The country is carrying out large-scale reforms to ensure unhindered implementation of entrepreneurial activities, create favorable conditions for doing business and improve investment attractiveness of the country.
In this respect, counter checks and all kinds of unscheduled inspections have been cancelled, a number of licensed types of activities and licensing procedures in the field of business have been reduced and simplified. The above measures have a positive impact on the development of business environment in the country and the ranking of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the international arena.
At the same time, a number of systemic problems remain in the sphere of entrepreneurial activities, solution of which will allow eliminating the existing obstacles to business development, attracting foreign investment in the country and ensuring guaranteed protection of the rights and legitimate interests of entrepreneurs. In particular:
the first, the adopted Concept of improving the tax policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan aimed at establishing a reliable partnership between controlling authorities and conscientious business entities requires a radical review of the current system of inspections, other types of state control, and the procedure for collecting tax and other mandatory payments;
the second, arrears in tax and other mandatory payments, penalties and financial sanctions are artificially accumulated and they have been formed because of a presence in the legislation of certain legal mechanisms that do not meet modern requirements;
the third, there are ineffective and excessive control functions of state bodies leading to violations of the rights and legal interests of business entities;
the fourth, there is no a comprehensive regulation of organizational and procedural aspects of inspections of business entities and a single integrated system for monitoring their legality, which do not allow ensuring a transparency of the activities of regulatory bodies and objectively assess a validity of the inspections conducted;
the fifth, the system of independent social control over activities of regulatory bodies has not been introduced, which ensures openness, transparency and impartiality of inspections;
the sixth, shortcomings of the current mechanism for reimbursing individuals and legal entities for losses related to removal of land for state and public needs with demolition of real estate, lead to violations of their rights and legitimate interests, undermine a trust of business entities to the state, and reduce investment attractiveness of the country.
In order to eliminate bureaucratic obstacles for development of business, further strengthen legal mechanisms for protection of business entities, improve investment climate and business environment in the country:
1. To approve the proposal of the Commissioner under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Protect Rights and Legitimate Interests of Business Entities, the Ministry of Finance, the State Tax Committee and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan on writing off the fixed tax debt and interest accrued on these debts, as well as financial sanctions and judicial expenses (with exception of court fees) formed at the time of entry into force of the present Decree, which belong to:
individuals, who have lost a status of individual entrepreneur before April 1, 2018, and individual entrepreneurs (including those who have temporarily suspended their activities), who have not carried out financial and economic activities since April 1, 2018;
individuals, who are credited with an annual amount of a fixed tax for performance of entrepreneurial activities without state registration.
It shall be established that a writing-off of indebtedness indicated in the first paragraph of the present article is carried out in case of a restoration of entrepreneurial activity or a state registration in accordance with the procedure established by legislation by persons listed in the second and third paragraphs of the present article before July 1, 2019.
The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the khokimiyats of the regions and the Tashkent City jointly with the territorial offices of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall actively assist in restoration of business, financial and economic activities and in state registration of persons indicated in this article in legislative order, with the monthly reports on results of accomplished works to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
2. To abolish a procedure for the one-time collection of a fixed tax from individuals carrying out activities without state registration as individual entrepreneurs calculated on the basis of fixed rate for a relevant activity at an annual rate.
a) jointly with the Bureau of Enforcement and the Department for Combating Economic Crimes under the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economy and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Uzbekistan, within three months, shall conduct an inventory of uncollectible debts on taxes and other obligatory payments, penalties accrued on these debts and debts on financial sanctions and court expenses (with exception of court fees), which are registered for business entities – legal entities, with further taking measures to write off the above debt in accordance with the established procedure;
b) jointly with the Supreme Court, the General Prosecutor’s Office, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance and the State Committee on Assistance to Privatized Enterprises and Competition Development, within one month, shall submit proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on:
the procedure for suspending activities of individual entrepreneurs, who are in arrears in taxes and other mandatory payments and who do not carry out entrepreneurial activities for two months;
simplification of a procedure for liquidation of organizations that do not carry out financial and economic activities and improving the mechanisms for writing off bad debts of inactive organizations and organizations whose founders are not available for a long time.
the initiation of inspections of activities of business entities is carried out on the basis of results of the «risk analysis» system, which involves an initiation of inspections based on a degree of risk of the violation of legislation by the relevant business entity;
all inspections of activities of business entities conducted by regulatory bodies are subject to mandatory registration in the Unified Electronic Registration System of Inspections;
inspections of activities of business entities conducted without registration in the Unified Electronic Registration System of Inspections are illegal;
the results of conducted inspections of activities of business entities are entered by the supervisory authorities into the Unified Electronic Registration System of Inspections within three days after their completion.
To determine that from April 1, 2019, the coordination of inspections of the activities of business entities and the control of the legality of their conduct by regulatory bodies are carried out by the Representative under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of business entities (hereinafter referred to as the — authorized body).
inspections of the activities of economic entities are carried out by the bodies of the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service only in the course of an investigation into an initiated criminal case. At the same time, the inspection may cover the activities of these entities related only to the initiated criminal case, which should be indicated in the resolution on the appointment of the inspection;
conducting by territorial tax authorities of audits of the financial and economic activities of business entities registered in other districts (cities), regardless of the location of their production facilities, retail outlets and the place of provision of services (works), is carried out with the exception of duplication, at the same time with the relevant tax authorities at the place registration of a business entity.
