Minister of Justice Ruslanbek Davletov at the Feb 4 plenary session of the Senate presented an analysis of data from the Business Indicator system, which allows assessing the ease of doing business in the provinces of Uzbekistan.
The assessment encompassed 21 areas based on information provided by the relevant authorities, as well as on a survey of entrepreneurs (methodology).
The assessment found that in the first six months of 2021, none of the 14 provinces of Uzbekistan was recognized as "exemplary". The lowest figures were recorded in Andijan, Jizzakh and Surkhandarya provinces.
During this period, the number of cases of seizure of land owned by businesses for state and public needs has doubled compared to the same period in 2020.
The indicator of allocation of vacant buildings and land plots for doing business decreased by 5%.
The number of disputes considered in court involving businesses increased by 50%.
“This is a bad signal - the number of disputes between government agencies and businesses is increasing. If someone goes to court, this indicates that the main system is not working well,” the minister stressed.
According to him, if this trend continues, the judicial system will not withstand the inflow of complaints.
“Now one judge in civil courts considers 150 cases per month. Even if you count for 30 days, this will make 5 cases per day. When will he have time to review cases, to express his opinion? The judicial system will not be able to withstand such pressure, and here the figures are growing by 50% per year,” he said.
In addition, the number of inspections and audits for every 1,000 businesses has increased by 2.5 times.
“Revisions, checks are out of the old system. We are switching to an audit system, in-house control, but all the same, these revisions are there - they are displayed in our automated system, ”said the head of the Ministry of Justice.
In the first half of 2021, the amount of compensation allocated by the State Entrepreneurship Support Fund decreased by 36% compared to the same period last year.
