Uzbekistan

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR IMPORT CUSTOMS CLEARANCES IN THE REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN

• Phase I: Preparing to import goods into Uzbekistan.
  1. Registration of the local importer/exporter at the customs office: Only legal entities, registered branches and representative offices of the companies can be involved in the import/export of goods to/from Uzbekistan.The importing/exporting party must be registered with the local customs office. Full set of company registration documents along with the application requesting for the registration of company, as an importer/exporter must be submitted to the local custom authorities. This process must be completed once a year (renewal at the beginning of each year), or when a company extends its registration in the case of a representative office.

  Documents required for registration of company as importer/exporter at customs office:

  (All documents must be notarized copies.)
  1.1.Company’s Charter or Article of Association (not required for Representative Offices)
  1.2.Registration Certificate bearing importers full legal address.
  1.3.Statistic card issued by the city Statistics department.
  1.4.Certificate from the Local Tax Inspection confirmation company’s’ registration and tax identification number.
  1.5.Letter from the bank-confirming company’s account details.
  1.6.Application requesting the head of Customs department for the registration of the company as an importer/exporter in customs data bank.
  1.7.Certificate from tax inspection confirming the company is in good standing with the tax department.

  It is strongly requested that the company initiates the registration process at the central customs office before they intend to initiate import & export operation in Uzbekistan.

  Your customs agent can handle this process for you. You’re requested to provide a complete notarized set of above-mentioned documents for the registration purposes.

  2.Phase II: Preparing to import goods into Uzbekistan.
  (This phase is extremely important due the amount of time it can take to process. It becomes even more important during a fast paced import stage).

  2.1.Calculation of the duties and VAT to be paid to customs.

  2.2.Advance payments of import duties, VAT and customs processing fee to the customs bank account: Money transfer process from company’s bank account to the customs bank account can take as long as three working days. Therefore, it is highly recommended to arrange the payment of import duties, VAT and customs processing fee to the customs bank account at least three working days prior to the arrival of shipment in Uzbekistan. This advance payment is needed if shipments are coming for projects. Otherwise for one time shipments such advance payment in the customs bank is not required. Your customs agent can calculate the value of import duty, VAT and customs processing fee in advance for you. Contact our office for further assistance.

  3.Phase III: Preparing to import goods into Uzbekistan. Original documents or notarized copies of the original documents are required for the customs clearance.

  As per Uzbek customs code, if there is no sales agreement between the “buyer” and “seller” or if it is humanitarian buyer should issue” passport of the delivery”.

  3.1Original Power of Attorney bearing official seal and the signature of an authorized person.

  3.2Notarized or original copy of sales agreement between the buyer and seller, bearing official seal and signatures of both parties. Sales agreement between the buyer and seller is not required for Representative Offices, however a letter of confirmation between the two parties stating the terms of transaction, i.e. supplied free of charge, goods supplied free of charge for temporary import only, etc., may be necessary to complete the customs formalities.)

  3.3Original Invoice on shipper’s letter blank is mandatory and should contain a complete and explicit summery of the goods. Invoice must include the following information:

• Buyers and Seller’s name and address as outlined in the sales agreement.
• The terms of sale as outlined in the contract.
• The invoice must show the split costs, clearly showing the value of the product, insurance cost and freight cost separately.
• Each item in the shipment must be listed on the invoice with an appropriate customs code (HS code).
• Invoices must be issued in Russian or English. For the ease in understanding for local customs authorities, Russian translation is required for the invoices issued in English. As your agent, Globalink can provide translation services as well as the assistance in providing a draft of an accepted invoicing format. Please consult with one of our customs specialist prior to shipping the goods.3.4Original packing list and its Russian translation is mandatory.

  3.5Original Certificate of Origin is mandatory for all shipments coming to Uzbekistan.

  3.6Public health requirement. Certain agricultural products, including livestocks, meat, plants, seeds and biological substances require sanitary certificates.

