ON MEASURES FOR CARDINAL IMPROVEMENT OF INVESTMENT CLIMATE IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN DD 1.08.2018 y. №. DP-5495

Unofficial translation

DECREE

OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

1.08.2018 y.

№. DP-5495

 

On measures for cardinal improvement of investment climate in the Republic of Uzbekistan

 

It should be noted that in order to create the most favorable investment climate in the country for attracting direct investment, large-scale measures have been taken to liberalize the economy, reform public administration, limit interference in the activities of business entities, reduce and simplify licensing and licensing procedures, and ensure free access to goods (works and services), as well as the creation of the necessary infrastructure in the regions.

The reform of tax policy and customs and tariff regulation is being carried out at an accelerated pace, aimed at reducing the tax burden and simplifying the tax system for investors, and supporting a healthy competitive environment.

At the same time, there are still bureaucratic barriers and obstacles in working with investors, especially in the field, consisting in the lack of proper support from the khokimiyats of all levels of investor initiatives, clear coordination of the work of ministries and departments in this direction, which hinders the strengthening of confidence in the consistency of state policies to create a favorable investment climate.

In order to further improve the investment climate in the country, stimulate the attraction of direct investments, strengthen investor confidence in the sequence of state policy in this direction and increase the responsibility of state structures in working with investors:

1. To establish from August 1, 2018 the procedure in accordance with which:

bona fide investor and business entity shall be compensated for property damage arising from trust in the legal force of the administrative act of the state body (official) adopted against them, relying on the legal force of which they used the property, made a transaction or otherwise used the provided benefits and advantages, in in case of subsequent recognition of this act as invalid or its cancellation;

the question of canceling or changing an administrative act of a state body (official), in cases where this affects the legitimate interests of a bona fide investor and business entity, is considered in a judicial proceeding, unless its preservation poses a threat to the public interest.

1¹. Establish that:

harm caused to a business entity as a result of illegal decisions of state bodies or illegal actions (inaction) of their officials is subject to compensation in full on the basis of a court decision directly by these state bodies, primarily at the expense of their extra-budgetary funds;

consideration of economic disputes between business entities is carried out by an economic or arbitration court.

2. To determine that from September 1, 2018:

making decisions on the seizure of land for state and public needs is allowed only after an open discussion with interested parties whose land is planned to be withdrawn, as well as assessing the benefits and costs;

decisions on the withdrawal of land plots for state and public needs are made by the Jokargy Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the Kengashes of people’s deputies of the regions and the city of Tashkent;

seized land plots for state and public needs are allocated to state bodies, institutions, enterprises, self-government bodies of citizens by decisions of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokims of regions and the city of Tashkent on the basis of the right of permanent use, while the allocation of these land plots in any other way and to other persons is prohibited;

the demolition of residential, industrial premises, other buildings and structures belonging to individuals and legal entities, upon the seizure of land is permitted after full compensation of the market value of real estate and losses caused to owners in connection with such seizure;

losses incurred by individuals and legal entities as a result of the unlawful administrative act of a state body (official) are subject to compensation by the state, primarily at the expense of non-budgetary funds of the relevant authorities, followed by recovery from the guilty person in a recourse manner.

3. To establish that the withdrawal of land for state and public needs is allowed solely for the following purposes:

the provision of land for the needs of defense and state security, protected natural areas, the creation and functioning of free economic zones;

fulfillment of obligations arising from international treaties;

discovery and development of mineral deposits;

construction (reconstruction) of roads and railways, airports, airfields, aeronautical facilities and aeronautical centers, railway facilities, bridges, subways, tunnels, energy systems and power lines, communication lines, space activities, trunk pipelines, engineering and communications networks;

execution of master plans for settlements in the construction of facilities at the expense of the State budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as in other cases directly provided for by laws and decisions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

4. To introduce from October 1, 2018 the following new mechanisms for the provision of land for investment activities:

long-term lease of land for non-agricultural purposes for a period of up to 50 years, but not less than the period specified in the application, for the implementation of investment projects through an electronic auction through a single electronic trading platform “E-IJRO AUKSION”;

5. To grant the right:

to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokims of regions and the city of Tashkent to conclude investment agreements with foreign investors when implementing investment projects with a share of foreign investment in an equivalent of not more than 10 million US dollars, within the powers and in the manner established by law;

to Jokargi Kenes of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, kengashs of people’s deputies of regions and the city of Tashkent to make decisions on the sale of unused state property (except for the objects listed in appendixes No. 1 and 2 to the resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated June 16, 2017 No. RP-3067 “On measures to further improve the procedures for the sale of state property “), the total area of which is more than 2000 sq.m., but not more than 5000 sq.m., for the implementation of investment projects.

