General legal newsletter for July 2022

Some of the most notable legal developments in Uzbekistan in July 2022 were amendments to the Tax and Customs Codes, a new Law “On the Supply of Drinking Water and Wastewater Disposal”, and new rules for the expert examination of project and public procurement documents. The President also approved the Agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments between Uzbekistan and Belarus of 1 August 2019.

 1.  IMPROVEMENT OF TAX AND CUSTOMS LEGISLATION

On 27 July 2022, the President signed a Law introducing amendments to the Tax and Customs Codes. The Law, among others, provides for the following changes:

(a) reduction of the rate of excise tax for mobile communication services from 15% to 10%;

(b) reduction of tax on personal income of individuals – non-residents received under employment and other civil contracts from 20% to 12% (except for dividends, interest, and freight income);

(c) exemption of antenna-mast constructions in rural areas and lands on which they are located from property tax and land tax respectively;

(d) from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2024:

• income of individuals - residents and non-residents in the form of dividends on their shares in JSCs is exempt from personal income tax; the tax rate for relevant income of non-resident legal entities is reduced to 5%;
• income of resident and non-resident individuals and legal entities in the form of interest on corporate bonds is exempt from income tax;
• from 1 April 2022 to 1 January 2025, import of spare parts for medical equipment and products as well as consumables needed for medical purposes, as included in specially formed lists, is exempt from VAT (some reservations apply).

Law No. ZRU-785 of 26 July 2022

 2.   INCOME TAX INCENTIVES FOR SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES

Changes in respect of special economic zones have been introduced into the Tax Code. It has, among others, been provided that a term for which participants of a special economic zone are exempted from income tax depends on the amount of their investments:

• 3 years, if investments amount to USD 3-5 mln;
• 5 years, if investments amount to USD 5-15 mln;
• 10 years, if investments amount to or exceed USD 15 mln.

The exemption starts to apply from the date a relevant production (service provision) facility located within a zone is commissioned.

Law No. ZRU-783 of 12 July 2022

 3.  NEW LAW ON SUPPLY OF DRINKING WATER AND WASTEWATER DISPOSAL

A Law “On the Supply of Drinking Water and Wastewater Disposal” has been adopted. It enters into force on 24 October 2022 and, among others, provides for the following:

• some relevant definitions have been set, including those of “drinking water”, “drinking water facility”, “drinking water supplier” and “local wastewater treatment plant”;
• the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services is designated as a regulatory body in the area;
• suppliers of drinking water may be established in any organizational form; their main functions generally include the following: preparation of drinking water, regular and proportional provision of drinking water to consumers, provision of wastewater disposal services on a contract basis, wastewater collection and treatment;
• public-private partnership projects in the area are implemented in accordance with the Law “On Public-Private Partnership”;
• the Law establishes rules for choosing and using sources of drinking water, requirements for preparing drinking water and disposing and treating wastewater, and general principles for setting tariffs for the supply of drinking water and disposal of wastewater.

The Law does not apply to the production and sale of packaged drinking water with the use of a trademark and a service mark.

Law No. ZRU-784 of 22 July 2022

 4.  STATE EXAMINATION OF PROJECT DOCUMENTATION

Presidential Resolution No.PP-332 introduces Regulations that update existing procedures for the following:
(i) the development, comprehensive state expert examination, and assessment of pre-project documentation for specific investment and infrastructure projects (Annex 1 to the Resolution);
(ii) the comprehensive state expert examination of procurement documentation for tenders and terms of reference for specific public procurement procedures (Annex 2);
(iii) the comprehensive state expert examination and registration of specific purchase contracts, as concluded by state purchasers or at the expense of the state external debt (Annex 3).

The abovementioned expert examination is conducted by the Center for the Comprehensive Expert Examination of Import Contracts and Projects under the Ministry of Economic Development. Procedures provided in Regulation (i) generally apply to investment and infrastructure projects falling under one of the following categories:

• projects financed from the state budget or the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, whose value exceeds approx. USD 1.38 mln;
• projects implemented based on target decisions of the President providing for specific customs and tax incentives;
• projects implemented by state corporate purchases, whose value exceeds USD 5 mln;
• projects envisaging the extraction and/or processing of strategic minerals, irrespectively of a source of financing;
• projects whose value amounts to or exceeds USD 5 mln and that are financed at the expense of the state external debt (except for those financed by loans of international financial institutions or foreign state financial organizations).

Presidential Resolution No. PP-332 of 26 July 2022

 5.  UZBEKISTAN-BELARUS AGREEMENT ON PROTECTION OF INVESTMENTS

The President has issued a Decree on approval of the Agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments between Uzbekistan and Belarus of 1 August 2019. The Agreement aims to create robust investment environment for investors from the contracting states and sets a regime under which each state undertakes to treat investors from the other state no less favorably than local investors.

Presidential Decree No. PP-327 of 20 July 2022 

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Have a good day!

Sincerely,
Kosta Legal Law Firm