Importing into Uzbekistan: clearance, duties and VAT

A commercial import releases foreign goods for free circulation after customs clearance, compliance with restrictions, and payment of charges. The Customs and Tax Codes, foreign-trade monitoring rules, technical regulations, and administrative liability rules govern the process; Presidential Decree No. UP-250 modifies several procedures in 2026.

At a glance:

• An ordinary commercial import may involve four customs payments (Article 289 of the Customs Code): customs duty, VAT, excise tax, and customs fees
• The VAT base includes customs value, duty, and excise (Article 322 of the Customs Code), and the general tax rate is 12% (Article 258 of the Tax Code)
• The import declaration must be filed within 15 calendar days (Article 261 of the Customs Code) after the goods are presented to the customs office of destination
• Before shipment, the importer should verify the HS code, permits, value, and payments and, after prepayment, monitor the contract’s 180-day time limit

Updated: 05 September 2026

Importer checks and documents

Who can import goods

The monitoring rules treat resident entities and individual entrepreneurs that contract with a non-resident as importers. For customs clearance, the declarant is generally an Uzbek legal entity or individual; foreign persons may act as declarants in specified cases. The eligible declarants (Article 274 of the Customs Code) include an individual entrepreneur if the business activity and the particular goods are not restricted by law.

An ordinary commercial shipment is placed under the import procedure (Article 55 of the Customs Code): the foreign goods remain in the country without an obligation to re-export them. After customs payments are made (Article 56 of the Customs Code) and economic-policy measures are satisfied, the goods acquire free-circulation status.

A company may file an electronic CCD without a broker or retain a customs broker. The broker acts under a contract in the name of the declarant, but the contract cannot exclude statutory duties or liability (Article 277 of the Customs Code). The contract should therefore allocate document preparation, code verification, customs valuation, responses to customs requests, and compensation for losses caused by broker errors.

What to check before signing an import contract

Before paying, check the supplier, the price, and whether the particular goods can lawfully be imported. The practical sequence is to establish the HS code, country of origin, applicable procedure, prohibitions and restrictions, mandatory conformity assessment, labelling, and any sanitary, veterinary, phytosanitary, or other permit requirements.

The import contract should clearly identify the parties, goods, quantity and quality, price, delivery basis and timing, currency and payment terms, liability, governing law, and dispute resolution. These minimum contract terms establish the data against which the bank and customs will compare the invoice, transport documents, and declaration.

The foreign-trade contract and invoice must be entered in the Unified Electronic Information System for Foreign Trade Operations (UEISFTO) before operations begin. Following prepayment, the goods must be placed under an eligible procedure or the funds returned within the prescribed period. Exceptions apply to equipment whose technical characteristics objectively require a longer delivery period and to other expressly specified cases.

If the goods fall under a technical regulation, the importer must place compliant products on the market, verify that the manufacturer completed the required conformity procedure, and control storage and transportation. These importer duties (Article 44 of the Law on Technical Regulation) apply regardless of who prepares the customs declaration.

The Cabinet of Ministers determines the documents for the import procedure, while customs checks available permits through its information system. This system verification (Article 57 of the Customs Code) does not transfer to customs the importer’s duty to determine in advance whether a certificate, opinion, licence, or label is required.

Accounting for the transaction. Exchange differences on foreign-currency payables, advances, and settlements are covered in foreign-currency accounting. That article is relevant when the contract price and payment are not denominated in soum and the exchange rate changes between recognising the goods and settlement.

What documents are required for an import

The document set depends on the goods, mode of transport, delivery terms, and any relief claimed. It usually includes the contract, invoice, packing list, transport document, freight and insurance evidence, origin documents, permits, and customs-value calculations. This is not a universal list: licensed, sanitary-controlled, or labelled goods require product-specific documents.