  3.7Certificate of Accordance. Is required for all commercial shipments.

  3.8Special certificates. Some item such as communication equipment’s, radio stations, transmitters, facsimile machines, telegraphic equipment, satellite communication equipment, broad casting equipment, video cameras, radio frequency equipment need a permission from the Ministry of Communications; radioactive materials need special permission from the Cabinet of Ministers; certain computer parts and all sort of weapons are subject to the special permission from the Committee of National Security of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Although this list of commodities is constantly changing.

  3.9Special / Technical goods. Import of chemical compositions and highly technical equipment require a certificate of classification for customs code. It may take up to five working days to prepare such a document. In products like food additives and chemical compositions, samples and complete technical details and generic information of the product in RUSSIAN or UZBEK language must be supplied for the analysis. Please consult prior to shipping such goods to Uzbekistan .For some chemicals permission is needed to be obtained from the Pharmaceutical Committee and Cabinet of Ministers.

  3.10IMPORT LICENSE. Certain products such as radioactive materials, explosives, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, biological substances, rare metals are restricted to import in to Kazakhstan. The importer well in advance of importing such goods to Uzbekistan must apply for the special import license. Receiving an import license is complicated and can take up to three months or longer period. The importer/exporter may be required to provide samples for analysis along with the complete technical data in Russian to facilitate the process. Import licenses are frequently restricted to time limits and quantity as well. So be sure to check with Globalink prior to shipping such items to Uzbekistan.

  3.11TEMPORARY IMPORT ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: The importer must prepare multiple copies of guarantee letter addressed to the Chief of Customs guarantying the re-export of the goods after the completion of the job. For recognition purposes, goods must bear the serial or identification numbers. In case of missing serial or identification number; photographs must be supplied with all technical details of products for obtaining the temporary import permission. Special commodities may require additional permissions from the concerned government authorities. Please consult about the requirements for your particular shipments. Usually the temporary import permission is only valid for one year and the same must be extended till the time temporary imported goods are re-export out of Uzbekistan territory.

  3.12Tariff. Duties are based on the CIF cost of the goods. Duties are payable in Uzbek currency (UZS) at the rate of exchange set by the National Bank of Uzbekistan on the day of customs clearance.

  3.13VAT and Surcharge. There is a customs surcharge (processing fee) of 0.2% of customs value. A 20% Value Added Tax is levied on the duty value. Excise tax is levied in addition to VAT on certain luxury goods such as alcohol and cigarettes.

  3.15Cash Deposit for the shipments of Alcohol and Cigarette. Like Russia, in order to allow the transit facilities through the territory of Uzbekistan, Uzbek customs authorities also require the cash deposit equaling the import duty value of the goods. The cash deposit is reimbursed once the importer will customs clear the goods at the final destination and will provide a documental proof of customs clearance. It is also required to mark the goods with the Uzbekistani Excise Stamps prior to shipping the excise goods to Uzbekistan.

  3.16Import of House Hold Goods and Personal Effects. Import of House Hold Goods and Personal Effects are subject to the import duties and VAT. HHG and PE shipments belonging to the diplomats and personal working for the projects with an immunity from the payment of import duties and VAT are exempted form the payment of import duties and VAT provided the project is approved from the Cabinet of Ministers. For further information, please ask for our detailed guideline to import HHG and PE shipments to Uzbekistan.

  3.17In general, all shipping documents except ways bills or other certificates (originals & copies) are recommended to bear an official seal (preferably round) and the signatures of shipper and consignee.

  IMPORTANT NOTE: Since 01.06.04 based on the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan #239 dated 20.05.04 there is the obligatory customs escort of all shipments, importing/exporting Uzbekistan by road. Only diplomatic shipments and shipments under TIR Carnet are exempted from the official payment (but not from the customs escort), which is following: up to 200 km – EURO 50; more than 200 km – EURO 120.