Uzbekistan introduces new legal regime to attract IT giants
A new legal regime will be introduced in Uzbekistan aimed at attracting large foreign IT companies and investors. A special legal environment based on the principles of English law, a flexible tax and customs regime, and guarantees for the protection of investment and intellectual property will be created for the Enterprise Uzbekistan International Center for Digital Technologies.
Uzbekistan is introducing a new legal regime to attract large IT companies to the country.
The 18th plenary session of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis approved the constitutional law “On the International Center for Digital Technologies”.
According to the Senate press service, this draft law was previously considered at the 17th plenary session of the Senate and returned to the Legislative Chamber with proposals for its improvement. Later, a conciliation commission consisting of senators and deputies reworked the document with the participation of representatives of interested state bodies and organizations.
This constitutional law creates a legal framework based on the principles of English law for the Enterprise Uzbekistan International Center for Digital Technologies, operating in the IT park.
According to the law, the establishment of the Center, the establishment of its activities and changes in its boundaries, the implementation of strategic management, and the appointment of key officials are carried out on the basis of relevant decrees and resolutions of the President of Uzbekistan.
The Center also plans to introduce a flexible tax and customs regime, exempt certain types of activities from taxes, and simplify the procedure for importing equipment, technologies, and materials.
A “single window” mechanism will be created for registering and managing the Center’s participants. At the same time, additional guarantees will be introduced for the protection of intellectual property and investments.
It is expected that the Center’s activities will serve to increase the country’s digital services exports to $5 billion by 2030. It is also planned to create conditions for creating more than 300,000 new high-income jobs in the economy and providing talented young people with wages that meet world standards in Uzbekistan itself.
The adoption of the law is expected to create a legal framework for protecting the property and intellectual rights of foreign investors based on international standards. This could expand the opportunities for large transnational IT companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to directly enter the Uzbek market.
According to the senators, the new legal regime will serve to increase the share of the IT sector in GDP, increase the flow of foreign direct investment into the digital sector, create new jobs, and expand the export of IT services.