For road transport, the carrier presents vehicle documents, the international consignment note, a TIR carnet when used, and commercial documents. The required cargo particulars (Article 18 of the Customs Code) include, among other items, consignor and consignee, countries of dispatch and destination, at least the first 6 digits of the HS code, gross weight, invoice value, number of packages, and containers. This is a partial road-transport list; rail, air, water, and pipeline transport have different requirements.

Documents supporting the declared particulars accompany the customs cargo declaration (CCD). Customs may request additional information (Article 263 of the Customs Code) and set a deadline for missing documents. Any mismatch in description, quantity, weight, price, delivery terms, or contract details should be corrected before filing.

The certificate of origin is filed with the CCD if a tariff preference is claimed, a quota applies, or the document is mandatory on another ground. The simultaneous-filing rule (Article 364 of the Customs Code) should be coordinated with the supplier before shipment, because obtaining a properly issued original or electronic certificate after arrival is usually more difficult.

The carrier, owner, or another authorised person submits advance cargo information before actual arrival. The time limit is one hour for road and rail transport and two hours for a long- or medium-haul flight; exceptions include goods for which a prior CCD has been filed.

Clearance and customs value

How customs clearance works

The declarant or broker files the CCD, generally in electronic form. It must contain accurate particulars (Article 258 of the Customs Code) about the goods, procedure, value, and payments. The declarant must provide the documents and goods, calculate and pay or secure the payments correctly, and observe the procedure; these declarant duties (Article 276 of the Customs Code) remain when a broker is engaged.

A declaration may be filed before arrival using copies of the transport and commercial documents. Once the data are reconciled and the payments made or secured, the prior CCD operates as the single declaration. If the goods are not presented to customs within 30 calendar days (Article 262 of the Customs Code), the declaration is treated as not filed.

The ordinary import CCD must be filed within the prescribed period after the goods are presented to the customs office of destination. Customs must register it on filing day (Article 264 of the Customs Code). A refusal to accept the document must rest on a lawful reason, not on an unprescribed formality.

After acceptance of the declaration and a complete document set, clearance is normally completed within one working day (Article 248 of the Customs Code). Time spent on risk-management measures and other types of state control is excluded. The formal period therefore does not mean that goods selected for inspection or expert examination, or lacking a permit, will be released that day.

For release, customs checks that no violation has been identified, required licences, certificates, and permits are available, the procedure’s conditions are met, and payments have been made or secured. These release conditions (Article 271 of the Customs Code) should be closed before arrival, as storage and demurrage increase the shipment’s actual cost.

How to establish customs value

Customs value is not always the invoice amount. The transaction value should be its basis wherever possible, and arbitrary or fictitious values are prohibited. This primary approach (Article 301 of the Customs Code) starts with the price actually paid or payable and then tests the required adjustments.

The methods apply sequentially: transaction value; transaction value of identical goods; transaction value of similar goods; deductive value; computed value; and the fallback method. A later method is used only if the preceding method cannot be used; the deductive and computed methods may be reversed. This method sequence (Article 302 of the Customs Code) prevents a declarant from immediately selecting a preferred reference price.

Transaction value covers all direct and indirect payments to the seller or for the seller’s benefit when the goods cross the border. Its statutory definition (Article 303 of the Customs Code) operates with the additions and exclusions prescribed by the Code.

Add the following to the price if not already included:

• transport, loading, unloading, transshipment, and insurance to the place of import;
• brokerage and commissions, other than a buying commission;
• containers and packing;
• an allocated value for materials, tools, moulds, consumables, engineering, and design supplied by the buyer free or at a discount;
• royalties and licence fees connected with the sale;
• the part of subsequent resale proceeds due to the seller.

This is a closed list of additions (Article 304 of the Customs Code), and expenses must be supported by invoices, payment documents, or other proper evidence.

If stated separately, exclude construction, installation, commissioning, or maintenance after importation, post-import transport, and charges levied in Uzbekistan. Unrelated dividends and other buyer-to-seller payments are not included. These excluded expenses (Article 305 of the Customs Code) should be separated in the contract and invoice, or proving the deduction becomes harder.

