General legal newsletter for September 2021

Some of the most notable legal developments of September 2021 include the adoption of a Presidential Decree on the improvement of contractual relations, abolishing some restrictive requirements and introducing some new mechanisms related to the conclusion of contracts; amendments to the tax legislation aimed at automating the tax control and simplification of customs control procedures. Other changes to note are the publication of administrative regulations on providing land for large investment projects; new measures of support for exporters and participants of special economic zones; and the establishment of the Tajik-Uzbek Investment Company.

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 1.  MEASURES FOR IMPROVING CONTRACTUAL RELATIONS 

The President has issued a decree on improvement of contractual relations. The following measures are, among others, envisaged by the Decree:

- starting from 1 December 2021:

• banks will no longer be prohibited to accept/transfer payments for goods and services made to their clients – suppliers by third parties i.e. not purchasers under relevant supply contracts;
• the requirement for entities, 50% or more shares of which belong to the state, to demand prepayment on their supplies will be abolished.

- starting from 1 January 2022:

• property put up for sale at an online auction in the course of court enforcement procedures will be transferred to a winning bidder free from any debt claims and injunctions. If the funds received from the sale of the property are insufficient to repay the debts, the unpaid debts will remain with its former owner (the debtor)
• in case a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur does not pay taxes or customs payments on time, the tax or customs authorities respectively, will be able to request a servicing bank of the debtor to freeze a corresponding amount on the debtor’s bank accounts and, then, to recover it after 30 calendar days upon notifying the debtor;
• a party to a contract that accepts full or partial performance of contractual obligations by the other party or otherwise confirs the validity of the contract, will not be entitled to subsequently claim the contract to be invalid, if such claim contradicts the principle of good faith;
• public procurement contracts will have to contain anticorruption provisions;
• public contracts in utilities, energy supply, communal services, passenger and cargo transportation, and other areas of great social importance may be concluded with consumers by natural monopolies only after their approval by the Antimonopoly Committee. 

- by 1 December 2021, amendments shall be introduced to the Law “On Joint Stock-Companies” and the Law “On Limited Liability Companies”, providing for the subsidiary liability of directors, members of the supervisory board, and trustees (fiduciary managers) of a company for damages caused to creditors of the company as a result of a breach of company’s procedures for entering into large and related party transactions;
- the practice of adopting standard forms of agreements in legislative acts must be abandoned;
- an escrow accounts system will be introduced (primarily, for e-commerce transactions).

Presidential Decree No. UP-6313 of 14 September 2021

 2.  CHANGES IN THE TAX CODE 

A Law introducing changes to the Tax Code has been adopted. It, among others, provides for the following changes:

• a special tax regime has been established for some territories of the Fergana region with the tax rate of 1% having been set for, among others, the corporate income tax for legal entities registered and receiving their income within a relevant special territory; the personal income tax for individuals on income received within a special territory; the turnover tax for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs on profits from operations within a special territory; the social tax for legal entities on salaries paid to individuals working within a special territory;
• a number of tax incentives have been provided to tour operators, travel agents, and accommodation providers till 31 December 2021;
• specific categories of newly established entities in Karakalpakstan have been temporarily exempted from the property tax, the land tax, the turnover tax, and the personal income tax for individual entrepreneurs.

Law No. ZRU-714 of 14 September 2021

 3.  FACILITATION TO PAYMENT OF TAXES  

The President has issued a Decree on measures for creating favorable conditions for performing tax obligations. The following measures are, among others, envisaged to be taken under the Decree starting from 1 January 2022:

• if tax offenses have been revealed during a desk tax audit, financial sanctions will not be applied;
• starting from 1 January 2022, financial sanctions will no longer be applied if tax reports have not been submitted on time.
• a regulatory experiment will be conducted in the Khorezm region, under which the regional tax authorities themselves will form tax reports on the land tax, excise tax, VAT, and the turnover tax for taxpayers – legal entities, based on data at their disposal and data of other state bodies. After relevant reports are formed, they will be sent to taxpayers for the confirmation via relevant electronic systems. Each taxpayer either approves a relevant report or amends it and sends back to the tax authorities. If the experiment is successful, it will be expanded to the entire country.

Presidential Decree No. UP-6307 of 7 September 2021

 4.  CHANGES IN THE SYSTEM FOR ACCOUNTING TAXPAYERS  

The Cabinet of Ministers has passed a Resolution on improving the system for accounting taxpayers and refunding VAT, entering in force on 22 December 2021. The following is, among others, envisaged by the Resolution:

• the introduction of special registration procedures for payers of VAT, which enables greater application of risk-based analysis;
• disciplined (low-risk) taxpayers will be able to get VAT refunds quicker;
• starting 1 January 2022, entities, the state share in which exceeds 50%, will have to account all transitions related to their assets, inventories, and the formation/reduction of the charter capital in the special system “E-aktiv”;
• starting from 1 January 2021, all contracts on lease and free use of real estate to which a legal entity is a party will have to be recorded with the tax authorities; the recording is done through special online systems.

