“There are no plans to introduce an anti-dumping duty on the import of household appliances” – Uzeltekhsanoat

There are no plans to establish anti-dumping duties on the import of foreign household appliances in Uzbekistan, the Uzeltekhsanoat Association reported.

As previously reported, according to the protocol No. 118 dated December 25 of the government commission on attracting investments, industrial development and trade regulation, headed by Deputy PM Jamshid Khodjayev, responsible organizations were instructed to develop proposals for the introduction of anti-dumping duties on the import of household appliances.

“Today, as we were informed by the government following a study of the issue of the possibility of introducing an “anti-dumping duty”, there are no plans to introduce it. A certain part of other proposals from the protocol was approved by the January presidential decree of January 10, 2024.

For example, extension of tax benefits until January 1, 2027. At the same time, the main condition remains that the funds released due to this benefit are not distributed by enterprises in the form of dividends, but are directed towards the creation of new production facilities and the modernization of existing facilities,” Uzeltekhsanoat said in a statement dated January 22.

The Association did not touch upon other issues contained in the commission’s minutes. In particular, the protocol also provided for the provision of exchange rate hedging services to local electrical industry enterprises when exporting and reimbursement of transport costs when importing raw materials.

It should be noted that by presidential decree dated January 10, the government commission chaired by Deputy PM Jamshid Khodjayev was instructed to take measures to provide additional support for enterprises in the electrical industry until January 1, 2027. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, in accordance with the decisions of the commission, must allocate the necessary funds.

Also, according to the resolution:

•  from February 1, 2024, a requirement was introduced for the presence of an authorized representative of the manufacturer when importing a number of household appliances into Uzbekistan, such as irons, microwave ovens, washing machines, air conditioners (according to the Ministry of Justice, this is not provided for in the version of the bill submitted to the Ministry for legal examination);
•  until January 1, 2027, income tax and property tax rates have been reduced by 50% for enterprises in the electrical industry, whose income from the sale of electrical products amounts to at least 80% of total income;
•  to finance investment projects implemented in the electrical industry, in 2024-2026, entrepreneurs will be provided with loans totaling $100 million at a rate of 7% per annum for a period of 10 years with a 3-year grace period.

For reference, an anti-dumping duty is an additional duty on imported goods that are imported at prices lower than the domestic prices of the producing country, that is, using dumping.