In accordance with the December 17, 2025presidential decree, the interdepartmental commission on WTO accession has been granted the authority to permit the use of the "processing in the customs territory" regime (Regime 51) for items intended for the domestic market.
How it works:
- Zero Duties: Customs duties are not charged upon the import of raw materials (e.g., sugar, cocoa, or components).
- VAT Deferral: Value Added Tax is not paid at the time of import. During the processing period (e.g., 2–3 months), the VAT effectively remains in the entrepreneur’s working capital. It is paid only once—when the finished item is sold to the buyer.
- Tariff Harmonization: If a manufacturer releases a item into the domestic market, they pay the duty at the rate established for the finished good, not the raw material. If the duty on finished imported chocolate is 0%, the manufacturer also pays 0% for the imported raw materials used in it.
"Raw materials are imported under Regime 51 without any fees... then the items are cleared under Regime 40, and only VAT is paid upon sale," explained Azizbek Urunov, the President’s WTO Envoy.
The Customs Committee clarified that the rate was based on the finished item: "It is important to note that we are not talking about a duty on raw materials, but a duty applied to the finished item... if the rate for the finished item is 0%, then 0% applies here as well."
According to expert estimates, this mechanism will allow for a reduction in manufacturing costs by up to 18%.
List of Items for the Experiment
The first stage of the experiment includes 15 types of items for which local ingredient manufacturing is either non-existent or underdeveloped:
- electric scooters;
- wheelchairs;
- sunflower oil;
- marmalade;
- caramel sweets;
- chocolate;
- Baby food;
- instant noodles;
- gingerbread and cookies;
- wafers;
- pies;
- muffins;
- jams and preserves;
- canned strawberries;
- sugar-containing beverages.
Khojaev explained how the taxation logic will change.
"If, for example, you produce chocolate...starting tomorrow, customs duties on raw materials will be zero...VAT will only be paid when items are sold on the domestic market. Everything else will be zero," the Deputy Prime Minister stated.
A representative of the Customs Committee added that the change is being implemented in stages.
"The first stage concerns approximately 20 items...further discussion and possible expansion of the list is planned for the next stage," he concluded.
