May 12, 2026

Legal Update on Resolution No. 40

New Changes in Legislation

By Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 40 dated January 30, 2026 (hereinafter referred to as “Resolution No. 40”), amendments and additions were made to certain government acts. Below, we provide an overview of the changes that are relevant to business.

The list of cases where property is converted into state revenue has been expanded

According to the amendments, if goods are in a customs warehouse, their storage period has expired, and the owner has not claimed them within 90 days, they may be converted into state ownership and subsequently fall under the procedures of seizure, sale, and destruction according to a court decision. This supplement calls on individuals and legal entities to process goods in a timely manner and collect them within 90 days after the expiration of their storage period. If a person does not comply with this procedure, there is a risk of losing their goods.

Property that is converted into state revenue also includes confiscated property in criminal and administrative cases, physical evidence, illegally imported/produced goods, etc.

At the same time, a new procedure has been established for the sale of seized goods by customs authorities. Previously, the State Entity “Bojxona-Servis” stored property seized by customs authorities and also sold it. Additionally, the State Entity “Bojxona-servis” could have sold these properties through the “E-auksion shop” electronic platform. However, the sale is now possible only if the storage period under the customs warehouse regime has expired, the goods have not been claimed within 90 days, or the property has already been converted into state ownership by a court decision. Previously, the State Entity “Bojxona-Servis” had broad rights in the field of goods sales, but a new procedure has now been introduced, making the entire process precise and transparent.

New grounds for refusing state registration and re-registration of business entities

Resolution No. 40 has supplemented the list of grounds for refusing state registration and re-registration of business entities. According to the additions, business entities will now be refused state registration and re-registration if the head of the business entity:

• is included in the list of persons participating or suspected of participating in terrorist activities;
• recognized as incapacitated or having limited legal capacity;
• the limitation period for the right to entrepreneurial activity imposed by a court decision has not expired;
• is serving a sentence of imprisonment by a court decision;
• three years have not passed since the liquidation of the previous founder (founder) or the business entity under their management due to insolvency, except in cases where tax debt has been written off.

New mechanism for the import and export of cash currency

Now, individuals engaged in the trade of jewelry can export funds exceeding the equivalent of 100,000,000 soums from the sale of jewelry imported based on a passenger customs declaration issued upon entry into the Republic of Uzbekistan within the territory of the “Termez International Trade Center” free trade zone. Previously, there was no such mechanism, and the entire process was regulated based on general requirements.

It is also established that a passenger customs declaration specifying the name, unit of measurement, and quantity of the jewelry items imported into the territory of the Republic, as well as a document (shipment note) certified by the legal entity (purchase point) that purchased these items, shall serve as the basis for the export of cash foreign currency.

Registration of a legal entity and its head simultaneously

Now, at the request of the person registering as a business entity—a legal entity—the appointment of the head of the legal entity and registration in the “Unified National Labor System” interdepartmental hardware and software complex are carried out simultaneously with the state registration of the entity. Due to the novella, there is no need to register a legal entity and its head separately; both procedures can be performed simultaneously. This, in turn, saves time and resources

Procurement and sales operations

Previously, in accordance with Resolution No. 77 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 11, 2025, purchase and sale operations were suspended. Now, Resolution No. 40 abolishes this restriction and reintroduces these operations into the legislation. According to Resolution No. 40, these operations are defined as follows:

• procurement contract – a contract concluded between a resident and a non-resident of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the purchase of goods without their importation into the customs territory or with transit;
• sales contract – a contract between a resident and a non-resident of the Republic of Uzbekistan providing for the sale of goods purchased within the framework of a purchase contract to another non-resident.

These changes allow business entities to sell their goods without importing them into the customs territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan or transporting them in transit.

Regarding purchase and sale operations, the following requirements have been established regarding the procedure for entering funds into the “E-contract” system and the receipt of funds:

1. the period for entering documents confirming the acquisition of goods under a procurement contract into the “E-kontrakt” system or for the return of funds paid for them must not exceed 180 days from the date of payment (for procurement, the confirming documents are the export declaration of the sender country and the shipping documents);
2. the receipt of revenue under the sales contract must not exceed 180 days from the date the documents confirming the sale of goods are entered into the “E-contract” system (for sales, the confirming documents are the import declaration of the recipient country and the shipping documents).

Furthermore, a direct ban has been established on operations involving restricted goods. This, in turn, strengthens control over prohibited goods.

No processing permit required

According to the amendments, a permit for processing goods in the customs territory is no longer required if the purpose of applying the customs processing regime in the customs territory is the packaging (including repackaging), sorting, and/or cleaning of goods. This novelty accelerates logistics and is particularly convenient for distributors.

The VAT certificate is issued simultaneously with state registration.

According to the amendment, legal entities can now obtain a certificate of special registration for value-added tax for taxpayers simultaneously with state registration.

Repeated customs declaration is not required

Now, if goods were delivered from one customs warehouse to another while under the “customs warehouse” customs regime, a repeated customs cargo declaration is not submitted for the clearance of goods under the “customs warehouse” customs regime, except in cases provided for by law.

New Family Guest House Requirement

According to the amendments, a family guest house is a private residential facility that provides temporary accommodation and (or) food services to up to 20 visitors (tourists) simultaneously based on the principle of cohabitation between the homeowner and family members, as well as having a living area of 3 square meters per resident. Previously, it was sufficient to accommodate up to 10 people to become a family guest house.

Term of one lease agreement with the Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs

Previously, the maximum lease term for a premise held on the balance sheet of the Penitentiary Department under a single lease agreement was three years. According to the new legislation, this has been changed to 5 years. This change helps increase interest in such facilities, as well as improve the condition of the facilities themselves, as tenants will invest more in the modernization of the facilities.

Expansion of existing hotels is encouraged

Previously, state funds of the Republic of Uzbekistan were allocated to a business entity that has built and commissioned a new hotel exclusively for the purpose of reimbursing part of the costs of building and equipping that hotel. Now, part of the expenses for expanding a hotel by constructing additional buildings and structures or changing the specialization of existing buildings and structures for hotel activities is also covered by the State Budget. Due to this change, the growth of the hotel fund will now accelerate. Previously, compensation was provided only for the construction and equipping of new hotels, but now the expansion of old/existing hotels is also encouraged by the state.