Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - A meeting was held at the Agency for the Promotion of Foreign Investment (APFI) between the deputy director of the Agency, Oybek Elmuratov, and representatives of Deloitte Uzbekistan, which is an international network of companies providing consulting and audit services. Together with Ernst & Young, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte is one of the “Big Four” of reputable audit firms.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss issues related to the application of investment legislation in practice, the effectiveness of the system of incentives and preferences introduced in the country for foreign investors, as well as the opportunities and advantages for potential projects in the framework of free economic zones.

During the negotiations, special attention was paid to the consideration of the system of state guarantees for foreign investors, in particular, in the framework of the laws “On foreign investments”, “On guarantees and measures to protect the rights of foreign investors” and “On investment activities”, as well as related by-laws acts.

Representatives of Deloitte noted that over the past 2 years, foreign investors have actively increased interest in Uzbekistan as a territory of new opportunities for implementing business projects, however, there is a need for a more thorough and detailed study of the tax system, created benefits and preferences for various legal forms of enterprises with the participation of foreign capital.

The widespread introduction of various incentives for foreign investors, with different amounts of investment and for different industries, currently poses the problem of choosing and calculating the most optimal and profitable type of activity.

The company’s specialists noted that investors are especially interested in whether, under the law, benefits are reserved for enterprises attracting direct private foreign investment in the amount of more than US$3.5 million and US$10 million in case of adoption of a new regulatory document or amending existing acts, and also, Is it possible to selectively select tax exemptions and preferences? What privileges do investors have when registering an enterprise with a minimum authorized capital of 400 million, in accordance with the Decree of the President “On measures to radically improve the investment climate in the Republic of Uzbekistan”.

The Agency’s leadership clarified that the adopted legislative acts are not retroactive and are valid for enterprises even after the entry into force of a new document.

In addition, the Agency noted that active work is underway to create a new bill “On Investments and Investment Activities”, which will be a single unified act aimed at ensuring the unity of the investment space, equality of the legal regime of domestic and foreign investors and creation of conditions for effective functioning investment market. With the adoption of the new law, many regulations will be abolished or repealed in order to facilitate and simplify investment activities.

During the discussion, the parties touched on the adoption of individual benefits and preferences for foreign investors. It is noted that the government of Uzbekistan is phasing out the practice of individual decisions from the country’s leadership on a number of projects, and is switching to benefits in areas and the creation of working mechanisms within the framework of existing legislation.

The next point of the dialogue was the discussion of the activities of free economic zones. Deloitte experts emphasized that the SEZs actively created in Uzbekistan and the conditions adopted in the framework of their activities attract the attention of foreign investors, however, the managerial and coordination powers of the SEZ leadership require more clarity and transparency.

At the end of the meeting, the Agency’s leadership proposed, together with Deloitte Uzbekistan specialists, to prepare a detailed list of issues of interest, with its further discussion in the relevant ministries and departments and development of proposals for consideration at the government level.