Tax and customs benefits for electrical industry enterprises will be extended

**Tax and customs benefits for electrical industry enterprises will be extended**

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev familiarized himself with a presentation on taking the electrical industry to a new level and supporting the production of competitive products.

In recent years, consistent work has been carried out in our country to develop the electrical sector, produce high-value-added products, and expand exports. As a result, the production volume in the sector increased from 4.7 trillion soums in 2018 to 43.1 trillion soums, and exports exceeded 1 billion dollars. Currently, Uzbekistan's electrical products are supplied to 65 countries.

The product structure in the sector is also changing. The production and export of copper products have increased, while the share of low-value products has significantly decreased. Eighty percent of the domestic demand for household appliances is covered by local products, and 30 percent of the manufactured products are exported. Hundreds of new types of products, such as solar panels, high-voltage cables, electric vehicle charging stations, vacuum circuit breakers, high-voltage disconnectors, and heat pumps, have been mastered.

In the seven months of this year, products worth 30 trillion soums were produced in the sector, and exports worth 706 million dollars were secured. Sixteen projects worth 148 million dollars were launched, creating 1.2 thousand jobs. By the end of the year, the task has been set to produce products worth 51 trillion soums, bring exports to 1.6 billion dollars, and launch 67 projects worth 420 million dollars.

The presentation reviewed plans to bring the production volume in the electrical and related industries to 11 billion dollars, exports to 5 billion dollars, attract 3 billion dollars in investments, and bring the added value of copper to 35 percent by 2030.

For this, the necessary raw material base and market exist in our country. More than 150,000 tons of copper cathode are produced annually, and this figure will be increased to 300,000 tons due to new capacities. Additionally, it is planned to launch 15 gigawatts of solar and wind power plants, which will form a market of orders worth 500 million dollars per year for electrical products.

At the same time, there are also issues in the sector that need to be resolved. Some enterprises lack collateral when obtaining loans for working capital, there is a need for convenient financial instruments when purchasing copper raw materials through the commodity exchange, and it is necessary to expand guaranteed mechanisms to attract major international brands. The growing construction of residential housing is also increasing the demand for electrical products.

In this regard, new mechanisms for financial support of sector enterprises were proposed. In particular, when purchasing copper raw materials, enterprises will pay 25 percent of the payment, and the remaining 75 percent will be paid by "Uzsanoateksport" JSC. Enterprises will return these funds within 90 days at an annual rate of up to 6 percent. Resources worth 50 million dollars will be directed for these purposes.

From now on, it will also be possible to accept other types of collateral for loans, such as export contracts and insurance policies. A part of the loans allocated for investment projects in national and foreign currencies will be covered for three years.

Tax benefits will be provided to major international brand companies investing at least 50 million dollars, and ready-made buildings with infrastructure were offered. It is planned to extend the term of tax and customs benefits for electrical industry enterprises until 2030, as well as to support related local industrial enterprises.

In order to expand exports, measures will be taken to establish trade warehouses in foreign markets, and to facilitate the processes of product certification and entry into foreign markets. Opportunities to expand the export of complex technological solutions to the markets of Afghanistan, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Iraq were also considered.

To strengthen innovation and research and development in the sector, it was proposed to establish the Fourth Industrial Revolution Research and Innovation Center. The center will be engaged in digital modeling, testing, localization, prototyping of new products, and providing engineering services to enterprises.

Our President gave instructions to officials to increase added value in the electrical industry, master the production of high-tech products and materials, and integrate local enterprises into global value chains.