Uzbekistan

16.04.2020

Information on mitigation measure COVID-19

Legal basis:

In order to prevent the pervasion and spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 into the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to ensure a favorable sanitary and epidemiological situation and protect public health, the following regulatory legal acts have been adopted:

- Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 23, 2020
No. 176 “On additional measures against the spread of coronavirus infection”;

- Order of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated January 29, 2020 No. P-5537
“On the formation of a Special Republican Commission for the preparation of a program
of measures to prevent the pervasion and spread of a new type of coronavirus in the
Republic of Uzbekistan”;

- Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 19, 2020 No. UP-5969
“On priority measures to mitigate the negative impact on the economy of the coronavirus
pandemic and global crisis phenomena”;

- Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 26, 2020
No. PP-4649 “On additional measures to prevent the widespread spread of coronavirus
infection in the Republic of Uzbekistan”;

- Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 27, 2020
No. PP-4662 “On additional measures to meet the needs of the population in medicines,
medical devices, medical equipment and essential goods”;

- Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated April 3, 2020 No. UP-5978
“On additional measures to support the population, sectors of the economy, and business
entities during the coronavirus pandemic”;

Special Republican Commission

In accordance with the Order of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated January 29,
2020 No. Р-5537, headed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a Special
Republican Commission was established to prepare a program of measures to prevent the
pervasion and spread of coronavirus in the Republic of Uzbekistan, the main tasks of which are
as follows:

- continuous analysis and monitoring of the global, regional and countrywide
epidemiological situation, forecasting trends in the spread and possible deterioration of
the epidemic situation of coronavirus in the country;

- organization of the necessary interaction and exchange of information with relevant
government agencies of the PRC and other interested countries, as well as international
organizations, with the aim of coordinating and making adjustments to actions to prevent
the spread of coronavirus;

- coordination of research on the problems of coronavirus, development and
implementation of modern and effective methods for the prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of this disease;

- formation of a reserve and timely provision of specialized healthcare institutions and the
population with diagnostic tools, antiviral drugs and personal protective equipment in the
required volumes;

- based on the study of international best practices, the organization of effective measures
for the timely diagnosis and comprehensive prevention of coronavirus in the country, as
well as the necessary assistance to citizens of the Republic of Uzbekistan temporarily
living in epidemically disadvantaged countries and found themselves in areas of increased
risk of infection with coronavirus;

- timely detection of signs of possible deterioration of the epidemic situation of coronavirus
with the subsequent implementation of a set of preventive and anti-epidemic measures
aimed at reducing the risk of disease and the provision of adequate medical care for
patients;

- the organization of effective sanitary-educational work involving modern media (television,
radio, the Internet, social networks, mobile operators and others) among the population to
explain the causes and conditions that contribute to the spread of coronavirus, as well as
methods for its prevention;

- in case of complication of the epidemic situation on the coronavirus, the preparation and
submission to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of proposals for urgent
measures aimed at preventing the pervasion and spread of coronavirus in the Republic of
Uzbekistan.

Customs formalities

Also, in accordance with the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated
March 27, 2020 No. PP-4662 “On additional measures to meet the population’s needs for
medicines, medical devices, medical equipment and essential goods”, it was established, as an
exception, to provide the rights of the Special Republican Commission to prepare a program of measures to prevent the importation and spread of coronavirus in the Republic of Uzbekistan:

- a decision was adopted for the duration of three months to give special privileges for
certain medicines and medical devices included in the official list of medicines and medical
products. The import of those products does not deal with Value-Added Tax (VAT), due
to the privileges approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet Ministers of February 25,
2011 No. 49 “On the regulation of the import of medicines and medical devices”;

- reduction to zero percent of the rates of customs duties and excise tax for a period of up
to three months when importing certain types of essential goods with the formation of their
list;

According to paragraph 1 of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated April 3, 2020 No. UP-5978 “On additional measures to support the population, sectors of the economy, and business entities during the coronavirus pandemic,” until December 31, 2020, zero customs duty and excise tax rates for food imports were established. Food commodities, hygiene products and mechanical ventilation apparatus, as well as building materials necessary for the construction of medical and quarantine institutions to combat coronavirus infection, shall be exempt from customs duties, including Value Added Tax (VAT).

In addition, in accordance with Articles 297 and 299 of the Customs Code of the Republic of
Uzbekistan, and Articles 246 and 284 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the goods
imported for the purpose of charitable assistance, including technical assistance, by states,
governments, international organizations are exempt from customs duties.

According to Appendix No. 3 of the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of
Uzbekistan dated November 15, 2005 No. 251 “On measures to improve the approval and
monitoring mechanisms for the implementation of investment projects, accounting and control of humanitarian aid cargoes and technical assistance equipment”, it was established that the customs clearance of goods imported as humanitarian aid, carried out in accordance with the law on the basis of the conclusion of the Secretariat on social development of the Cabinet of Ministers on affiliation indicated cargo to humanitarian aid.

