Licensing and Notification Procedures in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan's regulatory environment for businesses is designed to streamline processes while ensuring compliance. For entrepreneurs, understanding the core aspects of licensing, permitting, and notification procedures is crucial for smooth operations. This guide provides a concise overview of the most important elements you need to know.

I. Core Principles for Business Owners

The legal framework is built on principles of legality, transparency, and prioritizing the rights and interests of individuals and legal entities, alongside public safety and environmental protection. A key initiative is the "Single Window" principle, meaning that when an authorized body needs additional documents from other state agencies to issue a license or permit, they will obtain these themselves, without requiring your direct involvement.

II. Activities Requiring a License: Common Examples

While a comprehensive list of activities requiring a license can be found in Annex 1 of the law, some of the most common sectors and activities that necessitate a license include:

• Non-state educational services: This covers a wide range, from preschool to higher education, and even driver training.

• Medical and Pharmaceutical activities: If you're looking to open a clinic or a pharmacy, these activities are licensed based on medical specializations and include the production, manufacture, and wholesale of medicines.

• Financial Services: This encompasses banking activities, insurance, and even the emerging field of crypto-asset service providers (like crypto exchanges and crypto stores).

• Transportation of Passengers and Cargo: Whether by road (both domestic and international) or by rail, these activities are subject to licensing.

• Work with Explosives and Hazardous Substances: This broad category includes the development, production, storage, and handling of pyrotechnic products, and activities involving narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, and their precursors.

• Utilities and Energy: Key activities such as electricity production, transmission, distribution, storage, and supply are all licensed.

(For a full list of licensed activities, please refer to Annex below)

III. Activities Requiring a Permit Document: Common Examples

Permit documents are necessary for activities that require specific authorization but are not as comprehensively regulated as licensed activities. Some common examples include:

• Transportation of specialized cargo: This includes heavy and oversized cargo, as well as hazardous materials.

• Construction and infrastructure projects: Obtaining permits for the re-equipment of motor vehicles, construction/reconstruction of railway sidings, or projects that might affect flight safety (e.g., buildings near airfields) are crucial.

• Environmental activities: Permits are needed for specific water use, hunting, removal of rare/endangered animals and plants, and the import/export of ozone-depleting substances.

• Certain industrial and technical operations: This includes permits for specific explosive works, chemical protection of equipment, and the use of X-ray equipment.

• Mass Media and Cultural Heritage: Activities like obtaining a mass media registration certificate, temporary export of state archive documents, film and video shooting by foreign companies, and public film demonstrations all require permits.

(For a full list of activities requiring permit documents, please refer to Annex below)

IV. Activities Requiring Notification: Common Examples

For certain activities, a simpler notification to the authorized body is sufficient, indicating your intent to begin or cease operations. These include:

• Jewelry related activities: This covers manufacturing, working with, and selling jewelry.

• Financial and related services: Activities such as investment consulting, pawnshop operations, certain bank branch activities, and microfinance organization branch activities are often under this category.

• Educational and training activities: Non-school educational activities (including foreign language learning) and advanced training/retraining of personnel fall under this.

• Specific trade and service activities: This includes the retail sale of tobacco and alcoholic products, as well as the sale of petroleum products (excluding factory-packaged ones).

• Publishing and printing: The initiation or cessation of publishing and printing activities only require notification.

(For a full list of activities requiring notification, please refer to Annex below)

V. Fees and Costs

Fees are associated with obtaining licenses and permits. A state fee is charged for the issuance, extension, and modification of a license. For permit documents, a separate fee is collected for their issuance or extension. There is also a fee for the review of your application.

The fees vary depending on the type of activity and procedure. Generally, fees for permits and notifications range from 20 to 200 Base Specified Values (BSV), equaling 7,500,000 - 75,000,000 UZS (~577 to 5,770 USD), while licenses generally range from 200 to 300 BSV, equaling 75,000,000 - 112,500,000 UZS (approximately 5,770 to 8,650 USD).

It is important to note that the application review fee is non-refundable, even if your application is rejected or withdrawn.

VI. License Period and Transferability

Most licenses in Uzbekistan are issued without a time limit. However, there are exceptions for certain activities, such as medical, pharmaceutical, and some trade-related licenses, which have a limited duration but are usually not less than five years. These limited-term licenses can be extended upon application.

A crucial point for business owners: licenses and the rights derived from them cannot be transferred to other persons. However, if your legal entity undergoes a reorganization (like a merger, but excluding transformation or merger where both original entities already had the same license), or if your company's name or location changes, you must apply for a re-issuance of your license within five working days after re-registration. In cases of re-issuance due to reorganization or name/location change, the business entity can continue its operations based on the submitted application until the re-issued license is obtained. Re-issuance and issuance take no more than five working days. Importantly, if you apply for re-issuance through the registering authority, no fee is charged.

VII. Suspension and Annulment

Licenses and permits can be suspended or annulled under specific circumstances. Suspension typically occurs due to violations of licensing requirements, with durations varying from up to ten days (by the authorized body) to up to six months (by a court). If violations leading to a suspension are rectified, your license or permit can be reinstated.

Annulment, a more severe measure, can happen for various reasons, including voluntary request, liquidation of the legal entity, or the discovery of systematic (two or more times within one year) or gross violations that cause harm to citizens, public safety, or the environment. A license obtained using forged documents will also be annulled, effective from its original issuance date. In cases of severe violations (systematic, gross, or forged documents), you may be prohibited from obtaining another license for the same activity for one year, a restriction that also applies to new entities formed by the same founders.