On Additional Measures to Ensure Accelerated Development of Entrepreneurial Activity, Comprehensive Protection of Private Property, and Quality Improvement of the Business Climate

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

On Additional Measures to Ensure Accelerated Development of Entrepreneurial Activity, Comprehensive Protection of Private Property, and Quality Improvement of the Business Climate

In order to ensure the accelerated development of small business and private entrepreneurship, further strengthening of legal mechanisms for the protection and guarantees of inviolability of private property, elimination of bureaucratic barriers to the development of entrepreneurship, improvement of the investment climate and business environment in the republic:

1. Determine as the most important priority of state policy and the primary task of state bodies in the field of further development of entrepreneurial activity the provision of greater freedom to small business and private entrepreneurship, radical reduction of interference by state bodies in their activities, ensuring early warning, increasing the effectiveness of prevention and non-allowance of offenses.

To state bodies, primarily law enforcement and controlling structures:

ensure unconditional implementation of the above requirement in their activities, as well as the principle of priority of rights and legitimate interests of subjects of entrepreneurship;

submit within two months in the established order based on critical analysis of their functions and powers justified proposals aimed at improving and increasing the effectiveness of measures to prevent, prophylaxis and non-allowance of offenses;

ensure strict compliance with the requirements of legislation on the responsibility of officials for illegal interference and hindrance of entrepreneurial activity, unjustified suspension of activities, as well as compensation directly from the guilty for damage caused to subjects of entrepreneurship.

2. Approve the Program of Comprehensive Measures to Ensure Accelerated Development of Entrepreneurial Activity, Comprehensive Protection of Private Property, and Quality Improvement of the Business Climate in the Republic of Uzbekistan according to the appendix.

Assign personal responsibility to the heads of ministries and departments, bodies of state power at the local level for the timely and quality execution of events provided for in the Program of Comprehensive Measures.

3. Establish that from January 1, 2017:

all types of unscheduled inspections of the activities of subjects of entrepreneurship are canceled, except for inspections related to the liquidation of a legal entity, as well as short-term inspections conducted exclusively by decision of the Republican Council for Coordination of Activities of Controlling Bodies on the basis of appeals from individuals and legal entities about facts of violations of legislation;

all types of counter-inspections of the activities of subjects of entrepreneurship are canceled, including those related to criminal cases;

subjects of entrepreneurship and their employees who commit offenses for the first time in the course of financial and economic activities are released from administrative and criminal liability, application of fines and financial sanctions (except for penalties), in case of voluntary elimination of violations committed within the terms established by legislation and compensation for material damage caused, except in cases causing harm to human life and health;

persons who commit offenses related to the implementation of illegal entrepreneurial activity for the first time are released from administrative and criminal liability in case of voluntary compensation for damage caused, registration as subjects of entrepreneurship and issuance of necessary permitting documents within one month from the day the offense is detected;

criminal punishment in the form of deprivation of the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity is not applied to subjects of entrepreneurship;

newly created production enterprises with foreign investments are granted the right to apply tax rates and other mandatory payments (excluding resource and customs payments) in effect on the date of their state registration for five years;

subjects of entrepreneurship are exempt from payment of state duty when submitting applications for the issuance of an executive sheet for compulsory execution of decisions of arbitral tribunals;

the requirement to register export contracts of subjects of entrepreneurship in the bodies of the state customs service is canceled, with retention of control and monitoring over foreign trade contracts by currency control bodies through the Unified Electronic Information System of Foreign Trade Operations;

issuance of a certificate of origin for goods exported from the Republic of Uzbekistan to the applicant who previously received a similar certificate for an identical product is carried out within one working day.

4. Recommend the Chambers of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan to consider the issue of creating the institution of the Authorized Representative for the Protection of Rights and Legitimate Interests of Subjects of Entrepreneurship at the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the following main powers:

participation in the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of development of entrepreneurial activity, protection of rights and legitimate interests of subjects of entrepreneurship;

provision of legal support to subjects of entrepreneurship during inspections of their activities;

study of the practical implementation of norms and requirements of legislation on guarantees of freedom of entrepreneurial activity;

assessment of the effectiveness of the impact of adopted normative legal acts on the implementation of entrepreneurial activity;

control over compliance with the rights and legitimate interests of subjects of entrepreneurship by state, controlling and law enforcement bodies, as well as bodies of state power at the local level.