The value is declared with the CCD in a customs-value declaration. It must be accurate, quantifiable, and supported by documents. These data requirements (Article 318 of the Customs Code) make payment orders, price lists, freight agreements, insurance policies, and allocation calculations part of the working file.

If the value cannot be finalised, the goods may be conditionally released after payment or security based on a conditional value. The security remains valid for 60 calendar days (Article 321 of the Customs Code); within that period the requested evidence must be supplied or the customs value must be accepted.

Import charges and payment

What payments apply to imports

Four separate payments are calculated for a commercial import. The unified customs payment applies to special non-commercial movements by individuals and does not replace the ordinary business calculation.

Duty may be ad valorem, specific, or compound; the rate type and formula follow the tariff classification (Article 292 of the Customs Code). The specific rates appear in the tariff schedule to Presidential Resolution No. PP-3818, so there is no universal “import rate”: classify the goods under the HS first.

A customs fee is charged for clearance, storage in a customs warehouse, customs escort, a prior ruling, and other listed actions. The Cabinet of Ministers sets the rates, which may not exceed the approximate cost of the relevant customs service. This fee list (Article 291 of the Customs Code) means that the fee cannot be reliably included without the procedure and current schedule.

How to calculate duty, excise tax, and VAT

The calculation follows an order: establish customs value, then duty, then excise for excisable goods, followed by VAT and any applicable fee. Foreign currency is converted at the Central Bank’s official exchange rate (Article 326 of the Customs Code) on the date the CCD is accepted.

Ad valorem duty equals customs value multiplied by the rate. If the tariff states “a percentage, but not less than an amount per unit,” use the higher result; if it states “a percentage plus an amount per unit,” add the results. These rate formulas (Article 293 of the Customs Code) cannot be replaced by one percentage formula for every product.

The excise base depends on the rate: customs value for an ad valorem rate, physical volume for a fixed rate, and both for a compound rate. The excise-base rule (Article 285 of the Tax Code) applies only if the goods are on the effective excisable-goods list.

Import VAT is calculated on customs value increased by the duty and excise tax payable. This tax base (Article 254 of the Tax Code) is determined separately for each group of goods.

Example. The customs value of non-excisable equipment is UZS 100,000,000. Assume for illustration that the confirmed HS code attracts 10% ad valorem duty: 100,000,000 × 10% = UZS 10,000,000. The VAT base is 100,000,000 + 10,000,000 = UZS 110,000,000; VAT at 12% is 110,000,000 × 12% = UZS 13,200,000. Payments before the customs fee total UZS 23,200,000.

When to pay and how to obtain deferral

As a rule, customs payments are made before or at the time the CCD is accepted. This payment point (Article 327 of the Customs Code) changes if the Code or a special act provides another deadline or customs grants a deferral or instalment plan.

Funds are transferred to the customs authority’s Treasury personal account, generally in national currency. The transfer procedure (Article 328 of the Customs Code) matters when planning a foreign-currency payment to the supplier: supplier payment and customs payment are separate cash flows.

An ordinary deferral or instalment plan runs for 14 to 60 calendar days (Article 329 of the Customs Code). Up to 120 days is available for specified production imports and certain small businesses; customs decides within 5 working days after receiving the documents. A broader rule for business customs-duty deferrals applies from 1 June 2026, as explained below.

The application must include a written undertaking to pay and evidence of security. This document set (Article 330 of the Customs Code) should be ready before the CCD is filed. Missing documents or an existing customs debt are grounds for refusal (Article 331 of the Customs Code).

Security may take the form of a cash deposit, pledge of goods, bank guarantee, insurance, or suretyship. This complete list (Article 339 of the Customs Code) should be assessed by cost, preparation time, and how quickly customs can verify the instrument.

Interest is generally charged for each deferral day using 50% of the refinancing rate (Article 332 of the Customs Code), converted to a daily rate; statutory exceptions apply. The formula uses the rate effective during the deferral period.