6. To approve the proposals of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy and the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on promoting privatized enterprises and promoting competition on:

reducing the minimum share of foreign investment in the authorized capital of enterprises with foreign investment from 30 to 15 percent;

the cancellation of the requirement for the mandatory participation of a foreign legal entity as a participant in an enterprise with foreign investment;

reducing the minimum size of the authorized capital of enterprises with foreign investments from 600 million soums to 400 million soums;

three times reduction of the state fee for state registration of enterprises with foreign investments;

determining the minimum size of the authorized capital of a joint stock company of 400 million soums;

the cancellation of the mandatory procedure for concluding export contracts for fruits and vegetables at prices not lower than the prices published by “Uzagroexport” JSC, as well as the customs clearance of fruits and vegetables, carried out without concluding an export contract, on the basis of an invoice, at prices not lower than the prices indicated on the official website JSC “Uzagroexport“.

6¹. Establish that:

enterprises with foreign investments include foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures that meet the conditions specified in clause 6 of this Decree, and in the statutory activities of which the share of their own production and (or) service maintenance of manufactured products accounts for more than 60 percent of the total revenue from economic activities;

the deadline for the formation of the statutory funds of enterprises with foreign investments in the amounts provided for by the constituent documents should not exceed one year from the date of state registration of the enterprise, unless otherwise provided by separate government decisions;

enterprises with foreign investment, newly created in the territory of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the Khorezm region, include enterprises with an authorized capital of at least 200 million soums and the share of foreign investments in the authorized capital of which is 15 percent;

the privilege provided for in paragraph four of this clause applies only to newly created enterprises with foreign investments, registered in the prescribed manner, located and operating in the territory of the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the Khorezm region.

7. To the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan – Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Investments S.R. Kholmuradov:

to ensure coordination of actions of authorized bodies on issues of attracting and comprehensive support of foreign investments based on the competence of each of them;

to conduct monthly reports of the heads of ministries, departments, economic associations, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokimiyats of the regions and the city of Tashkent, trade and economic advisers on the implementation of state investment policy with an assessment of the progress in fulfilling key tasks in this area, including using information and communication technology capabilities;

expand the attraction of foreign investment through the organization of international conferences, seminars, large investment forums to widely inform foreign investors about the economic potential of the country, created favorable conditions for doing business.

8. To assign personal responsibility to:

heads of complexes of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, ministries, departments and business associations — for the effective implementation of decisions made on the development of the investment climate, the provision of necessary support to foreign investors, high-quality and timely consideration of investment applications, the implementation of coordination procedures for investment applications, as well as socio-economic development and solving problematic issues in the field of investment;

Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokims of regions and the city of Tashkent — for providing all necessary support to foreign investors, expeditious consideration of investment applications with the establishment of direct and open dialogue with investors, the systematic conduct of personal reception of investors, ensuring access to appropriate infrastructure, providing land, issuance of permits, timely coordination of investment applications, systematic Nitration of the implementation of investment projects;

the head of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the Promotion of Privatized Enterprises and the Development of Competition — for a thorough inventory of inactive or construction-in-progress facilities, inefficiently used industrial premises and lands to place investment projects on them with the participation of direct investments;

Chairman of “Uzbekenergo” JSC, Chairman of “Uztransgaz” JSC, Minister of Housing and Public Utilities of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, khokims of the regions and Tashkent – for the construction and connection of investor production facilities to external infrastructure, uninterrupted supply of investors with electric energy, natural gas, water, as well as external sewage networks in accordance with their production needs;

Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan — for providing investors with advisory assistance in implementing investment projects in the regions of the republic.

9. To grant the right to foreign citizens and stateless persons who have invested in the Republic of Uzbekistan in the amount of at least 8,500 times of the basic calculation established in the Republic of Uzbekistan at the time of investment, in the form of acquiring shares and shares of business companies, as well as creating a foreign enterprise , to receive a multiple three-year visa with the possibility of an unlimited number of extensions of its validity without the need to leave the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan to make proposals on the implementation of the procedure for awarding the status of “Honorary Citizen” to foreigners who have made significant investments in priority areas of the country’s economy.

10. To approve the Program of measures to increase the investment attractiveness of the country according to the appendix.

Assign to the heads of ministries and departments personal responsibility for the timely and effective implementation of the measures provided for in the Program of measures.

11. The State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Investments, together with the National Agency for Project Management under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, to develop and introduce, in the prescribed manner, a draft unified legislative act in the field of investment activity aimed at creating the most favorable conditions for investment.