5. The Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with interested ministries and departments within three months submit justified proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers aimed at:

further improvement of the quality and efficiency of tax administration, ensuring minimization of costs for collecting taxes and other mandatory payments, wide introduction of remote control and increasing the legal literacy of taxpayers;

implementation of advanced market mechanisms of currency regulation and exchange rate policy, stimulating the growth of the export potential of the republic, active attraction of direct foreign investments and increasing the competitiveness of domestic producers in external markets;

further perfection of legislation providing exhaustive legal grounds and criteria for the appointment and conduct of short-term inspections of the activities of subjects of entrepreneurship;

reduction of the number and duration of inspections by increasing the efficiency of desk control of the activities of subjects of entrepreneurship;

improvement of the legal basis for the activities of audit organizations and tax consultants to strengthen responsibility for the quality of services and accuracy of conclusions presented by them as one of the main mechanisms for preventing offenses and guarantees of stable operation of law-abiding subjects of entrepreneurship;

implementation of modern principles and mechanisms of regulation of banking activity, eradication and non-allowance of administrative interference in the activities of commercial banks by state bodies, primarily in credit policy;

elimination of barriers hindering the implementation of effective banking activity, as well as ensuring full realization of clients' rights to freely dispose of their own monetary funds.

6. The State Committee for Architecture and Construction, the State Committee for Nature Protection, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Agency "Uzstandart" jointly with interested ministries and departments within three months:

conduct an inventory of all technical requirements (sanitary, environmental, urban planning norms and rules, fire safety rules, standardization regulatory documents and technical regulations) and taking into account advanced foreign experience develop and adopt corresponding regulatory documents excluding ineffective, outdated and replacing market mechanisms norms;

ensure placement and constant updating of current regulatory documents in the field of technical regulation on their official websites in the World Wide Web Internet for use within the framework of rules and agreements concluded with international organizations and foreign states.

7. The Supreme Court, the Higher Economic Court, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with other interested ministries and departments within three months:

submit proposals on the phased transfer to judicial bodies of functions and powers of controlling bodies regarding the application of administrative penalties to subjects of entrepreneurship and their employees;

develop unified justified criteria and grounds for determining damage caused as a result of commission of economic crimes, as well as illegal interference in the activities of subjects of entrepreneurship.

8. The Prosecutor General's Office jointly with the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Security Service of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other interested ministries and departments within two months submit in the established order:

a draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Countering Corruption", aimed primarily at further strengthening the trust of citizens and entrepreneurs in state bodies, increasing the investment attractiveness of the republic, as well as prevention and prophylaxis of corruption offenses;

proposals for further liberalization of norms of criminal legislation related to the implementation of entrepreneurial activity;

proposals for amendments and additions to legislative acts providing for clear procedural regulation of the appointment, conduct and extension of inspections (audits) of financial and economic activities initiated by criminal cases, aimed primarily at ensuring the inviolability of private property, non-allowance of unjustified interference in the activities of subjects of entrepreneurship and suspension of their functioning.

9. The Higher Economic Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan within three months in order to ensure transparency and objectivity, reliable judicial protection of the rights of entrepreneurs ensure the development of a program providing for the phased implementation of mechanisms for audio and video recording of court hearings, as well as publication on websites of court decisions taken.

10. The Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Communications jointly with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other interested ministries and departments within one month submit to the Cabinet of Ministers proposals for expanding the List of State Services provided exclusively through unified centers for providing state services to subjects of entrepreneurship on the "one-stop shop" principle.

11. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Development of Information Technologies and Telecommunications, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with interested ministries and departments within three months based on critical study of normative legal acts for compliance with legislation on licensing procedures, licensing and guarantees of freedom of entrepreneurial activity submit to the Cabinet of Ministers proposals for the exclusion of outdated and not meeting modern requirements documents of a permitting nature and reduction of the terms of passage of permitting procedures.

12. Control over the execution of this Decree is assigned to the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan R.S. Azimov and Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan I.B. Abdullaev.

Acting President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sh. MIRZIYOYEV

Tashkent, October 5, 2016, No. UP-4848

APPENDIX to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated October 5, 2016 No. UP-4848

PROGRAM of comprehensive measures to ensure accelerated development of entrepreneurial activity, comprehensive protection of private property, and quality improvement of the business climate in the Republic of Uzbekistan

No. Name of Events Implementation Mechanism Deadlines Responsible Executors I. In the field of legal regulation of entrepreneurial activity 1.

