Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) —  President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree aimed at improving the system of state support for civil society institutions.

The document outlines six key areas of support designed to strengthen the role of civil society institutions in the current phase of the country's development.

The decree provides for institutional changes in this field to enhance the quality and transparency of the process for selecting projects seeking state grants and social orders.

One of the main innovations will be the establishment of a Public Fund for Supporting Civil Society Institutions under the Parliament, along with its regional branches. This change aims to ensure the targeted nature of social projects and reduce bureaucratic barriers.

To ensure transparency in all processes related to the allocation of subsidies, grants, and social orders to civil society institutions, a unified electronic platform will be launched.

The decree introduces several mechanisms to foster social partnership, including:

- Annual competitions for social orders conducted by government agencies;

- Granting government agencies the right to finance initiative social partnership projects without competitions, up to 1000 times the base calculation indicator (BCI);

- Annual adoption by the Cabinet of Ministers of a separate program to engage civil society institutions in implementing socio-economic development programs based on social partnership.

To support and promote socially significant projects for civil society institutions, the following benefits are introduced:

- A 50% reduction in income tax and social tax rates for state grant and social order projects for a period of 3 years;

- From 1 January  2025, a 50% reduction in state duty for registering associations of people with disabilities, veterans, women, and children;

- An increase in the tax-exempt amount of charitable donations from sponsoring organizations for people in need of social protection, from 15 million sums to 34 million soums (100 sizes of basic estimated value).

These measures are aimed at strengthening support and stimulating the activities of civil society institutions in Uzbekistan.