12. The General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Uzbekistan to establish strict control over unconditional compliance by all government bodies and other organizations, regardless of subordination, of the current legislation on protecting the rights and guarantees of investors with the adoption of effective measures to prevent violation of the established legislation and to hold responsible officials accountable.

13. The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan within two months:

together with the State Committee for Investments, the State Committee for Land Resources, Geodesy, Cartography and the State Cadastre, the Ministry of Economy and other interested departments, submit proposals to the Cabinet of Ministers on amendments and addenda to the legislation arising from this Decree;

conduct an inventory of departmental normative legal acts with a view to identifying in them the rules and regulations that impede or impede investment activity, with the adoption of measures to eliminate them.

14. The control over the implementation of this Decree is assigned to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan A.N. Aripov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan – Chairman of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Investments S.R. Kholmuradov, Prosecutor General of the Republic of Uzbekistan O.B. Murodov and First Deputy State Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan B.M. Mavlonov.

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan SH. MIRZIYOYEV

.

APPENDIX
to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated August 1, 2018 №. DP-5495

PROGRAM OF MEASURES

to increase the investment attractiveness of the country

No	Activities	The form of implementation	The timing execution	Responsible performers
1.	Development of a unified legislative act governing investment activities.	Law Project	until December 31 2018	State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov), NAPM (Sadikov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), MET (Khojaev), Ministry of Justice (Davletov), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kamilov), State Committee for Competition (Gulyamov), Central Bank (Nurmuratov)
2.	Reduction of the minimum size of the authorized capital of a joint-stock company to 400 million soums.	Law Project	until September 15 2018	State Committee for Competition (Gulyamov), NAPM (Sadikov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), Ministry of Justice (Davletov)
3.	Granting the right to foreign individuals to directly act as the founder (participant) of an enterprise with foreign investment	Draft of Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan	until September30 2018	Ministry of Justice (Davletov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), NAPM (Sadikov)
4.	Reducing the minimum share of foreign invetsment to 15 percent.
5.	Improving the procedure for accreditation and the activities of representative offices of foreign commercial organization on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan, including extending the accreditation period to 5 years and reducing the accreditation fee by a factor of three.	Draft of regulatory legal act	until September 30 2018	State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov), Ministry of Finance (Khaidarov), MET (Khojaev), CCI (Ikramov)
6.	Development of a “Road Map” for creating and promoting a brand of regions of the republic, including through the placement of advertisements (clips) on leading television channels, festivals and forums, social networks, and the development of original slogans.	Draft of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers	until September 30 2018	State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov), Goskomturizm (Umarov), NAPM (Sadikov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kamilov), MET (Khojaev), CCI (Ikramov)
7.	Organization and holding of global forums with the participation of business communities of partner countries aimed at highlighting the essence and significance of reforms carried out in the country, including informing investors about changes in legislation.	Organizational measures	until September 30 2018	NAPM (Sadikov), State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Kamilov), MET (Khojaev), CCI (Ikramov)
8.	The abolition of accounting for forecast indicators and statistics on export of products by territory separately. Approval of the procedure for export statistics taking into account: the territory whose products are exported; accounting for all participants in export operations, including the manufacturer and the facilitating authorities; volumes exported by individuals; elimination of factors negatively wagging on export operations related to reporting on the performance of forecast indicators.	Draft of regulatory legal act	until September 1 2018	State Statistics Committee (Begalov), MET (Khojaev), State Customs Committee (Asimov)
9.	Strengthening guarantees to ensure reliable protection of intellectual property rights.	Draft of regulatory legal act	until November 10 2018	Ministry of Justice (Davletov), Intellectual Property Agency (Fayzullaev), General Prosecutor’s Office (Saidkarimov)
10.	Development of concession relations, including extension of the term of the concession agreement.	Law Project	until December 1 2018	Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), NAPM (Sadikov), State Committee for Competition (Gulyamov), State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov), Ministry of Finance (Khaidarov)
11.	Simplification of licensing procedures in the field of labor activity of foreign investors and attraction of foreign labor.	Draft of regulatory legal acts	until September 30 2018	Ministry of Justice (Davletov), Ministry of Labor (Kudbiev), Ministry of Internal Affairs (Bobozhonov), SSS (Igamov),Ministry of Economy (Khojaev)
12.	Improvement of labor legislation in the private sector, providing for: expanding the grounds for concluding fixed-term employment contracts; the introduction of new forms of employment (one-time, hourly), as well as the procedure for hourly wages; expanding the possibility of termination of the employment contract at the initiative of the employer, including with a reduction in the period of warning.	Law Project	until November 15 2018	Ministry of labor (Kudbiev), Ministry of Justice (Davletov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), Ministry of Finance (Khaidarov)