Conducting a critical analysis of the functions and powers of state bodies, primarily law enforcement and control structures, and developing justified proposals aimed at improving and increasing the effectiveness of measures to prevent, proactively address, and avoid violations in the sphere of entrepreneurial activity.

Draft regulatory legal acts

November 2016

Ministries, agencies, and other state bodies

Ensuring strict compliance with the requirements of legislation on the liability of officials for illegal interference and obstruction of entrepreneurial activity, unjustified suspension of activities, as well as direct compensation of damages caused to entrepreneurial entities from the at-fault parties.

A package of measures

December 2016 Implementation of the package of measures is ongoing

Prosecutor General's Office, Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, interested ministries and agencies

Development of a draft law "On Countering Corruption," aimed primarily at further strengthening the trust of citizens and entrepreneurs in state bodies, increasing the investment attractiveness of the republic, as well as preventing and proactively addressing corrupt violations.

Draft law

November 2016

Prosecutor General's Office, Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, interested ministries and agencies

Development of a draft law "On Public-Private Partnership," providing for:

the concept, tasks, and main directions of PPP;

the circle of PPP participants, their rights and obligations;

guarantees of compliance with the rights and legitimate interests of PPP participants, transparency, and efficiency of the use of funds of entrepreneurial entities;

priority spheres for the implementation of PPP projects;

the procedure and conditions for stimulating PPP participants, as well as control in this sphere.

Draft law

Q3 2017

Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information Technologies, State Committee for Competition, Higher Economic Court, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, interested ministries and agencies

Development of a draft law "On State Procurements," providing for:

a transparent and open mechanism for carrying out state procurements on a competitive basis, measures to prevent corruption in this sphere;

broad access of small business entities and private entrepreneurs to state procurements;

expansion of the circle of entities for which the application of the state procurement system is mandatory, including the inclusion of state-owned enterprises, as well as commercial organizations with a state share of 50 percent or more;

creation of an independent and effective system and procedures for appeals for participants in state procurements;

further development of electronic procurements, organization of a unified database for statistical analysis of results, and necessary procurement parameters.

Draft law

Q2 2017

Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, State Committee for Competition, Ministry of Information Technologies, Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Khokimiyats of regions and the city of Tashkent

Development of a draft law "On Administrative Procedures," providing for:

improving the organization of managerial activities of state bodies;

ensuring the effective provision of state services by adopting justified and prompt decisions;

implementation of modern procedures for the realization of rights and legitimate interests of legal and natural persons.

Draft law

Q2 2017

Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, State Tax Committee, State Customs Committee, interested ministries and agencies

Improvement and simplification of the system for state registration of entrepreneurial entities via the worldwide information network Internet.

Draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers

Q1 2017

Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, State Committee for Competition, Ministry of Information Technologies, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, State Tax Committee

Consideration of the issue of creating the institution of the Authorized Representative for the Protection of Rights and Legitimate Interests of Entrepreneurial Entities at the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the following main powers:

participation in the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of development of entrepreneurial activity, protection of rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurial entities;

provision of legal support to entrepreneurial entities during inspections of their activities;

study of the practical implementation of norms and requirements of legislation on guarantees of freedom of entrepreneurial activity;

evaluation of the effectiveness of the impact of adopted regulatory legal acts on the implementation of entrepreneurial activity;

control over the observance of rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurial entities by state, control, and law enforcement bodies, as well as local state power bodies.

Draft law "On the Authorized Representative of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the Protection of Rights and Legitimate Interests of Entrepreneurial Entities (Ombudsman)"

Q1 2017

Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, Ministry of Justice, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Finance, Chamber of Commerce and Industry

II. In the sphere of reducing inspections of entrepreneurial entities and preventing unjustified interference in their activities

Cancellation of all types of unscheduled inspections of the activities of entrepreneurial entities, except for inspections related to the liquidation of a legal entity, as well as short-term inspections conducted exclusively by decision of the Republican Council for Coordination of Control Bodies' activities based on appeals from natural and legal persons regarding facts of violations of legislation.

Draft regulatory legal acts

December 2016

State Tax Committee, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, interested ministries and agencies

Cancellation of all types of reciprocal inspections of the activities of entrepreneurial entities, including in criminal cases.

