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     Decree

President of the Republic of Uzbekistan

In order to strengthen social protection of the population and ensure the stability of the functioning of economic sectors, as well as to provide support to individual economic entities during the period of countering the spread of coronavirus infection:

1. Establish, by December 31, 2020, zero rates of customs duty and excise tax on the import of goods in accordance with Appendix No. 1.

The Council on Tariff and Non-Tariff Regulation, together with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, within two weeks, make proposals for further improving foreign economic activity, paying special attention to reducing the cost of imported raw materials, materials, accessories and components used by small businesses for the production of products.

2. Continue for a period of 6 months without interruption in the payment of benefits to families with children, childcare benefits and material assistance, the payment period of which ends in March - June of the current year, without requesting an application for the continuation of their payment for a new period and other documents (but no more than the period for the child to reach 2 years and 14 years, respectively).

Establish that the costs of extending the payment of social benefits and material assistance are covered by the Anti-Crisis Fund.

3. Supplement for the period of validity of quarantine measures
A list of basic food and hygiene products for the free provision of lonely elderly and disabled people in need of outside care with sets of disposable masks, antiseptics and antibacterial soap.

4. Establish that in the period from April 1 to December 31, 2020:

a) tour operators, travel agents and tourism entities providing hotel services (accommodation services), Uzbekistan Airways JSC and its structural divisions, Uzbekistan Airports JSC and State Unitary Enterprise Center Uzaeronavigatsiya:

are exempt from paying land tax on legal entities and property tax of legal entities;

pay social tax at a reduced rate of 1 percent;

b) payers of value added tax, whose sales turnover of goods (services) does not exceed 1 billion soums per month and who use electronic invoices, have the right to calculate and pay value added tax on a quarterly basis;

c) the procedure for the application of increased rates of property tax and land tax in respect of unused production areas, non-residential structures, including those identified before April 1, 2020, as well as the accrual of penalties and the adoption of measures for enforced collection of debts arising as a result of the application of increased rates is suspended according to the specified taxes.

5. Suspend the accrual of a fixed amount of personal income tax and social tax for individual entrepreneurs who were forced to suspend their activities for the period of quarantine measures, without the need to submit a certificate of state registration, with notification of the suspension of the activities of the state tax service through the personal account of the taxpayer.

6. Grant the right to an interest-free deferral (installment plan) of taxes for a period until October 1, 2020 with notification of the tax authorities to microfirms, small enterprises and individual entrepreneurs that have suspended their activities and (or) whose amount of proceeds from the sale of goods (services) is reduced by more than 50 percent compared to the monthly average for the first quarter of this year:

without filing an application to local government authorities for turnover tax, property tax, land tax, tax for the use of water resources - with their subsequent payment in equal installments within 12 months;

for social tax - with its subsequent payment in equal installments within 6 months.

7. By the end of this year, maintain the current rates of excise tax on alcohol, alcoholic beverages, including wine and beer, as well as excise tax when selling gasoline, diesel fuel and gas to the end consumer.

8. To reduce, from April 1, 2020, the mandatory requirement for legal entities to make an advance payment for gas and electricity to 30 percent.

9. To approve the measures taken by the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan on:

providing commercial banks with additional liquid resources in the amount of 2.6 trillion soums by easing requirements for mandatory reserves;

introduction of a special mechanism for providing liquidity to commercial banks for a period of up to 3 years in the amount of up to 2 trillion soums.

10. Take into consideration the information of the Central Bank that:

within the framework of the execution of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated March 19, 2020 No.UP-5969, debt on loans to legal entities in the amount of 7.9 trillion soums was deferred;

the volume of additionally restructured payments on loans to organizations that have encountered financial difficulties in connection with the

Uzbekistan and other countries with measures to combat coronavirus and a sharp decline in economic activity, amounts to an additional 7 trillion soums;

the volume of prolonged payments on loans to individuals
and individual entrepreneurs, due in the next 6 months of 2020, is 4.7 trillion soums.

11. The Central Bank should take measures to create conditions and simplify procedures for:

the provision by commercial banks until October 1, 2020 of a deferral of payments on loans to legal entities and individuals, individual entrepreneurs facing financial difficulties;

non-application of penalties and enforcement measures on collateral for overdue loans of borrowers whose activities were negatively affected by the introduced quarantine regime.

Establish that the amount of interest accrued and deferred by commercial banks on loans is not included in the total income when calculating income tax during the period of the grace period.