Example. If UZS 30,000,000 is deferred for 20 days and an illustrative refinancing rate is 14% per year, the calculation is 30,000,000 × (14% × 50%) / 365 × 20 = approximately UZS 115,068. Use the actual rate before payment and check whether an interest exemption applies.

Funds may also be paid in advance. Until allocated through a CCD or application, they remain advance funds, and a refund application may be filed within three years (Article 335 of the Customs Code) after their last use.

Input VAT and relief

When import VAT may be credited

Import VAT may be credited if the goods are used in taxable or zero-rated activities and the tax was actually paid to the budget. These input-credit conditions (Article 266 of the Tax Code) also apply to fixed assets: if satisfied, the tax paid at customs is credited in full.

If the goods are used for exempt activities or the importer is not a VAT payer, no credit is available. Non-creditable VAT (Article 267 of the Tax Code) is included in acquisition cost in the prescribed cases. Where taxable and exempt activities coexist, the amount is allocated under the applicable method.

Example. In the preceding calculation, the importer paid UZS 13,200,000 in VAT. If the equipment is recognised and used solely in the taxable activity of a VAT payer, that amount may reduce output VAT. If the company pays turnover tax and is not registered for VAT, the same UZS 13,200,000 is included in the equipment’s cost.

VAT in context. This article covers tax calculation at customs and the input-credit condition. Registration, returns, allocation of input tax, and negative-balance refunds are explained in the VAT guide; establishing the initial cost of a shipment is covered in inventory accounting.

How to claim relief or a tariff preference

Relief cannot be claimed merely from the project or product name: identify the legal basis, eligible recipient, product code, period, and use conditions. Tariff relief can take the form of a duty refund, rate reduction, or exemption. These forms of relief (Article 297 of the Customs Code) do not mean that every shipment in a named category is automatically exempt.

Free-trade treatment requires proven origin and compliance with direct-purchase and direct-shipment conditions between residents of the participating states. The duty exemption (Article 300 of the Customs Code) must be tested against the applicable international agreement and certificate of origin.

Absence of a certificate does not by itself prevent release, but additional duty may arise. If a properly issued certificate is supplied within one year (Article 366 of the Customs Code), most-favoured-nation or free-trade treatment may be restored and the overpayment reclaimed.

For uncertain classification, origin, or payment calculation, an importer may request a prior ruling. It binds customs authorities, and a classification ruling remains valid for one year (Article 370 of the Customs Code). This is particularly useful before a large or recurring contract.

Corrections, refunds and control

How to correct a declaration and recover an overpayment

Correct an error as soon as it is identified. In specified cases, a CCD may be amended, supplemented, or cancelled within three years (Article 266 of the Customs Code) and withdrawn before release. Amendment after acceptance depends on the control stage and the nature of the particulars.

Customs value and payments are corrected during clearance or after release if there is a technical error, the chosen method does not match the documents, the goods were misdeclared, or quantity or quality differs. The correction grounds (Article 320 of the Customs Code) require the amended CCD to be tied to source documents and a calculation of the shortfall or overpayment.

An application to refund or offset an overpayment is generally filed within three years (Article 353 of the Customs Code) after payment or collection. A one-year period applies when most-favoured-nation or free-trade treatment is restored after a certificate is supplied. Customs decides within ten working days (Article 356 of the Customs Code), and an additional review may add another 10 working days.

What post-release checks and penalties may apply

Release does not end the audit risk. On sufficient confirmed grounds, customs may recheck the goods, CCD particulars, documents, and related foreign-trade and subsequent commercial operations. Control of the same contract is limited to one review, and additional assessment is possible within three years (Article 201 of the Customs Code) after customs control ends.

Penalty interest accrues on a customs debt for each late day at 1/300 of the refinancing rate (Article 349 of the Customs Code), but total interest cannot exceed the debt.