Draft regulatory legal acts

December 2016

State Tax Committee, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, interested ministries and agencies

Clear procedural regulation of the appointment, conduct, and extension of inspections (audits) of financial and economic activities in cases of initiated criminal proceedings, aimed primarily at ensuring the inviolability of private property, preventing unjustified interference in the activities of entrepreneurial entities, and suspending their functioning.

Draft law

November 2016

Prosecutor General's Office, Supreme Court, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, interested ministries and agencies

Creation of public consultative councils at state bodies, including control and law enforcement bodies, including representatives of entrepreneurial entities and their associations in their composition.

Departmental acts

December 2016

Ministries, agencies, and other state bodies

III. In the sphere of further liberalization of the liability of entrepreneurial entities

Establishment of the procedure for exemption from administrative and criminal liability, application of fines and financial sanctions (except for penalties) for entrepreneurial entities and their employees who commit violations for the first time in the course of financial and economic activities, in case of voluntary elimination of violations within the terms established by legislation and compensation for material damage caused, except in cases of harm to human life and health.

Draft law

December 2016

Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, State Tax Committee, State Customs Committee, interested ministries and agencies

Establishment of the procedure for exemption from administrative and criminal liability of persons who commit violations for the first time related to the implementation of illegal entrepreneurial activity, in case of voluntary compensation of damage caused, registration as entrepreneurial entities, and issuance of necessary permit documents within one month from the day the violation is detected.

Draft law

December 2016

Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, State Tax Committee, State Customs Committee, interested ministries and agencies

Establishment of the procedure for not applying criminal punishment in the form of deprivation of the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity to entrepreneurial entities.

Draft law

December 2016

Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, State Tax Committee, State Customs Committee, interested ministries and agencies

Establishment of unified and justified criteria and grounds for determining damage caused as a result of committing economic crimes, as well as unjustified interference in the activities of entrepreneurial entities.

Draft resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court

December 2016

Supreme Court, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, State Tax Committee, State Customs Committee, interested ministries and agencies

Development of proposals for further liberalization of criminal legislation norms related to the implementation of entrepreneurial activity.

Draft law

November 2016

Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Justice, Supreme Court, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, State Tax Committee, State Customs Committee, interested ministries and agencies

IV. In the sphere of improving the financial system, as well as the taxation and customs system

Submission of justified proposals aimed at:

further improvement of the quality and efficiency of tax administration, ensuring minimization of costs for collecting taxes and other mandatory payments, wide implementation of remote control, and increasing the legal literacy of taxpayers;

implementation of advanced market mechanisms for currency regulation and exchange rate policy, stimulating the growth of the republic's export potential, active attraction of direct foreign investment, and increasing the competitiveness of domestic producers in external markets;

further improvement of legislation providing exhaustive legal grounds and criteria for the appointment and conduct of short-term inspections of the activities of entrepreneurial entities;

reduction of the number and duration of inspections by increasing the efficiency of desk control of the activities of entrepreneurial entities;

improvement of the legal basis for the activities of audit organizations and tax consultants to strengthen liability for the quality of services and the accuracy of the conclusions they provide as one of the main mechanisms for preventing violations and guaranteeing stable activity of law-abiding entrepreneurial entities;

implementation of modern principles and mechanisms for regulating banking activities, eradication and prevention of administrative interference in the activities of commercial banks by state bodies, primarily in credit policy;

elimination of barriers hindering effective banking activities, as well as ensuring the full realization of clients' rights to freely dispose of their own monetary funds.

Draft regulatory legal acts

December 2016

Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, State Tax Committee, Ministry of Economy, interested ministries and agencies

Development and implementation of a package of measures aimed at further expanding cashless money circulation, primarily by increasing the number of terminals and plastic cards.

Package of measures

December 2016

Central Bank, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, commercial banks

Granting newly created production enterprises with foreign investments the right to apply tax rates and other mandatory payments (excluding resource and customs payments) that were in effect on the date of their state registration for five years.

Draft law

December 2016

Ministry of Finance, State Tax Committee, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade

Exemption of entrepreneurial entities from payment of state duty when submitting applications for the issuance of an enforcement sheet for the compulsory execution of arbitral court decisions.