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 595 of 22 September 2021

 5.  SIMPLIFICATION OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURES 

- starting from 1 October 2021, stations for remote electronic processing of customs declarations will begin to operate in the Tashkent, Kashkadarya, Khorezm, and Syrdarya regions; starting from 1 April 2021, they will also be gradually set in other regions;
- starting from 1 December 2021, at customs checkpoints for vehicles, checking and processing of documents on goods subject to control by the veterinary and phytosanitary authorities, will be done electronically, through the customs online system “One-Stop Shop”;
- starting from 1 January 2022:

• excessively charged customs payments will be refunded to payers within 3 calendar days after the customs authorities decide on the refund;
• the minimum term of a deferral (or a permit to pay in installments) granted for paying customs duties is 14 calendar days; no interest is charged during that period;

- the Central Laboratory has been established under the State Customs Committee; it will render services related to the examination and certification of goods.

Presidential Decree No. UP-6310 of 10 September 2021

 6.  PROVISION OF LAND FOR LARGE INVESTMENT PROJECTS 

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved Administrative Regulations on lease of land for large investment projects (i.e. those whose cost exceeds USD 10 mln). The procedure is aimed at allowing large investors to lease land from the state directly, without the need to participate in land auctions.

According to the Regulations, an investor wishing to implement a large investment project may submit a relevant application to the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade through a local Center for State Services or the Single Portal for State Services. The Ministry pre-studies the application and passes it to the State Commission for Foreign Trade and Investments, which, in turn, makes a general conclusion as to whether the project is feasible. After that, if the project is deemed feasible, an unoccupied land plot is selected by the Ministry, based on the application of the investor and in cooperation with other state bodies. If a suitable land plot is identified, the State Commission approves the conduct of a competitive procedure for the selection of best offers with all potential investors being given a chance to submit counter-offers. After a winner is selected, the Cabinet of Ministers issues a decision on the lease of the land plot, authorizing a local municipality to enter into a relevant lease agreement.

For Uzbek citizens and legal entities, an initial term of lease may not exceed 30 years for agricultural land and 49 years for non-agricultural land. For foreign citizens and legal entities, as well as Uzbek enterprises with foreign capital, such a term may not exceed 25 years. Lessors may apply for the prolongation of a lease term upon expiration of 2/3 of the term, provided certain conditions are met.

Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 592 of 21 September 2021

 7.  SUPPORT FOR ENTERPRISES - EXPORTERS 

The Presidential Decree "On Additional Measures for Stimulating Enterprises - Exporters" has been issued. The following measures are, among others, envisaged:

• starting from 1 October 2021, the Export Promotion Agency will provide one-time funding for up to USD 5 mln to enterprises whose annual export volume exceeds USD 20 mln for up to 1 year for financing export operations. The financing will be channeled through commercial banks;
• starting from 1 October 2021, it will no longer be required to obtain national certificates of quality while importing certified and declared equipment, components, raw materials, transport vehicles, measuring tools, chemical reagents, and lifting mechanisms from countries with developed systems of quality control;
• the application of fines for overdue receivables from foreign trade operations to business entities and the recovery of relevant fines applied prior to the date of the Decree are suspended until 31 December 2021.

Presidential Decree No. UP-6306 of 7 September 2021

 8.  SUPPORT FOR PARTICIPANTS OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES  

The President has signed a Resolution on measures to support participants of special economic zones (SEZs), which, among others, provides for the following:

• since income tax incentives for participants of SEZs were cancelled on 1 January 2020, an unused part of such incentives will become fully available to participants of SEZs that were included into a special register of SEZs participants as of 1 October 2020. The incentives will be available to the above participants of SEZs for a period from 3 to 10 years from the date of their inclusion into the register, depending on the amount of their investments into respective SEZs;
• starting from 15 September 2021, participants of SEZs are granted a right to claim a 120-days deferral on paying (or an permit to pay in installments) VAT and customs duties related to the production of goods and the import of components and materials for their own production needs;
• the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade and other state agencies are instructed to develop a Law on the provision of income tax incentives to participants of SEZs.

Presidential Resolution No. PP-5243 of 14 September 2021

 9.  ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TAJIK-UZBEK INVESTMENT COMPANY   

The President has approved the inter-government Agreement on the Establishment of the Tajik-Uzbekistan Investment Company. Shareholders of the Company are the State Fund for Reconstruction and Development (Uzbekistan) – 75% and State Unitary Enterprise “Tajikinvest” (Tajikistan) – 25%. The current charter capital of the Fund is USD 12 mln, but it will be gradually increased up to USD 50 mln. The main task of the Company is the implementation of investment projects in Tajikistan. For that purpose, the Company will make equity investments in existing and new business entities; sell the equity stakes it has acquired to Tajik and foreign investors; cooperate with international financial institutions; search for foreign investors for attracting additional financing to the Company (through, among others, selling shares of the Company).

Presidential Resolution No. PP-5242 of 07 September 2021

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Sincerely,
Kosta Legal Law Firm