Settlement and appeals during enforcement

Once an enforcement document has been issued, the parties may enter into a settlement, seek a deferral or instalments, challenge the enforcement officer, and request the release of an attachment. Proceedings may also be terminated or closed without full payment, but only the return of the document (Article 40 of the Enforcement Law) normally preserves the right to present it again.

In brief:

• A first-instance court reviews a settlement made during enforcement within 15 days (Article 133 of the EPC); once approved, the original proceedings are terminated.
• An economic court may normally grant instalments for up to one year (Article 342 of the EPC), but this does not automatically release every attachment or restriction.
• A challenge to an enforcement officer’s decision, action, or omission must be filed within 10 days (Article 86-1 of the Enforcement Law) with an administrative court or a superior official.
• The enforcement fee is tied to the amount actually recovered by compulsion; the law provides no general hardship discount.
• Start by choosing the legal outcome: a suspension keeps the case alive, termination bars re-presentation, while return of the document normally gives the creditor another attempt.

Updated: 05 September 2026

How to choose a way to end or pause enforcement

The correct route depends on the legal outcome, not the title of the application. Deferral, instalments, and suspension keep the enforcement proceedings alive. A court-approved settlement terminates them. Return of the document closes the current proceedings but allows re-presentation if the applicable limitation period is still running.

Before choosing a route, verify the starting date: the officer opens proceedings within one business day (Article 23 of the Enforcement Law) and gives the debtor no more than 15 days for voluntary compliance. The fee and most coercive measures depend on what happens after that period.

The general target for compulsory steps is no more than two months (Article 30 of the Enforcement Law) after the voluntary-compliance period ends. Time spent on a deferral, instalments, adjournment, or suspension is excluded. Expiry of the two months does not itself terminate or close the proceedings.

This article does not cover obtaining a writ of execution, choosing the correct office of the Bureau of Compulsory Enforcement (BCE), or initially presenting the document. Those steps are explained in the article on starting enforcement proceedings. A creditor needs that process before choosing one of the routes below.

How to settle during enforcement

A settlement agreement may be made after the writ has been issued: the Economic Procedural Code expressly permits one during enforcement (Article 131 of the EPC). The settlement comes into existence once approved by the court. In an economic dispute, it is filed with the first-instance court that heard the case.

The agreement must be in writing and signed by the parties or their representatives. It must state the terms and deadlines (Article 132 of the EPC). It may provide for:

• a deferral or payment by instalments;
• assignment of the claim;
• full or partial forgiveness of the debt;
• acknowledgement of the debt;
• allocation of litigation costs;
• other lawful terms.

One obligation may not be made conditional on another obligation or on a future event. The parties must sign one more copy than their number, with the extra copy retained in the case file. If a representative signs, the power of attorney must expressly include the authority to settle (Article 14 of the Enforcement Law).

The court refuses approval if the terms contravene legislation, affect the rights or lawful interests of third parties, or make the agreement subject to a condition (Article 134 of the EPC). The schedule should therefore state each amount, due date, payment details, interest and costs, while a transfer of property should identify the asset and address third-party rights.

Once approved, the enforcement officer terminates the original proceedings. Measures imposed by the officer are cancelled, although the fee remains payable on the part already recovered by compulsion. If the debtor breaches the schedule, the court issues a writ, on a party’s application, for compulsory enforcement of the settlement (Article 133 of the EPC); no new claim on the original debt is required.

Mediation follows a different route. A creditor’s request for mediation suspends proceedings for no more than 15 days (Article 36 of the Enforcement Law). A signed mediation agreement is an independent ground for termination; if no agreement is reached, a party withdraws, or the period expires, the officer resumes enforcement.

This article deals with settlement only after enforcement has begun. The guide to commercial dispute settlement compares a court settlement with mediation, restructuring, accord and satisfaction, novation, withdrawal, and admission of a claim. Use it when the parties are still choosing the form of settlement before the enforcement stage.

How to obtain a deferral or instalments

A deferral postpones enforcement action, while instalments divide performance into scheduled parts. Where objective circumstances prevent enforcement, the creditor, debtor, or enforcement officer may apply to the court or other authority that issued the document. For recoveries payable to the state, the Business Ombudsman or Chamber of Commerce (Article 32 of the Enforcement Law) may also apply in the interests of a business debtor.

For a writ issued by an economic court, the application is decided by that court. It may defer performance, allow instalments, or change the method and procedure of execution. The ordinary maximum is one year unless a different period follows from a decision of an authorised state body or an agreement between the parties. The court decides the matter within 20 days (Article 342 of the EPC), notifies the parties and the officer, and issues an appealable ruling.