Draft law

December 2016

Ministry of Finance, State Tax Committee, Ministry of Economy, Higher Economic Court

Cancellation of the requirement for entrepreneurial entities to register export contracts with state customs service bodies, except for contracts for the export of goods provided for in Appendices Nos. 1, 2, and 4 to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated October 10, 1997, No. UP-1871 "On Additional Measures to Stimulate the Export of Goods (Works, Services)," with the preservation of control and monitoring of foreign trade contracts by currency control bodies through the Unified Electronic Information System of Foreign Trade Operations.

Draft regulatory legal act

December 2016

Ministry of Information Technologies, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, State Customs Committee, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance

Establishment of a procedure according to which the issuance of a certificate of origin for goods exported from the Republic of Uzbekistan to the applicant, who previously received a similar certificate for an identical product, is carried out within one working day.

Draft regulatory legal act

December 2016

Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Agency "Uzstandart," JSC "Uzbekekspertiza," interested ministries and agencies

Reduction of the fee for customs clearance of goods placed in the customs regime "export" outside the places of their implementation by half compared to the current rate (from 10% to 5% of the MRPZ).

Draft regulatory legal act

December 2016

Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, State Customs Committee, Ministry of Economy

V. In the sphere of strengthening judicial protection of entrepreneurs, improving conditions for doing business, increasing investment attractiveness, and the international rating of the republic

Development and submission of proposals for the phased transfer of functions and powers of control bodies to apply administrative penalties to entrepreneurial entities and their employees to judicial bodies.

Draft regulatory legal act

December 2016

Supreme Court, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Prosecutor General's Office, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, interested ministries and agencies

Development of a program providing for the phased implementation of mechanisms for audio and video recording of court sessions, as well as the publication of court decisions on websites, aimed at ensuring transparency and objectivity, and reliable judicial protection of entrepreneurs' rights.

Draft Program

Implementation of the Program

December 2016 2017-2018

Higher Economic Court, Ministry of Information Technologies, Ministry of Finance

Improvement of the interdepartmental information exchange mechanism for the effective operation of the state service provision system on the "one-stop-shop" principle.

Package of measures

Q4 2017

Ministry of Information Technologies, Ministry of Justice, interested ministries and agencies, Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Khokimiyats of regions and the city of Tashkent

Development of comprehensive measures for the development of engineering-communication and transport infrastructure of cities (districts) to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity, gas, and water to entrepreneurial entities.

Package of measures

Q1 2017

Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, State Committee for Architecture and Construction, JSC "Uzbekenergo," JSC "Uzbekneftegaz," JSC "Uzbektransgaz," JSC "Uzavtoyul," Agency "Uzkommunxizmat," interested ministries and agencies, Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Khokimiyats of regions and the city of Tashkent

Increasing the transparency of the passage of permitting and licensing procedures, optimizing their number and consideration terms, including to exclude the possibility of forming corruptogenic factors and eradication of facts of bureaucracy.

Submission of justified proposals for the cancellation of requirements for the validity period of certain types of licenses.

Draft regulatory legal acts

Q1 2017

Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, State Committee for Competition, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, interested ministries and agencies

Development of proposals to supplement the List of State Services provided exclusively through unified centers for the provision of state services to entrepreneurial entities on the "one-stop-shop" principle.

Draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers

December 2016

Ministry of Information Technologies, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, State Tax Committee, interested ministries and agencies

Creation of a unified website on the activities of "one-stop-shop" centers, integrated with the EPIGU (Unified Portal of Interactive State Services), including:

general information on the activities of centers and the list of provided state services;

standard samples of constituent documents (by organizational-legal forms);

an exhaustive list of documents provided, necessary for obtaining the service, information on cost, payment procedure, and bank details (for paid services);

electronic resource "personal cabinet of the entrepreneurial entity" (by integrating the website with EPIGU) for interaction with state bodies when receiving state services.

Draft regulatory legal act

Q3 2017

Ministry of Information Technologies, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, interested ministries and agencies

Acceleration of the transition to electronic form of main procedures for providing state services within the "Electronic Government" system by:

accelerating the integration with the "License" information system complex of databases of authorized state bodies carrying out registration, issuance of licenses, and other permitting procedures for entrepreneurial entities;

completion by the end of 2017 of the transition to an interactive basis for procedures for the provision of land plots and issuance of construction permits, registration of property rights, and connection to engineering-communication networks;

phased integration through the interdepartmental integration platform of the "Solik" and "Bojkhona" information system complexes, with the possibility of passing all procedures, providing state services, and making payments for transactional services in electronic form on the "one-stop-shop" principle.

