As reported earlier on June 3, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the Measures to further expedite market reforms and harmonize national legislation with World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements Decree.

To bring the national legislation in compliance with the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Compensation Measures (ASCM), the Decree has instructed the following: 

• by October 1 submit to the Cabinet of Ministers a draft regulation providing for the abolition from January 1, 2025 of subsidies and preferences aimed at supporting exports, including benefits for partial reimbursement of income tax on proceeds received from the sale of goods (services) for export, turnover tax, transport costs, as well as support measures not prohibited by WTO rules.
• by October 1 submit to the Cabinet of Ministers a draft regulation providing for the abolition of ineffective tax and customs benefits from January 1, 2025.

Excise tax rates on tobacco products imported and produced in Uzbekistan are to be harmonized by January 1, 2026, and on alcoholic beverages and sugar by January 1, 2027. 

To bring the country's customs duties, fees and costs into compliance with the requirements of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the WTO (GATT 1994) the presidential decree instructed that the customs duties shall not be levied for fiscal purposes from January 1, 2025. 

It is also planned to review the fees levied when exporting certain types of goods and submit appropriate proposals to the government by August 1. 

By August 1, the Customs Committee was instructed to submit a draft regulation to determine the customs value of goods transported across the customs border. 

The Interdepartmental Commission for Work with the WTO, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khojaev, must, by August 1, review the legislation on the application of customs duties to goods produced in countries whose trade and economic relations do not provide for most favored nation (MFN) treatment, or whose country of origin not established. After this, the commission must make proposals to improve its effectiveness. 

Additionally, it is planned to develop a draft resolution to bring current customs tariffs in line with the product nomenclature of foreign economic activity of Uzbekistan, 2022 edition, to increase efficiency and ensure transparency in the application of import customs duty rates. 

The Ministry of Transport and the Uzbekistan Railways, together with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, have been instructed to submit to the Cabinet of Ministers, by September 1, a draft resolution providing for: 

• phased abolition from October 1, 2024 to April 1, 2025 of the practice of providing discounts for freight transportation by rail in Uzbekistan;
• gradual unification until 2030 of tariffs for export-import transportation services for rail cargo transportation.

Before September 1, it is also planned to submit proposals to the government on regulating the import of ethyl alcohol based on the provisions of WTO agreements.

As reported earlier, the same decree has abolished the monopoly on the external Internet channel, the exclusive rights of a number of state-owned enterprises and some benefits.