Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — On 25 March, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree aimed at improving the efficiency of Uzbekistan’s customs authorities, according to the Customs Committee’s press service.

The key goal of the reform is to elevate Uzbekistan to at least 55th place in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index for customs clearance by 2030. To achieve this, the share of customs declarations processed without inspector involvement must be doubled by 2026.

By 2028, the share of border crossings requiring mandatory customs inspections is expected to decrease from 21% to 15%, while the effectiveness of the risk management system will double through the integration of artificial intelligence.

A significant change involves transferring control over phytosanitary and veterinary inspections of foreign trade cargo at border crossings to the customs service. If necessary, customs authorities will be able to involve specialists from relevant agencies in inspections.

Starting from 1 May, paper-based registration of veterinary and phytosanitary documents for foreign trade goods will be eliminated. Additionally, the requirement for seals and stamps will be abolished, with all document processing transitioning to an electronic format.

From 1 July, customs authorities will begin issuing advance rulings on preferential tariff rates in line with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. All fees and payments will be processed through a unified customs system.

On 1 September, a single treasury account for customs payments and fees will be introduced, allowing businesses to make payments from anywhere in the country.

By 1 November, a mobile application for passenger customs declarations will be launched, and by 1 December, a new “Tolling Operations” module will be implemented to process goods undergoing manufacturing both within and outside the customs territory.