Package of measures

Q4 2017

Ministry of Information Technologies, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, State Tax Committee, State Customs Committee, Agency "Uzkommunxizmat," interested ministries and agencies

Widespread implementation of the interdepartmental information system "One Stop Shop" when issuing certificates of origin for goods, veterinary, phytosanitary, ecological, sanitary-epidemiological conclusions, providing entrepreneurial entities with the opportunity for interactive tracking of the process of passing permitting procedures.

Draft regulatory legal act

Q1 2017

State Customs Committee, Agency "Uzstandart," Ministry of Information Technologies, Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Ministry of Health, State Committee for Environmental Protection

Implementation of interactive electronic services provided by JSC "Uzbekekspertiza" to entrepreneurial entities in the course of export-import operations by integrating on the Unified Portal of Interactive State Services of the Republic of Uzbekistan for:

certification of the origin of goods;

issuance of a conclusion on the classification of imported technological equipment and spare parts to it, as well as components, raw materials, and materials into the category used in the technological process in the production of localized products.

Draft regulatory legal act

Q1 2017

Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade, Ministry of Information Technologies, State Customs Committee, Ministry of Economy

Further stimulation of the development of youth entrepreneurship by:

assistance from state bodies in organizing youth entrepreneurship;

provision of preferential loans to involve youth in entrepreneurial activity;

training of youth in the basics of entrepreneurial activity, development of cooperation between educational institutions and employers on a contractual basis;

development and implementation of programs to support youth entrepreneurship.

Package of measures

Ongoing

Youth Union of Uzbekistan, Central Bank, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, interested ministries and agencies

Conducting an inventory of all technical requirements (sanitary, environmental, urban planning norms and rules, fire safety rules, normative documents on standardization, and technical regulations) and, taking into account advanced foreign experience, developing and adopting corresponding regulatory documents excluding inefficient, outdated, and market-replacing norms.

Draft regulatory acts

December 2016

State Committee for Architecture and Construction, State Committee for Environmental Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Agency "Uzstandart," Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, GI "Sanoatgeokontekhnazorat," interested ministries and agencies

Ensuring the placement and constant updating of current regulatory documents in the field of technical regulation on official websites in the worldwide information network Internet to provide unrestricted and free access to them.

Package of measures

December 2016

State Committee for Architecture and Construction, State Committee for Environmental Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Agency "Uzstandart," Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, GI "Sanoatgeokontekhnazorat," ministries and agencies

Organization of a cycle of interactive TV programs to explain to the population, primarily entrepreneurial entities, the procedure for passing procedures related to the organization and conduct of entrepreneurial activity, by creating on the "Uzbekiston" NTRK channel a permanently operating program "Time of the Entrepreneur" ("Tadbirkor davri").

Cycle of TV programs

Ongoing

NTRK, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Justice, interested ministries and agencies

Improvement of the procedure for the appointment and conduct of inspections in the process of construction and installation works by categories of complexity (risk) of construction objects, providing for:

specific criteria for the appointment of inspections taking into account categories of complexity (risk);

procedure and terms for the conduct of inspections (exercise of supervisory functions);

liability of parties based on the results of conducted inspections.

Draft regulatory legal act

Q2 2017

State Committee for Architecture and Construction, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice

Further improvement of the mechanism for connecting entrepreneurial entities to electrical and gas grids on a "turnkey" basis by establishing:

terms and costs for the development of APZ (Part II);

procedure, terms, and costs for the development of a topographic map;

procedure for determining the contractual cost of the object for concluding a contract.

Development of a "guiding document" for the preparation of contractual and estimated cost of the object when connecting entrepreneurial entities to electrical and gas grids on a "turnkey" basis, providing for:

minimum other costs (by actual costs) in contractual and estimated documentation;

maximum staff numbers for each territorial unit necessary to perform the set tasks.

Establishment of a procedure for the implementation of an energy supply monitoring mechanism (based on SAIDI and SAIFI indices), including unscheduled outages, accounting for the total duration and frequency of unscheduled outages, as well as the restoration of electricity supply during unscheduled outages, with constant updating of monitoring results on the official website of JSC "Uzbekenergo".