The application should include a proposed schedule and evidence of the objective obstacle: cash-flow records, documented expected receipts, seasonality, blocked-account records, mandatory current payments, or another relevant circumstance. Merely stating that funds are short does not explain why the proposed period is workable or why it protects the creditor more fully than an immediate sale of assets.

No enforcement action is permitted during a deferral. A bank-account attachment is lifted only if the deferral order expressly says so. Under an instalment order, the document is enforced in the specified parts and periods (Article 32 of the Enforcement Law); the statute does not link the schedule to an automatic release of security measures.

Adjournment of enforcement action provides a short operational pause. At the debtor’s request or on the officer’s initiative, it may last up to 10 days (Article 33 of the Enforcement Law) and may be granted no more than twice; a creditor may request the period stated in its application. Adjournment is not a substitute for a one-year instalment arrangement and does not terminate proceedings.

How to reduce or recover the enforcement fee

The current rules do not give a debtor a general right to ask a court to reduce the enforcement fee solely because of financial hardship. The final amount can be reduced through a correct calculation: exclude voluntary performance, apply a statutory exclusion, challenge an unlawful assessment, or recover the fee after the underlying enforcement basis is reversed or varied.

The fee order is issued on the day after the voluntary-compliance period expires. For a monetary document, the fee is recovered in proportion to the amount recovered. The order and the actual debit should therefore be checked separately: the existence of an order does not mean the fee was correctly calculated on the entire original claim.

Example. Suppose the document is for UZS 100,000,000, the debtor pays UZS 40,000,000 voluntarily, and the remaining UZS 60,000,000 is recovered by compulsion. The fee is UZS 60,000,000 × 5% = UZS 3,000,000, not UZS 5,000,000 on the original amount. If UZS 500,000,000, which exceeds 440.000.000 UZS, is recovered by compulsion, the 2% fee is UZS 10,000,000.

No fee is charged against budget-funded organisations, periodic payments, property transferred to the state, or money and property protected from recovery. These statutory exclusions appear in the Regulation under PP-722. On termination, the fee remains only on the part enforced by compulsion; if the judgment or other enforcement basis is cancelled, it is refunded in full (Article 39 of the Enforcement Law).

An application for a refund is filed with the relevant territorial directorate or the central office of the BCE, depending on who carried out the enforcement. The grounds are cancellation or variation of the underlying act, an erroneous or excess payment, and, in other cases, a court judgment. The application must be filed within three years; a decision is made within five days, followed by payment within five banking days after the decision is received.

How to lift an attachment from an account or property

First identify who imposed the attachment. An attachment by an enforcement officer consists of an inventory, a prohibition on disposal and, when necessary, a restriction on use, seizure, or transfer for safekeeping. Once the attachment is cancelled, the officer must remove the entry (Article 53 of the Enforcement Law) from the Pledge Register. An interim measure ordered by a court is cancelled by the court hearing the case on a participant’s application.

If the proceedings are terminated, the officer must cancel all measures imposed by that officer, including attachments, restrictions, and collection orders. On closure, measures are also normally cancelled, subject to exceptions for transfer to another officer and documents in the Obligations Register. Restrictions may also remain to the extent required to enforce fee, fine, and expense orders; these consequences are recorded in the closure order (Article 41 of the Enforcement Law).

Deferral or suspension is not the same as release of an attachment. During a deferral, an account attachment is lifted only if the decision expressly provides for it; during suspension, only if the court order says so. The application should therefore separately request suspension of action and release of the account (Article 38 of the Enforcement Law) for the relevant period.

If attached property does not belong to the debtor, the owner or a lawful possessor under statute or contract brings a claim to release the property from attachment. The claim should include the attachment record, the judicial act being enforced, and proof of title or possession, such as a contract, invoice, receipt, payment records, or registration data. The Supreme Court Plenum explains who may sue and the principal evidence required.

If the property belongs to the debtor but the officer exceeded the permissible recovery, breached procedure, or failed to release the measure after termination, the remedy is a challenge to the officer’s decision, action, or omission. If the court imposed the attachment as interim relief, apply to that court; it issues a separate ruling cancelling the measure (Article 99 of the EPC).

How to challenge an enforcement officer

A state enforcement officer’s decision, action, or omission may be challenged in two ways: before the administrative court at the officer’s location, or before a superior body or official. A prior departmental complaint is not mandatory; an interested person may apply directly to court.

The 10-day period (Article 186 of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure) runs from notice of the decision or from the date the applicant learned of the infringement. The court may restore a missed period for a valid reason.

The application identifies the officer, enforcement case, number and date of the decision or the specific omission, the right infringed, the inconsistent legal rule, and the relief sought. It includes the decision and supporting documents (Article 187 of that Code).

