Government tightens vehicle export regulations following Kun.uz investigations

Under a resolution adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Uzbekistan on December 24, 2025, amendments were introduced to a 2006 government decision regulating the purchase, use, and transfer of motor vehicles. The updated rules add a new provision to the regulation on formalizing transactions involving motor vehicles.

The new clause requires that any power of attorney granting the right to use or dispose of a vehicle must clearly specify whether the authorized person is permitted to take the vehicle outside Uzbekistan or whether such a right is restricted.

Authorities said the measure was introduced amid a rise in cases where cars were taken out of the country under powers of attorney and sold abroad without the owners’ consent. The absence of a clear legal requirement had created a loophole that fraudsters were able to exploit.

Kun.uz previously published several investigations into such cases. In one high-profile incident late last year, a man identified as Abdulla Abdurasulov was found to have deceived multiple car owners, transferring their vehicles to Kazakhstan and selling them there. More recently, a similar scheme was uncovered in which a group of individuals fraudulently moved cars belonging to others into Tajikistan and sold them.

Earlier, the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan reported dismantling a network that, for payment, transported vehicles to Tajikistan. According to the committee, eight individuals drove a total of 59 cars across border customs posts into the neighboring country.

Officials say the new requirement is intended to close the legal gap and prevent further abuses involving cross-border vehicle sales.