Draft regulatory legal act

December 2016

JSC "Uzbekenergo," JSC "Uzbekneftegaz," Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, State Committee for Architecture and Construction

Increasing the term for entrepreneurial entities to use foreign currency purchased at the interbank trading session from 7 to 15 days.

Draft regulatory legal act

December 2016

Central Bank, Ministry of Justice

Working out jointly with the International Finance Corporation the issue of attracting an international credit bureau to the founders of the credit bureau "Credit-Information Analytical Center" to improve the quality of credit-information services.

Package of measures

Throughout 2017

Central Bank, Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications, Association of Banks of Uzbekistan (appended in the edition of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated September 14, 2017 No. UP-5191 — SZ RU, 2017, No. 37, Art. 982) Submit comments on the document Listen to audio Get a reference from a document element Submit comments on the document Listen to audio Get a reference from a document element COMMENTARY Submit comments on the document Listen to audio Get a reference from a document element k Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Additional Measures to Ensure Accelerated Development of Entrepreneurial Activity, Comprehensive Protection of Private Property, and Qualitative Improvement of the Business Climate" Submit comments on the document Listen to audio Get a reference from a document element Submit comments on the document Listen to audio Get a reference from a document element The adopted Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Additional Measures to Ensure Accelerated Development of Entrepreneurial Activity, Comprehensive Protection of Private Property, and Qualitative Improvement of the Business Climate" is aimed, first of all, at further strengthening the legal protection of private property, creating favorable conditions and comprehensive support for small business and private entrepreneurship, increasing the investment attractiveness of the republic, and signifies a transition to a qualitatively new level of state policy in this area.

In particular, the Decree as a key priority and primary task of state bodies enshrines "providing greater freedom to small business and private entrepreneurship, a radical reduction in interference in their activities with a concentration of efforts on early prevention, increasing the effectiveness of prevention, and preventing violations." For these purposes, state bodies, primarily law enforcement and control structures, are instructed to:

ensure the unconditional implementation of established requirements in their activities, as well as the principle of priority of rights and legitimate interests of business entities, in connection with which they must critically review their functions and powers;

ensure strict compliance with the requirements of legislation on the liability of officials for illegal interference and obstruction of entrepreneurial activity, its unjustified suspension, as well as the compensation of damages caused to business entities directly from the guilty parties.

This norm obliges state bodies to apply not only the strictest measures of disciplinary, administrative, or criminal liability, but also to ensure the collection of damages caused to business entities directly from the guilty employees.

The implementation of these measures is aimed at preventing the initiation and conduct of illegal inspections, especially cases of unjustified suspension of business entities' activities and causing losses due to unlawful actions of state body employees.

The Decree establishes a number of fundamentally new mechanisms of state control aimed at ensuring reliable legal guarantees against unjustified interference in the activities of business entities.

In particular, starting from January 1, 2017, unprecedented measures are introduced, such as the cancellation of all types of:

– unscheduled inspections of business entities' activities, except for inspections related to the liquidation of a legal entity, as well as short-term inspections conducted exclusively by decision of the Republican Council for Coordination of Control Bodies' activities based on appeals from individuals and legal entities regarding facts of violations of legislation;

– counter-inspections of business entities' activities, including in criminal cases.

Thus, control bodies no longer have the right to initiate unscheduled inspections. At the same time, in order to ensure legal mechanisms for protecting the rights and interests of citizens, a limited possibility remains for conducting short-term inspections only based on appeals from individuals and legal entities regarding facts of violations of legislation. Such an inspection can be conducted exclusively by decision of the Republican Council, and its duration is limited to one working day.

Along with this, continuing the course on the liberalization of administrative and criminal legislation, the Decree provides for such radically new measures as the exemption from all types of liability of business entities and their employees who commit violations for the first time in the course of financial and economic activities, as well as persons who carried out entrepreneurial activities without state registration, in the event of their compensation for damages caused and voluntary elimination of the consequences of violations within established timeframes.

In addition, a ban is established on applying criminal punishment in the form of deprivation of the right to engage in entrepreneurial activity with respect to business entities.

These norms not only exclude double punishment of business entities, but also provide citizens who have committed violations for the first time and made amends for their guilt the opportunity to continue their entrepreneurial activities without negative consequences, which is also intended to stimulate their business activity.

In this regard, corresponding changes and additions will be made to the Criminal Code, the Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Administrative Liability, the Tax Code, and a number of other laws.