Obtain the enforcement file before filing. The parties may inspect it, make extracts and copies, submit evidence, make applications, and participate in enforcement steps. The officer’s decision must state the issue, legal grounds, conclusion, and appeal procedure and deadline. A failure to give reasons can be tested against these mandatory particulars (Article 86 of the Enforcement Law).

Filing a challenge does not invariably halt recovery. A court may suspend the proceedings (Article 35 of the Enforcement Law), and a superior Chief State Enforcement Officer may do the same after receiving a departmental complaint. Ask for interim protection in the judicial application if a sale, debit, or other step before judgment would make restoration of the right difficult.

A debtor under a monetary judgment may deposit the full obligation or the unpaid balance into the enforcement authority’s deposit account. Once a challenge to the judgment has been accepted or a challenge to the officer has been filed, these security funds (Article 33-1 of the Enforcement Law) are grounds to suspend proceedings and cancel restrictions; the rule does not apply to periodic payments.

A business is exempt from state duty when challenging an administrative body’s or official’s decision, action, or omission that infringes rights connected with its business activity. This state-duty exemption is set out in Article 10 of the State Duty Law.

How to recover property after a judgment is reversed

Reversal of execution restores the parties to their position before enforcement of a judgment that was reversed or varied. In an economic dispute, it applies where the executed judgment is reversed or varied and the new judgment dismisses the claim in full or part, terminates the case, or leaves the claim without consideration. The defendant receives everything recovered (Article 343 of the EPC) in the corresponding part.

The court issuing the new judgment should determine reversal. If it does not, the defendant applies to the first-instance court. The application is decided without summoning the parties or holding a hearing within 20 days (Article 344 of the EPC). Attach a bank statement, payment order, property-transfer record, or other evidence that the earlier judgment was performed.

If the application is granted, the court issues a writ for the return of money, property, or its value. If the earlier judgment was never enforced, reversal is unnecessary: the new judicial act should fully or partly terminate recovery under the part that was reversed.

Reversal of execution assumes that the original judgment has already been reversed or varied. The article on economic court appeals explains appeal, cassation, and review, together with deadlines and grounds. Use it before seeking return of recovered property if the underlying judgment is still in force.

How termination differs from closure

Termination is a final bar to using the same enforcement document again. A court terminates proceedings where a party dies or is declared missing and the right or duty does not permit succession, and where performance of a document requiring a personal act or abstention has become impossible. The enforcement officer terminates proceedings on this complete list of grounds (Article 37 of the Enforcement Law):

1. the creditor abandons recovery and the court accepts the abandonment;
2. the parties make a settlement approved by the court;
3. the parties make a mediation agreement;
4. a court replaces a criminal fine with another penalty or grants release under an amnesty;
5. the judgment or other act underlying the document is cancelled, or the enforcement document itself is cancelled or declared invalid.

After termination, the enforcement document remains in the file and cannot be presented again. The officer cancels measures and restrictions imposed by that officer, but continues to enforce earlier fine and expense orders. Ending the principal recovery does not therefore always leave a zero balance with the BCE.

Closure is a broader procedural category. The statute sets out six grounds (Article 41 of the Enforcement Law):

1. actual performance of the document;
2. actual performance by one or more jointly and severally liable debtors in consolidated proceedings;
3. return without performance at the request of the court or other issuing authority;
4. return on a ground in Article 40 of the Enforcement Law;
5. transfer of the document to another state enforcement officer;
6. transfer of the document to a liquidation commission, liquidator, liquidation manager, or financial manager.

The statute separately lists every reason for returning an unperformed or partly performed document to the creditor: the creditor’s own request; inability to identify the debtor’s address or assets; absence of attachable property and income after every permitted search step; refusal to accept unsold property; and obstruction by the creditor, including refusal to receive an awarded item. This return list (Article 40 of the Enforcement Law) cannot be replaced with an unsupported statement that recovery is “impossible.”

When an enforcement document may be presented again

Re-presentation is available after return but barred after termination. Return for a formal defect also leaves a route forward: the officer returns the document within three days and identifies the defect; once corrected, the court or other authority may send it again (Article 24 of the Enforcement Law). The return order may be challenged.

These presentation periods are set by Article 27 of the Enforcement Law. Presentation and partial performance interrupt the period, and elapsed time is not counted in the new period. When the document is returned because full or partial enforcement was impossible, a new period starts on the date of return (Article 28 of the Enforcement Law). The statute sets no separate numerical cap on re-presentations.

Only the period for a writ of execution or court order may be restored. The application is filed with the court that issued the act or the court at the place of enforcement. For other documents, restoration is unavailable (Article 29 of the Enforcement Law).