12. Determine that in the period before October 1, 2020, the State Fund for the Support of Entrepreneurial Activity shall provide:

surety for loans issued to business entities with a positive credit history to replenish working capital, in the amount of up to 75 percent inclusive of the loan amount, but not more than 10 billion soums, regardless of the number of projects;

compensation to cover interest expenses on loans issued to business entities in national currency to replenish working capital with an interest rate not exceeding 1.75 times the size of the Central Bank's base rate, while maintaining the established amounts of compensation.

Abolish the restriction on the provision of a guarantee and compensation by the state fund to one borrower at the same time.

13. The Fund for Reconstruction and Development to prolong the maturity of the resources allocated to commercial banks for refinancing loans for which a deferred payment is granted under this Decree.

14. The Ministry of Finance, together with interested commercial banks, to reissue the issued state guarantees for loans extended under this Decree.

15. Determine that:

a moratorium is introduced for a period until October 1, 2020 on initiating bankruptcy procedures and declaring bankrupt enterprises that have encountered financial difficulties in connection with the restrictive measures introduced to counter the spread of coronavirus infection;

the period for conducting an audit at the end of 2019 of economic entities subject to a mandatory audit is extended until October 1, 2020;

it is allowed to hold annual general meetings of shareholders based on the results of 2019 until October 1, 2020, as well as via video conferencing;

the requirement for a mandatory annual audit of limited and additional liability companies with a book value of assets of more than one hundred thousand base calculated values ​​is introduced at the end of 2020;

the terms for payment of administrative fines applied to persons placed under quarantine (with the exception of liability for violation of quarantine rules) are extended until the end of quarantine;

until October 1, 2020, the wholesale of medicines, medical devices and other products manufactured in pharmacies is allowed;

before the end of the year, when a loan (financial assistance) is provided without an obligation to pay interest income to the lender, income determined for tax purposes based on the refinancing rate (basic rate) is not subject to inclusion in the total income when calculating income tax and value added tax and, accordingly, is not is subject to taxation;

the accrual and collection of lease payments for the use of state property by business entities that were forced to suspend their activities for the period of the quarantine measures are suspended;

income tax payers have the right to submit a certificate of the amount of advance payments for income tax starting from the second quarter of 2020 based on the expected volume, with the cancellation of the requirement for its calculation based on the results of the previous quarter. If the facts of abuse of this right are revealed, the tax authorities are given the authority to amend the submitted certificates of advance payments of income tax;

From April 1, 2020, taxpayers apply value added tax incentives provided for by decisions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Cabinet of Ministers, without the condition that the funds exempted from taxation be directed for specific purposes.

Republican Anti-Crisis Commission (A.N. Aripov) to take measures to create conditions for persons continuing production activities, ensuring that sanitary and epidemiological control services and health care institutions are attached to them for constant monitoring of the organization of conditions for their employees, as well as extending the deadlines for

fulfillment of investment obligations not fulfilled due to restrictive measures introduced to counter the spread of coronavirus infection.

16. Determine that:

construction materials necessary for the construction of medical and quarantine facilities to combat coronavirus infection, as well as goods necessary for their functioning, are exempt from customs duties, including value added tax, for a period until December 31, 2020;

when importing express tests for detecting coronavirus infection, they are not charged a customs clearance fee.

17. To amend the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated February 18, 2020 No. UP-5938 "On measures to improve the social and spiritual atmosphere in society, further support the institution of makhalla, as well as raise the system of working with families and women to a new level" according to the appendix No. 2.

18. To point out to the local government authorities about the weak organization of work to provide business entities with a deferral (installment plan) for the payment of property tax, land tax and tax for the use of water resources.

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan shall provide monthly compensation from the Anti-Crisis Fund to local budgets for lost income in connection with the provision of deferrals (installments) for the payment of property tax, land tax and tax for the use of water resources.

19. The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, within a week, to amend the current procedure for the appointment and payment of social benefits, aimed at simplifying the procedure for assessing the need for families to receive social benefits, including:

reduction of documents provided with the application for social benefits;

exclusion of individual transfers from the total family income, which are measures of state social support, and more.

The Ministry for the Support of the Mahalla and Family of the Republic of Uzbekistan and its territorial divisions should closely interact with the self-government bodies of citizens in order to ensure the targeted assignment of social benefits and material assistance, as well as promptly take measures to attract the necessary assistance to provide assistance to families in dire need of social support.

20. The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, within two weeks, to make proposals on amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the State Budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020" and other legislative acts.

21. Control over the implementation of this Decree shall be entrusted to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan A. N. Aripov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan D. A. Kuchkarov. and Chairman of the Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan M.B. Nurmuratov.

The president

Republic of Uzbekistan Sh. Mirziyoyev

Tashkent city,

April 3, 2020

 

Source: uza.uz