Customs Committee addresses IMEI-related long queues at Tashkent airport

Oybek Shaykhov, Secretary General of the Europe-Uzbekistan Association for Economic Cooperation and an Uzbek-born businessman residing in Brussels, highlighted the IMEI issue on his Facebook page. He tagged the official page of the Customs Committee and pointed out the long queues forming at Tashkent International Airport due to the IMEI registration process.

"Not long ago, the issue of long queues at passport control was solved by increasing the number of service counters. Why not take the same approach for registering foreign-bought phones? Now, the process is mandatory and consists of two steps (Customs + UzIMEI), yet only one customs officer is handling the registrations. There seems to be a second officer, but they ‘cannot assist’ because they are ‘busy with other tasks’ — carefully writing something in a notebook," he wrote.

According to Shaykhov, passengers arriving in Uzbekistan as early as 4:30 AM, including both Uzbek citizens and foreign visitors, are forced to wait in line for hours.

"We’ve been standing in line for over an hour — both passengers and guests of the capital. Our flight landed at 4:30 AM, and now it’s 6:26 AM. In the ‘New Uzbekistan,’ old problems persist. If the authorities don’t address them, they will never be resolved. It’s a shame that, despite all the efforts made, such situations still occur at the airport exit," he added.

Customs Committee’s response

In response, Customs Committee spokesperson Husan Tangriyev provided an official explanation. He stated that representatives of the Customs Committee, "Tashkent-AERO," and the Republican Telecommunications Management Center (RTMC) had conducted an on-site inspection of the situation. To alleviate the queues, the number of staff members handling IMEI registrations has been increased.

"To improve convenience for air travelers, mobile devices can now be registered in the UzIMEI system at the airport based on passenger customs declarations. To prevent queues, we have increased the number of staff and operators involved in this process," the statement read.

Tangriyev also clarified that once a mobile device is declared upon entry into Uzbekistan, it does not have to be registered with UzIMEI at the airport. Uzbek citizens have up to 30 days, while foreign nationals have up to 60 days, to complete the registration at their convenience.

"Additionally, work is underway to introduce an online system for passengers to complete their customs declarations. Mobile applications are being developed for this purpose. In the coming days, the online declaration system will be launched in test mode, and information kiosks for completing declarations online will be installed in the arrival halls of international airports," Tangriyev added.

It is worth noting that, as of October 2024, all individuals entering Uzbekistan with a mobile phone must complete a customs declaration. Failure to do so will result in a mandatory fee for IMEI registration. This regulation became publicly known in January 2025.