Where the debtor’s address or assets cannot be identified, or no attachable property and income exists, the information may be placed in the Obligations Register. It remains there for 10 years (Article 43-4 of the Enforcement Law). Once money or property is discovered, the proceedings are resumed immediately (Article 41-1 of the Enforcement Law); this differs from physical return of a document to the creditor for re-presentation.

What happens when the debtor becomes insolvent

Opening insolvency proceedings normally suspends enforcement until the insolvency issue is decided on the merits. Once a legal entity is declared bankrupt and liquidation proceedings begin, the officer closes most enforcement cases, releases attachments and restrictions imposed by that officer, and transfers the documents to the liquidator.

The law preserves separate proceedings, including enforcement against pledged property, recognition of title, recovery of property, restitution of unjust enrichment, invalidity of a transaction, and its consequences. Other documents are sent to the liquidator or financial manager within three business days (Article 62 of the Enforcement Law). The debt is not treated as paid; the claim moves into the insolvency process.

What changed in 2026

• Decree UP-50 of 30 March 2026 provides for future changes from 1 January 2027: automation of at least 70 percent of state enforcement officers’ decisions, electronic case administration, and digital distribution of recovered funds. Until then, the rule describes a forthcoming transition rather than a completed one.
• The same Decree approved a proposal to allow receipts into attached accounts of legal entities to be used for wages and utilities, but ordered preparation of separate draft legislation. The Decree itself does not give a debtor a current right to spend attached funds without a release decision.
• Resolution No. 19 of the Supreme Court Plenum, dated 3 July 2026, clarified that, when an officer’s decision, action, or omission is challenged, the administrative court decides whether to halt enforcement action as interim protection. Include the request in, or file it with, the judicial challenge.

What to check before filing an application or challenge

First obtain the order opening proceedings, the challenged order, attachment record, enforcement-fee calculation, and proof of every debit. The parties may inspect the file, copy it, submit evidence, and make applications; these procedural rights (Article 11 of the Enforcement Law) make it possible to build the challenge from the record rather than assumptions.

State the enforcement case number, parties, enforcement document, requested outcome, and a separate request for temporary protection. For a settlement, attach the signed text and powers of attorney containing specific authority; for instalments, a proposed schedule and evidence of the objective obstacle; for release of third-party property, proof of ownership; and for reversal, proof of earlier performance.

Check what the selected route does to the fee, expenses, and right of re-presentation. Transport, storage, sale, specialist, remittance, and search expenses must be supported by documents (Article 75 of the Enforcement Law). An expense order is sent to the parties within three days and may be challenged in court (Article 77 of the Enforcement Law).

The final check is time. Record receipt of the decision, discovery of the omission, expiry of the voluntary period, and return of the document. The same filing package may need several distinct requests: set aside the decision, suspend action, release a specific attachment, and recalculate the fee.

Frequently asked questions

Does a settlement terminate enforcement proceedings?

Yes. Once approved by the court, a settlement is a ground for the enforcement officer to terminate the proceedings. Attachments, restrictions, and collection orders imposed by that officer are cancelled, although the enforcement fee remains due on the part already enforced by compulsion. If the debtor breaches the new schedule, the creditor asks the court for a writ on the settlement terms. The old proceedings cannot resume under the old writ.

Is an account attachment automatically lifted for instalments?

No. During a deferral, an account attachment is lifted only where the order granting the deferral expressly says so. For instalments, the law requires performance in the specified parts and periods but contains no general automatic release. The application should separately justify the outcome for the particular measure: full release, a lower attached amount, or continued security until the final payment.

Can financial hardship reduce the enforcement fee?

There is no general discount on that ground. Check instead whether compulsory measures were used, what amount was actually recovered, whether part was paid voluntarily, whether a statutory exclusion applies, and whether the underlying act was cancelled. An incorrect order is challenged within 10 days. A paid fee may be refunded after cancellation or variation of the enforcement basis, or for an erroneous or excess payment.

Does a challenge stop the enforcement officer?

Not automatically in every case. The court may suspend proceedings, and the administrative court may order interim protection. Ask with the challenge to stop the specific debit, sale, or other step and explain the risk of irreversible consequences. For a monetary judgment, the debtor may deposit the full amount or balance as security funds, which are grounds for suspension and cancellation of restrictions.

Can a returned writ be presented again?

Yes. Return normally permits re-presentation within the applicable period. Presentation and partial performance interrupt that period, and after return for impossibility of recovery a new period begins on the return date. Termination is different: the document stays in the file and cannot be presented again. Check whether the officer’s order says return, closure, or termination.

How is money returned after an executed judgment is reversed?

Apply for reversal of execution. The court that reversed or varied the judgment should decide the issue; otherwise, apply to the first-instance court and attach proof that the earlier judgment was performed. The court decides the application without summoning the parties within 20 days and, if it grants relief, issues a writ for return of the money, property, or its value.