By its May 19 resolution, the Cabinet of Ministers has postponed the rollout of the aggregation stage (supply-chain batch tracking) within the digital marking system for bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages for one year, shifting the deadline to April 1, 2027.
The move comes in response to pushback from market participants. Industry players argued that the sector is technologically unprepared, and criticized the mechanisms as overly complex and poorly thought out. They warned that these issues hamper production speed and volume while driving up retail prices for end consumers. Furthermore, businesses pointed out that mandatory digital tracking for soft drinks is virtually non-existent worldwide, given that the beverage industry does not carry the high risks of counterfeiting seen in other sectors.
According to the official resolution, the one-year extension is intended to "ensure that the necessary technical infrastructure is fully established for the phased rollout of mandatory digital tracking for both carbonated and still waters and beverages."
The government has also deferred the requirement to log digital marking codes in electronic invoices for one year.
Before the ruling, business owners had also voiced deep concerns over the severe financial penalties for non-compliance, which can reach up to 20% of quarterly corporate revenue—even for unintentional errors affecting a single product unit. However, the latest government resolution does not address the issue of fines.
Background
The rollout of digital marking and product tracking systems in Uzbekistan began in 2019, initially targeting tobacco and alcohol products before expanding to pharmaceuticals and household appliances. The exclusive operator of the national system is CRPT Turon. The company was established by Russia’s Center for Research in Perspective Technologies (CRPT), which operates the Chestny Znak tracking system—the Russian equivalent.
The implementation of digital marking for bottled water and soft drinks has been repeatedly delayed. Originally scheduled for October 2022, it was pushed back to July 1, 2023, and later deferred to March 1, 2024. Back in the summer of 2021, beverage and bottled water manufacturers had already urged the government to halt the pilot program, arguing that the initiative made no economic sense. CRPT Turon dismissed those industry anxieties as a "myth."
The friction intensified just ahead of the scheduled rollout of the supply-chain aggregation phase. In late March 2026, UzBev, the national Association of Beverage and Juice Producers, raised the alarm over severe operational risks, warning that the proposed tracking model was unrealistic and its underlying software algorithms were fundamentally flawed.
Shortly after, the standoff reached a boiling point during a meeting between industry representatives and Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev. The Deputy Prime Minister instructed the Tax Committee to investigate the bottlenecks so he could brief the country's leadership on the matter. During the session, entrepreneurs were explicitly promised that they would not face immediate non-compliance fines.
By early May 2026, it became clear that the industry's appeals had reached the highest levels. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev officially backed both the postponement of the supply-chain aggregation phase for bottled water and soft drinks, as well as a reduction in the severe financial penalties attached to the system.
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