Ten types of licenses and permits to be cancelled next year

Starting from 2026, ten more types of licenses and permits will be abolished in Uzbekistan. This was announced today, August 20, during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s open dialogue with entrepreneurs.

It was stated that auditing organizations, artisans in the tourism sector, tourist information centers, and entrepreneurs conducting technical inspections of transport will be transitioned to a notification-based system.

Currently, when licensing, permits, or notification procedures are violated, both the company and its head are subject to fines. Under the new system, only the company will be fined, while the responsible official’s accountability will be determined independently by the regulatory authority.

It was noted that in recent years, requirements for 120 types of documents from citizens and entrepreneurs have been abolished, and an equal number of licenses have been digitized. Last year alone, the cancellation of 16 types of licenses and permits saved entrepreneurs 350 billion soums in expenses.

The President also announced another significant development that, starting from 2026, entrepreneurship can be fully launched under the “Start a business in 15 minutes” principle.

In this process, during the registration of an entrepreneur:

• An electronic digital signature is issued;
• A bank account is opened;
• A lease agreement is formalized if desired;
• The cash register is registered with the tax authority;
• A notification is sent to the relevant government agencies responsible for the sector.

As a result, the time required for these procedures will be reduced from the current one week to just 15 minutes.

Additionally, compliance certificates will be abolished for 32 categories of products subject to sanitary, veterinary, and quarantine controls, such as seedlings, mineral fertilizers, footwear, and livestock feed. The list of goods requiring mandatory certification has been reduced to 459 items and will be further cut by another 288 items.

Overall, the national infrastructure related to ensuring and assessing product safety and quality is being fundamentally reformed to align with international standards. Priority will be given to the practice of declaring conformity instead of certification.

"The technical regulation system will be completely transformed. All necessary conditions will be created to attract the world’s most reputable internationally recognized laboratories to the country. 

Moving forward, a market surveillance system for product quality will be implemented. Under this system, the object of control will no longer be the entrepreneur, but the product itself", the President said.

It was noted that under the “From field to table” principle, the laboratory and control functions of the sanitary, veterinary, and quarantine authorities for food safety will be unified into a single system and fully digitalized.

From now on, entrepreneurs will no longer need to run between different agencies, as all documents will be obtained from the "yagona darcha". This will help fill the domestic market with high-quality products and enhance the ability of local companies to enter global markets.

The President noted that many questions from entrepreneurs have accumulated regarding participation in government procurement and exchange trading. He stressed that thorough preparations will soon be made to address this issue, providing solutions to all existing problems. A new mechanism will be introduced to ensure equal protection of entrepreneurs’ rights when concluding contracts with government agencies and natural monopoly entities. All standard contract drafts will undergo mandatory expert review by the Business Ombudsman, the Ministry of Justice, and the Competition Committee.