To increase the investment attractiveness of the republic, newly created production enterprises with foreign investments are granted the right to apply tax rates and other mandatory payments in effect on the date of their registration for a period of five years.

It should be noted that this benefit applies to all enterprises with foreign investments regardless of the amount of invested funds.

In order to strengthen parliamentary control over the implementation of laws in the field of protection of rights and legitimate interests of business entities, the creation of the institution of the Ombudsman for the Protection of Rights and Legitimate Interests of Business Entities at the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan is planned.

As foreign experience shows, this institution plays an important role in ensuring the legal protection of business entities, representing their interests in relations with state structures.

In order to practically implement the provisions of the Decree , a Program of Comprehensive Measures has been approved, providing for the implementation of 42 specific measures in five most priority areas for the accelerated development of entrepreneurial activity, comprehensive protection of private property, and qualitative improvement of the business climate.

In particular, within the framework of improving the legal basis for combating corruption, reducing administrative barriers in the interaction between the state and business, ensuring openness and transparency in the use of state resources, the adoption of a whole package of laws is planned, including laws "On Countering Corruption," "On Administrative Procedures," "On State Procurement," and "On Public-Private Partnership," based on generally recognized international standards.

In accordance with the Program, changes and additions will be made to the Law "On State Control of the Activities of Economic Entities," the Criminal Procedure Code and other regulatory legal acts to establish clear legal regulation of the procedure for appointing and conducting inspections in criminal cases, unified and transparent mechanisms.

The implementation of this measure will eliminate the causes and conditions contributing to illegal interference in the activities of business entities, including within the framework of the investigation of criminal cases.

In addition, the Program provides for the development of proposals for further liberalization of the norms of criminal legislation related to the implementation of entrepreneurial activities, the establishment of unified criteria and grounds for determining damages caused as a result of committing crimes, as well as illegal interference in the activities of business entities.

In the field of improving the taxation system and customs affairs, increasing the investment attractiveness and international rating of the republic, the Program envisages measures for the development of proposals and regulatory legal acts aimed at:

implementation of advanced market mechanisms of currency regulation and exchange rate policy, modern principles and mechanisms of banking activity regulation, elimination of barriers hindering the implementation of effective banking activity;

further improvement of the quality and efficiency of tax administration;

cancellation of the requirement for registration of export contracts of business entities with customs authorities;

improvement of the legal basis for the activities of audit organizations and tax consultants to strengthen responsibility for the quality of services and the accuracy of the conclusions they provide, as one of the main mechanisms for preventing violations and guaranteeing stable activities of law-abiding business entities.

The Program has planned measures to strengthen judicial protection of the rights and legitimate interests of business entities by gradually transferring to courts the functions and powers of control bodies to apply administrative penalties with respect to business entities and their employees.

The implementation of this measure is intended to eliminate the practice where a control body that has conducted an inspection of a business entity independently considers a case of an administrative offense, which naturally affects the impartiality and objectivity of the consideration of administrative cases.

The Program also includes measures for the implementation in the system of economic courts of mechanisms for audio and video recording of court sessions, as well as publication of adopted decisions on websites, exemption from payment of state duty by business entities when filing applications for the issuance of an enforcement order for the compulsory execution of decisions of an arbitral tribunal.

Within the framework of implementing the "Electronic Government" system, a complex of measures is planned for the accelerated development of information and communication technologies in the activities of state bodies, expanding contactless forms of interaction between business entities and authorized bodies. In particular, the Program provides for measures to expand the list of state services provided exclusively through unified centers for providing services to business entities on a "one-stop shop" principle.

Along with this, a critical review is planned, taking into account advanced foreign experience, of special regulatory documents, such as technical requirements (sanitary, environmental, urban planning norms and rules, fire safety rules, standardization, etc.) with the exclusion of ineffective, outdated, and market-replacing norms.

The implementation of the Decree will ensure continuity and consistency of the course defined by the First President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the decisive elimination of administrative barriers and artificial obstacles in the path of development of entrepreneurial activity, as a key factor in the sustainable development of the country's economy. (Assembly of Legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan, 2016, No. 40, Art. 467, 2017, No. 37, Art. 982; National Legislative Database, 20.02.2018, No. 06/18/5347/0788, 26.11.2018, No. 06/18/5582/2220; National Legislative Database, 03.06.2021, No. 06/21/6240/0514)