In Uzbekistan, important norms on public procurement and conflicts of interest are expected to be included in the legislation.

This is stipulated in the draft presidential decree and resolution issued on June 23. 

According to the document, by January 1, 2022, the law “On the regulation of conflicts of interest” will be developed and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers.

Another bill to be submitted to the government in the same period provides for the establishment of liability for conflicts of interest in the areas of public procurement, tax benefits, land allocation, privatization of state assets.

By October 1, 2021, the following proposals will be sent to the Cabinet of Ministers:

  • the list of officials and employees of the state bodies and the organizations which are strictly forbidden to be engaged in business activity;
  • invalidation of contracts concluded in the event of corruption, including conflicts of interest;
  • restricting the participation of civil servants in entrepreneurial activities.

It is planned to launch an automated system for processing the following information on the prevention of conflicts of interest on the public procurement portal:

  • history of the participant’s participation in public procurement (previous tenders of the product, service provider, work performed);
  • information on the beneficiaries of the participant;
  • possible relationships between the customer and the participant (information about kinship, co-education, employment or business relationships, etc.).

In cases where a conflict of interest is detected through an automated system, the bidder’s participation in the procurement process may be automatically limited.

It is also planned to maintain a register of beneficiaries in Uzbekistan. Proposals in this regard will be submitted to the government by November 1, 2021.

In addition, it is planned to monitor public procurement on the basis of data from a special information portal on public procurement and publish monthly information on its results on the official website by the 15th of next month.