December 25, 2020

Uzbekistan has joined the Kyoto Convention

On December 21 of the current year, President sh. Mirziyoyev signed the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. ZRU-654 “On the accession of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the International Convention on the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures” (Kyoto, May 18, 1973, as amended on June 26, 1999).

It should be noted that Uzbekistan has accepted all the provisions of the Convention with the following reservation: “The Republic of Uzbekistan accepts all annexes and chapters of the Convention, with the exception of Chapter 3 (Carriage of goods coastwise) of Specific Annex “E“.

The Convention does not contain rules of direct application, but rather consists of principles that can serve as a basis for further customs regulation. The main principle of the Kyoto Convention is the removal of various administrative obstacles for the free international trade. Moreover, the Convention finds a balance between removing barriers and protecting the interests of the state.

The Convention also consists of General and Specific annexes. A Specific annex deals with individual customs regimes that may or may not be accepted by a Contracting state, as is in the case of Uzbekistan.