Uzbekistan
Central Asia's most populous country, outside the EAEU customs union
Uzbekistan has Central Asia's largest population and has been liberalising since 2017 — exchange controls abolished, investment opened up, company registration simplified. Unlike Kazakhstan it is not in the EAEU customs union, only an observer: the tariff and the certification are Uzbek. The country is doubly landlocked, so every consignment crosses at least two transit states.
Setting up a company
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Legal forms
- ·Sole trader
- ·Foreign ownership
- ·Minimum capital
- ·How long registration takes
- ·Documents to incorporate
- ·Notary and legalisation
- ·Registered address
- ·Director and residence
- ·Bank account
- ·Licences and permits
- ·What to watch for
- ·Special regimes and zones
Taxes
Setting up a company and tax are the part of the profile you cannot assemble elsewhere in an afternoon. The rest of the page is open.
- ·Corporate income tax
- ·VAT
- ·VAT registration
- ·Withholding tax — dividends
- ·Withholding tax — interest
- ·Withholding tax — royalties
- ·Payroll contributions
- ·Double taxation treaty
- ·Tax year and return
- ·Tax reliefs
What it makes and needs
Gold, natural gas, cotton and textiles, copper, fruit and vegetables. Gold is the largest export item.
Machinery and equipment, chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals and vehicles. Machinery is the largest share of imports.
Textile and processing lines, agricultural machinery and irrigation, building materials and technology, power and renewables, medical equipment, consumer goods for a growing middle class.
Money and payments
UZS — sum
In September 2017 the country abolished its multiple exchange-rate system and allowed free conversion for current-account operations — until then the single biggest obstacle for foreign companies.
EUR and USD transfers are routine. Currency operations are reported, and the bank asks for the underlying contract and the customs declaration.
Letter of credit or advance payment on first deals; state procurement has its own payment terms and tends to be slower.
Importing into their market
Uzbekistan is not in the EAEU customs union, only an observer. Clearance and the tariff are national, set by the Uzbek customs code.
Its own mandatory certification and technical regulation system, run by the Uzstandard agency. An EAC mark alone does not suffice here.
A national tariff; since 2019 duties have been cut and simplified substantially. Uzbekistan has been in WTO accession talks since 2021.
Labels in Uzbek; Russian is usually added in practice. Food must state the producer, the composition and the use-by date in the state language.
- ·Invoice
- ·contract registered with the bank
- ·transport document
- ·packing list
- ·Uzstandard conformity certificate
- ·certificate of origin
- ·hygiene and veterinary certificates for food.
Bringing their goods into the EU
Since April 2021 Uzbekistan has been a GSP+ beneficiary of the European Union: zero duty on most lines where the conditions are met. The condition is ratifying and observing 27 international conventions. From 1 January 2027 a new EU GSP Regulation applies (signed 18 June 2026, for ten years), under which GSP+ requires 32 conventions.
The GSP+ preference is claimed by an exporter registered in the REX system, with a statement on origin on the invoice; the paper FORM A is no longer used.
Fruit, vegetables and dried produce are the main export to the EU and face phytosanitary control and pesticide residue limits. Consignments without a phytosanitary certificate are stopped at the border.
Uzbekistan is not under EU sanctions. Standard end-user control applies to dual-use goods.
The importer established in the EU lodges the declaration, pays import VAT and answers for product compliance. The Uzbek exporter must be REX-registered if the importer is to claim GSP+.
Practical matters
Uzbek is the state language; Russian remains widespread in business and administration, particularly in Tashkent. English is common in newer companies and in the state investment agencies.
One of the world's two doubly landlocked countries — its neighbours have no sea access either, so every consignment crosses at least two transit states. Usual routes run through Kazakhstan or via the Middle Corridor and Turkmenistan.
Monday to Friday, weekend Saturday and Sunday.
- ·An EAC certificate from Kazakhstan does not work here — Uzbekistan certifies its own.
- ·The contract has to be registered with the bank before payment or the transfer will not go through.
- ·GSP+ is not automatic: without the exporter in REX, the EU importer pays the full duty.
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A visa, legalising a document, an invitation letter, the commercial attaché before a trade fair — these only go through a mission. Below are the official registers rather than transcribed addresses: missions move and consular hours change several times a year, so a link to the register stays current where a transcript would not.
Where a country has no mission in Bratislava or Prague it is usually accredited from Vienna, Berlin or Warsaw — the register says which.
Every figure names the authority that published it and the date the line was last worked on. This is not legal or tax advice — verify a figure with the named source before you act on it.