The List of types of inspections of business entities conducted in coordination with the authorized body in accordance with the Appendix № 1*;
The list of inspections conducted in order of notifying the authorized body through their registration in the Unified Electronic Registration System of Inspections in accordance with the Appendix № 2*;
The list of separate control functions transferred from regulatory bodies to other organizations in accordance with the Appendix № 3*.
7. The regulatory bodies before September 1, 2018 in consultation with the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall develop and approve the relevant provisions on a procedure for introducing a «risk analysis» system into their operations.
The National Project Management Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall assist the regulatory bodies in introducing a risk analysis system into their activities.
8. The Ministry on Development of Information Technologies and Communications jointly with the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan before September 1, 2018 shall develop a pilot version of the Unified Electronic Registration System of Inspections and from January 1, 2019 launch its full version which allows:
to study a validity of decisions taken by the regulatory bodies to conduct inspections of business entities and issue a permit with a unique code for their conduct;
to supervise an observance by regulatory bodies of the procedure for conducting inspections established by law;
c) the business entities to receive information on their inquiries regarding a conducted inspection in the form of short messages (SMS) and via the Internet in real time.
jointly with the Commissioner under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Protection of Rights and Legal Interests of Business Entities and the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, before September 1, 2018 in accordance with the established procedure shall submit to the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan the draft law of the Republic of Uzbekistan «On State Control over Activities of Entrepreneurs» taking into account the provisions of the present Decree;
within one-month, shall approve the Provisional Regulations on Procedure for Coordination and Conduct of inspections of Activities of Business Entities by Regulatory Bodies, which will be effective before the entry into force of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan «On State Control over Activities of Entrepreneurs», and the Regulations on the Procedure for Maintaining the Unified Electronic Registration System of Inspections.
10. To take into consideration that in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of June 19, 2017 № DP-5087 «On Measures for Substantial Improvement of the System of State Protection of Legitimate Interests of Business and Further Development of Entrepreneurial Activity», the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan monitors and participates in inspections of business entities – members of the Chamber.
11. To recommend the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and other non-governmental non-profit organizations to carry out social control over the conducted inspections of business entities, and the results of it are to be submitted on quarterly basis to the authorized body.
12. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, within one month, shall approve the Regulations on the procedure for attesting officials of regulatory bodies for granting the right to conduct inspections of business entities.
13. To approve the proposals of the Commissioner under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the Protection of the Rights and Legitimate Interests of Business Entities, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan on granting the right from September 1, 2018 for individual entrepreneurs to purchase new cars manufactured in the Republic of Uzbekistan by the means of corporate bank cards.
14. To agree with the proposal of the State Committee for Land Resources, Geodesy, Cartography and State Cadastre (further — Goskomzemgeodezcadastre) and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan to abolish from October 1, 2018 the certificate of registration of a right to real estate (land plots, buildings and structures, perennial plantations) with introduction of a procedure for making an appropriate entry in the state register of rights to real estate and transactions with them in electronic form.
information on ownership and other property rights to real estate, including the emergence, transfer, limitation and termination of these rights, as well as transactions with them, is submitted to the territorial bodies of the State Committee for Land Geodezcadastre by local executive authorities, notaries, territorial divisions of the Ministry of Construction of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and also by other authorized bodies within one day from the date of the relevant actions using information and communication systems;
territorial bodies of the Goskomzemgeodezcadastre shall carry out a state registration of relevant rights to real estate on the basis of information provided for in the second paragraph of the present article;
when receive appeals from individuals and legal entities, requests from state bodies and other organizations, territorial bodies of the Goskomzemgeodezcadastre shall issue an extract from the state register of rights to real estate and transactions with them in electronic and/or paper form confirming the state registration of the relevant right.
The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan within two months shall review the procedure for state registration of rights to real estate and transactions with them based on the requirements of the present article.
16. To approve the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional khokims and the Tashkent City on introduction of a new mechanism for compensation of losses to individuals and legal entities in connection with withdrawal of their land plots for state and public needs while providing for:
formation under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan of a centralized fund for compensation of losses to individuals and legal entities in connection with withdrawal of their land plots for state and public needs (further — the Fund);
determination of specific sources for formation of the Fund’s resources, while providing for mandatory participation of a share of the revenue part of local budgets in them;
introduction of a procedure for mandatory coordination with the Fund for the seizure of lands for state and public needs.
The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, within two months, shall take a government decision on organization of the Fund, providing for specific sources of its funds.
161. Strictly warn the heads of ministries, departments, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokims of regions and the city of Tashkent that officials of regulatory bodies for unauthorized inspections and illegal interference in the economic activities of business entities are brought to justice, up to criminal, with compensation for economic damage.
17. To recognize from September 1, 2018 as expired certain acts of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in accordance with the Appendix № 4*.
* Appendixes № 1 — 4 are not given.
18. The State Tax Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the concerned ministries and departments shall submit within two months the proposals on amendments and additions to the legislation following the present Decree.
19. Control over the implementation of the present Decree shall be entrusted to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan A. Aripov, the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan O.B. Murodov, the First Deputy State Adviser of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan B.M. Mavlonov and the Commissioner under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Protection of Rights and Legal Interests of Business Entities D.S. Kasimov.