Also, during the customs clearance of goods for the provision of technical assistance, it is
necessary to provide a conclusion on the belonging of the goods to technical assistance, which is issued by the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the basis of an analysis of the relevant agreements on the implementation of technical assistance projects on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Based on the foregoing, the application of privileges on imported goods as humanitarian aid or technical assistance will be carried out taking into account compliance with the above provisions.

Сoordination

According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 19, 2020
No. UP – 5969 “On priority measures to mitigate the negative impact on the industry and the
economy of the coronavirus pandemic and global crisis phenomena”, an interdepartmental
operational headquarters was established under the State Customs Committee to ensure
expedited passage of goods through border customs posts, their uninterrupted customs
clearance, as well as the issuance of permits for exported and imported goods. This operational headquarters includes the following organizations, institutions and agencies: Ministry of Transport, Border Services Agency, Ministry of Health, State Committee for Veterinary and Livestock Development, Standartization, metrology and certification agency, State Plants Quarantine Inspection.

Also, from April 1, 2020, a mechanism for customs clearance of imported food products was
introduced in an accelerated manner, including by issuing permits before the goods arrived on
the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

In addition, permits for customs clearance are provided through the “Single Window” customs
information system that meets the criteria for recommendations and guidelines for creating a
“Single Window” mechanism developed by the UN Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic
Business, as well as a “Single Window” compendium of the World Customs Organization.
The State Customs Committee, together with the Ministry of Health, State Security Service, State Veterinary Medicine, State Committee for Tourism, State Committee for Ecology, Uzbekistan Airports JSC, Uzbekistan Airways JSC and Uzbekistan Temir Yollari JSC, take effective measures to control and prevent the import of coronavirus into the Republic of Uzbekistan:

- Sanitary treatment of passengers (including transit passengers) arriving from areas
affected by the coronavirus through international airports and other customs posts;

- proper disinfection of a freight vehicle;

- if necessary, the tractor of a freight vehicle is replaced by a tractor that is not considered
a source of distribution of the coronavirus;

- providing relevant information and recommendations to the subjects of foreign economic
activity on the need to use the transportation of goods by rail (if possible);

- inspection of drivers of vehicles arriving from areas affected by coronavirus in accordance
with the International Health Regulations, and if suspicious cases are identified during the
inspection, immediate temporary isolation of the relevant person on the spot and
implementation of measures related to conducting an appropriate medical examination
and isolation of customs officers who have been in contact with them.

Border crossing through land post:

There are no restrictions on the export of goods, with the exception of medical and personal
protective equipment. The movement of export-import cargo is available through the following automobile post (including all international airports and border railway stations) during 24/7:

Afghanistan:
- Border Customs Post “Termiz” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Xayraton” (Afghanistan) (entry and
transit of foreign vehicles is restricted).
Turkmenistan:
- BCP “Alat” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Farap” (Turkmenistan).
Kyrgyzstan:
- BCP “Dustlik” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Dostuk” (Kyrgyzstan);
- BCP “Ferghana” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Kadamjay” (Kyrgyzstan);
- BCP “Uzbekistan” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Kizil-Kiya” (Kyrgyzstan);
Tajikistan – Border Customs Post (in relation to the movement of goods) operate
normally.
Kazakhstan:
- BCP “Daut-Ata” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Tajen” (Kazakhstan);
- BCP “Yallama” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “B.Konisbaeva” (Kazakhstan);
- BCP “Zangiota” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Kaplanbek” (Kazakhstan);
- BCP “Tashkent” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Kazigurt” (Kazakhstan);
- BCP “Gulistan” (Uzbekistan) – BCP “Atamaken” (Kazakhstan).

The travel restriction for road, rail and air transport introduced on 20 March 2020 for 40 days do not apply to freight transport. Source: https://mintrans.uz/ru/news/transportning-barcha-turlarida-xalqaro-yo-nalishlarda-yo-lovchi-tashish-to-xtatiladi

Government made a decision to create an operational headquarters to ensure expedited passage of goods through border customs posts, their uninterrupted customs clearance, as well as the issuance of permits for exported and imported goods; To introduce, starting from April 1, 2020, the mechanism for customs clearance of imported food products in an expedited manner, including by issuing permits before the goods arrive in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Source: https://mfa.uz/ru/press/library/2020/03/23848/

The Ministry of Transport has created a round-the-clock headquarters to receive appeals from carriers of the republic and quickly solve their problems.
Headquarters Phone Numbers:
short number 1167
phone number + 998 71-202-05-00 internal number 159. Source: https://mintrans.uz/ru/news/respublikamizda-faoliyat-yuritayotgan-avtotransport-korxonalariga-murojaat

A software has been developed on the website of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari JSC for processing and providing preliminary electronic information to customs authorities on goods transported by rail.
Starting from April 2 of this year, this provision officially comes into force and all necessary information about the product should be sent electronically to the customs authorities at the following link before sending it: https://pei.railway.uz