Uzbekistan seeks private sector involvement in elevator certification amid import halt

Uzbekistan's Competition Committee has officially commented on the reports surrounding the artificial halt of elevator imports.

The committee has submitted proposals to the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology and the Cabinet of Ministers to address the issues faced by entrepreneurs involved in the import of elevators and elevator products.

“Based on a group of entrepreneurs’ complaints published by the Competition Committee for the Development of Competition and Protection of Consumer Rights, the following was found when examining the issues within the scope of authority regarding the import of elevators and elevator products:

According to the information from the 'Industrial Safety' state institution, compliance certificates for elevator equipment issued based on Scheme 3 have been canceled due to additional requirements included in the regulation approved by Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution No. 801 of October 6, 2017. Additionally, the certification body activities of the 'Industrial Safety' state institution have been temporarily suspended based on periodic evaluation results.

However, due to the preservation of additional safety requirements for elevators and the suspension of the validity of 17 compliance certificates issued based on Scheme 3, the imported elevators and escalators are currently stuck in warehouses,” the statement said.

The Competition Committee has made the following proposals to the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology and the Cabinet of Ministers to resolve the issues faced by entrepreneurs involved in the import of elevators and elevator products:

Take measures to exceptionally restore the 17 canceled compliance certificates by the authorized body;

Take measures to attract foreign grant funds to improve the material and technical base of existing testing laboratories (necessary for testing elevators, elevator equipment, and escalators, including testing towers and equipment);

Take measures to widely involve the private sector in the market for testing elevators and issuing compliance certificates;

Establish the practice of issuing a single compliance certificate for elevator goods of the same brand and model brought in under one contract, by testing only one sample.

How did the elevator issue arise?

As we reported earlier, elevator importing entrepreneurs have been unable to pass their goods through customs since March 20, as their compliance certificates were unexpectedly canceled. Officials from the Industrial Safety Committee explained this by stating that the requirements for elevators were changing.

It is known that currently, the accreditation of the 'Industrial Safety' state institution has been suspended, and therefore there is no accredited certification body conducting compliance assessment activities.

This information came to light during investigations by the Senate’s Committee on Defense and Security Issues following entrepreneurs’ complaints.

Before the import halt, the 'Industrial Safety' state institution was the only accredited body in the republic for certifying industrial products (elevators, escalators, gas cylinders, heating boilers). Later, its accreditation was canceled, but the Senate report did not clarify the reasons for this cancellation.

It was determined that 332 elevators and escalators worth $9.5 million brought in by 47 companies are currently under customs control in warehouses.

Earlier, it was reported that some of the elevators stuck in customs were released following the Senate’s intervention, but the issue has not been fully resolved.