February 1998

Source: Tashkent NARODNOYE SLOVO

Decree by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on additional measures to regulate import operations With the object of improving the regulation system of import operations and tightening contract and financial discipline while carrying them out, I decree:

To accept a proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, the Ministry of Macroeconomics and Statistics, and the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan to introduce a package of measures on 1 March 1998, to regulate the import of goods (work and services) through tariffs, and to liberalize the procedure for concluding import contracts and for supervising their execution in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The current procedure at authorized banks and custom houses for registering and supervising the execution of import contracts of corporate bodies and private individuals is to remain in place. It shall be established that only import contracts of economic entities that are not provided with foreign currency resources of their own are to be registered at the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations. It is specified that those imports at the Republic's customs borders which are not to be paid for in foreign currency are not subject to customs registration.

Such imports are placed in a bonded warehouse for a limited time, only upon the expiry of which if the appropriate documents are not presented are they to be returned to the supplier at the importer's expense. It shall be established that only the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the authorized banks have the right to give guarantees of payment for import contracts while carrying out international transactions.

Ministries, departments, and local administrations in the Republic of Uzbekistan are prohibited from giving foreign partners any guarantee of payment for imports. The Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, the Ministry of Finance, the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the authorized banks should strictly follow the set procedure for funding import contracts. In the interests of domestic consumer market protection, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan is within a week's time to revise:
the list of excisable imports, the excise duty rate and that of customs duties on imports;
the maximum quantity of goods that individuals can bring in without paying an excise duty.

Appendix 3 to the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. UP-1871, dated 10 October 1997, "On additional measures to encourage the exportation of goods (work and services)" is deemed invalid as of 1 March 1998. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan is within a week to adopt a resolution to implement this decree.

[Signed by] President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Islam Karimov
Tashkent city, 18th February 1998

This report is provided courtesy of the Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS)