the previous Validation. The objective of Requirement 6.1 is to enable public understanding of extractive companies’ social and environmental contributions and provide a basis for assessing extractive companies’ compliance with their legal and contractual obligations to undertake social and environmental expenditures. Available documentation indicated that this objective has been mostly met. The EITI reporting includes some information on social expenditures and environmental payments. There remain to be opportunities to clarify applicability and disaggregation of mandatory social expenditures and strengthen disaggregation of environmental payments through clear categorisation of applicable revenue streams. Consulted stakeholders expressed varying views on whether social expenditures were mandatory or voluntary in the period under review and expressed interest in further work on strengthening disclosures on social and environmental expenditures. The Secretariat also acknowledges the EITI Council’s comments to the draft assessment that note the discretionary nature of social expenditures. Social expenditures According to the “Procedure for holding tenders for the subsoil use rights”, extractive companies are required to include contributions to social and economic development of the region as part of their financial proposals. However, according to available documentation, there do not appear to be any specific legal means to reporting and monitoring of implementation of such obligations. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council emphasised that contracts include information on the amount of signature bonus, commercial discovery bonus and royalty but do not include information on social expenditures (according to the “Rules for determining the size of the signature bonus, the size of the commercial discovery bonus and the conclusion of contracts for subsoil use”). The comments also note that investment agreements do not include provisions on social expenditures. At the same time, the 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report notes that social impact is one of the monitoring criteria for implementation of an investment agreement. It is not clear if other types of subsoil use agreements, such as PSAs, include any provisions on social expenditures. Available documentation notes that social expenditures were considered not mandatory in the period under review and, therefore, were requested to be unilaterally reported but were not reconciled. In its comments to the draft assessment, the EITI Council noted that local legislation does not include the concept of social obligations. Some consulted stakeholders noted that local government authorities monitored implementation of social obligations and that they were included in work plans of local governments. It was also noted that the initial amounts of social spendings were fixed but could be increased upon negotiations with local governments based on local needs. Although the subsoil tender legislation in Tajikistan requires extractive companies to contribute to regional social and economic development, there appear to be no clear mechanisms for reporting and monitoring these obligations. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report provides information on social expenditures for some material extractive companies, but relevant data are aggregated per company and not disaggregated by project and beneficiary. The report notes that such reporting covers voluntary expenditures, however, it is not clear if any of the provided amounts are part of the obligations agreed during the license process. The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report also provides information on the ongoing reforms, including planned amendments to the Law “On subsoil”. The suggested amendments stipulate that the government agencies are required to provide information on mandatory expenditures for education and social infrastructure under the EITI framework. Also, amendments note requirements for companies to provide information on execution of contractual obligations. Environmental payments The 2019-2021 Tajikistan EITI Report contains a table with aggregated mandatory environmental payments for waste, air and water per each year. Additionally, unilateral disclosures on total mandatory environmental payments to the Committee on Environmental Protection is provided for some material companies (per each company). While the report provides a comprehensive overview of relevant legislation, government agencies and main regulations, the EITI Council is invited to comment on the main revenue streams that were considered to be material in the period under review and comment on the agreed reporting approach.