On November 15, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed amendments to the Code of Administrative Liability (CoAR) and the Criminal Code (CC), aimed at suppressing the production and circulation of counterfeit and low-quality goods.
According to the document, the illegal production of alcohol and tobacco products will become a purely criminal offense. Now such an act, committed for the first time, is an administrative offense, which is fined by 50-100 basic calculation units (BSU=330 thousand soums, or US$ 27) (US$ 1,350-2,700).
After the amendments take effect, sanctions for the illegal production of alcohol and tobacco products will be excluded from the Code of Administrative Offenses. According to the updated article of the Criminal Code, this crime can be punished with a fine of 200-400 BSU, correctional labor for up to 3 years, and house arrest from 3 to 5 years, or imprisonment for up to 5 years.
Meanwhile, penalties have been increased for the production, storage and sale of goods, performance of work or provision of services that do not meet safety requirements.
Along with a fine (100−200 BSU), public and correctional labor, the punishment will include house arrest for 1−3 years or imprisonment for up to 3 years.
For the same offence:
- committed on an especially large scale;
- committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons;
- committed repeatedly or by a dangerous repeat offender;
- resulting in moderate or serious bodily injury - will be punished by a fine from 200 to 400 BRV, restriction or imprisonment from 3 to 5 years.
In the event of a person’s death as a result of these actions, the sentence is from 5 to 7 years in prison (currently 3-7 years). The same offences that resulted in human casualties and other grave consequences will be punishable by 7–12 years in prison (now 7–10).
The amendments will take effect three months from the date of official publication – on February 17.
