The clarification comes in response to criticism on social media over the need for the new requirement, the committee said.

The pilot program was mandated by presidential decree of February 16, 2024, while Cabinet of Ministers resolution of January 23, 2026, established the trial period and the date for introducing mandatory marking. Marking codes are being provided free of charge during the pilot.

The trial is intended to help determine which technologies and equipment are best suited to the industry, identify technical difficulties and assess how digital marking could affect manufacturers' costs and prices for consumers.

Once the pilot ends, its findings, identified problems and businesses' proposals will be compiled. The results will then be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, with recommendations intended to take into account the interests of manufacturers, businesses and consumers.

How the marking system will work

The Tax Committee previously submitted a draft Cabinet resolution on vegetable oil marking for public consultation, which ran until October 24.

The proposed system is intended to prevent the illegal import, production and sale of vegetable oil and enable digital tracking of products throughout the supply chain.

Under the draft, marking stickers bearing barcodes would be applied to the inner or outer consumer packaging. Vegetable oil producers, importers, wholesalers and retailers would be required to connect to Asl belgisi, Uzbekistan's national product marking and traceability system, operated by CRPT Turon.

If the resolution is adopted, CRPT Turon and the Tax Committee must ensure by January 1, 2027, that producers and importers registered in the system have access to order management stations that can be used remotely.

The draft also proposes introducing code aggregation from that date. This process links the codes of individual products or boxes to a single code identifying the transport package containing them.

Selling vegetable oil without a marking code would be considered a violation of trading rules, with tax authorities responsible for enforcement.

Tax Committee cites growth in marked goods turnover