Example. For a UZS 20,000,000 debt, 30 late days, and an illustrative annual rate of 14%, penalty interest is 20,000,000 × 14% / 300 × 30 = UZS 280,000. The actual calculation uses the rates effective on the late days.

Administrative liability depends on the offence and the person’s status. Failure to declare, or false particulars affecting release or payments, carries a fine of 7–15 base calculation units (Article 227-22 of the Code of Administrative Liability) for an official, together with confiscation of the items. Late customs payment carries a fine of 5–10 base calculation units (Article 227-26 of the Code) for an official. Classification depends on the facts, consequences, and repetition.

Changes and shipment checks

What changed in 2025–2026

• From 1 March 2026, prior declaration before arrival reduces the clearance fee by 20%, and no interest accrues on a deferral or instalment plan lasting up to 14 days. The change is in UP-250 of 17 December 2025
• From 1 May 2026, payments under periodic declarations may be made separately for each arriving lot. The basis is UP-250 of 17 December 2025
• From 1 June 2026, businesses may obtain customs-duty deferral or instalments for up to 120 days; from 1 July, permits are processed by low-, medium-, or high-risk category. The rules were introduced by UP-250 of 17 December 2025
• From 1 June 2026, no sanitary and epidemiological opinion is required for food from producers certified under the named international systems, but the importer remains responsible for compliance. The exception is in UP-250 of 17 December 2025

What to check before the goods are shipped

Close five workstreams before shipment: goods, contract, documents, calculation, and deadline control. This sequence reduces the risk that the cargo arrives before its code, certificate, value, or financing has been settled.

1. Fix the HS code and check duty, excise tax, prohibitions, labelling, and permits.
2. Reconcile description, quantity, price, Incoterms, currency, and dates across the contract, specification, and invoice.
3. Obtain transport documents, the certificate of origin, and evidence of freight, insurance, royalties, and other value elements.
4. Calculate value, duty, excise, VAT, and the fee; fund the Treasury account or arrange a deferral in advance.
5. Assign responsibility for advance information, the CCD, customs responses, acceptance, and retention of the post-release file.
6. Track performance of a prepaid contract and promptly correct discrepancies in the UEISFTO and CCD.

Frequently asked questions

Can an individual entrepreneur import goods?

Yes. The monitoring rules define resident legal entities and individuals carrying on business as importers. The right to import a particular product still depends on the permitted activity, HS code, licence, certificate, and product restrictions. The unified payment for an individual’s non-commercial import cannot be used as a commercial-import procedure for an entrepreneur.

Does VAT form part of the unified customs payment?

The unified customs payment replaces duty, VAT, and excise only in special cases of non-commercial movement by individuals. A business commercial import uses separate calculations: duty by product code, excise if the product is excisable, VAT on the expanded base, and a customs fee for the relevant action.

How can the duty rate be checked before purchase?

First classify the goods under the HS based on their characteristics and function, then find the rate in the effective tariff and check origin. A prior customs ruling may be requested for an uncertain or significant shipment. Do not choose a code from the invoice description alone: composition, function, material, and whether the goods form a set can change classification.

What happens if goods are not imported within 180 days after prepayment?

The foreign-trade operation becomes overdue unless a specific exception applies or the money is returned. The bank and foreign-exchange control authorities see contract movements through the UEISFTO. Check the cause, documents proving a technical delivery period, whether the contract may be amended, and the refund process; a private extension does not always remove the public-law consequence.

Is a customs broker mandatory?

No. A foreign-trade participant may file an electronic CCD directly if it has system access and a competent specialist. A broker can assist with classification, filing, and customs interaction, but does not relieve the importer from checking documents, value, permits, and contract terms.

Can import VAT be credited by a turnover-tax payer?

Generally not. A turnover-tax payer pays VAT on imported goods because importation is a separate taxable event, but cannot credit it without VAT-payer status. The tax is included in the cost of the goods or asset under the applicable accounting rules. Credit becomes available after VAT registration and only if the Tax Code’s conditions are met.