13.	The study of the advisability of introducing the institution of tax credit.	Analytic information	until September 30 2018	State Tax Committee (Musaev), Ministry of Finance (Khaidarov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), NAPM (Sadikov), State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov)
14.	Improving the procedure for concluding and implementing investment agreements, including, among other things, transferring to local executive bodies the right to conclude investment agreements, streamlining procedures.	Draft of regulatory legal act	until October 20 2018	State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov), NAPM (Sadikov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), Ministry of Justice (Davletov)
15.	The introduction of modern methods of legislative activity aimed at ensuring stability and predictability of the legislation, as well as eliminating the excessive burden of legal regulation.	Complex measures	until November 30 2018	Ministry of Justice (Davletov), General Prosecutor’s Office (Saidkarimov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev)
16.	Expanding the list of cases recognized as worsening investment conditions, providing for these cases at the level of the law with the definition of the authorized body that issues an opinion on the application of the guarantee.	Draft of regulatory legal act	until December 1 2018	State Investment Committee (Kholmuradov), NAPM (Sadikov), Ministry of Justice (Davletov), Prosecutor General’s Office (Saidkarimov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev)
17.	Taking measures to harmonize national accounting standards with international financial reporting standards.	Complex measures	until November 1 2018	Ministry of Finance (Kuchkarov), State Tax Committee (Musaev), NAPM (Sadikov)
18.	Development and introduction of the procedure for leasing land plots.	Draft of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers	until November 1 2018	State Committee on Land Resources, Geodesy, Cartography and State Cadastre (Abdullaev), Ministry of Construction (Tokhtaev), Ministry of Justice (Davletov)
19.	The phased implementation of private property rights to non-agricultural land plots (at the first stage – during the sale of buildings together with land plots and construction of real estate) with the development of legal mechanisms for their introduction into civil circulation.	Draft of regulatory legal acts	until November 1 2018	Ministry of Justice (Davletov), State Committee on Land Resources, Geodesy, Cartography and State Cadastre (Abdullaev)
20.	The abolition of the application of penalties against a business entity for allowing delays in the receipt of foreign currency funds, with the exception of enterprises with the participation of the state.	Draft of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers	until November 30 2018	State Tax Committee (Musaev), Ministry of Finance (Khaidarov), Accounts Chamber (Ikramov), General Prosecutor’s Office (Saidkarimov)
21.	Development of the draft Law on International Commercial Arbitration.	Law Project	until August 30 2018	Cabinet of Ministers (Kholmuradov), CCI (Ikramov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev), Supreme Court (Dekhkanov)
22.	Fundamental reform of the licensing system and the passage of licensing procedures, providing: unification of legislation on licensing certain types of activities and passing licensing procedures in the field of entrepreneurship, in particular the application of the norms of the Law to licensing and licensing procedures “On administrative procedures”; approval of a new classification of the licensing system and passing licensing procedures based on risk categories, with the introduction of a notification procedure for the implementation of certain types of activities and actions corresponding to a low risk category within the new system; development of a methodology for assessing the impact of the licensing system and passing licensing procedures on the investment climate based on a standard model for assessing the costs of business entities.	Draft of regulatory legal acts	until December 1 2018	NAPM (Sadikov), Ministry of Justice (Davletov), CCI (Ikramov)
23.	Acceleration of privatization and private capital attraction in joint-stock companies by: conducting an initial (IPO) and secondary (SPO) public offering of shares to the population, primarily in the areas of construction and finance, including at least 5 objects in 2018-2019; establishing the procedure in accordance with which the organizers of tenders independently apply the mechanism of step-by-step reduction in the price of state property without coordination with the seller.	Draft of Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers	until September 20 2018	State Committee for Competition (Gulyamov), Ministry of Finance (Khaidarov), Ministry of Economy (Khojaev)
24.	Improving legislation aimed at attracting investment in education, including through: opening branches of leading foreign universities and introducing distance learning mechanisms; cancellation of licensing of leading foreign universities with recognition of the diplomas issued by them without additional procedures, including without accreditation.	Draft of Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan	until November 10 2018	MHSSE (Majidov), NAPM (Sadikov), Ministry of Justice (Davletov)

Note: When implementing the measures provided for by this Program, the form of the developed act may be changed or the developed act may be combined with other acts provided for in other clauses. When combining two or more acts, the deadline for their development is the latest deadline for the implementation of the relevant paragraphs.

The document presented in an unofficial translation from the database of the law firm “S VERENIN’S LEGAL GROUP”.

The document presented from the database of the law firm “S VERENIN’S LEGAL GROUP”.

The document presented as of ____23.05___2024г.