Modern customs legislation of Uzbekistan is characterized by the comprehensive approach towards regulation of customs issues. Customs law regulates various aspects which are directly or indirectly related with the subject of legal regulation – movement of goods and vehicles across customs border.

The draft Customs Code in new revision not only consists of the sections about customs registration, customs control and customs payments but also regulates such activities of customs bodies as personal examination, inspection of premises and territories, etc. which define them as law-enforcement body. Comprehensive character of customs regulation also assumes defining the status of customs authorities as participants of the currency control mechanism and etc.

In these regard, it is important that norms of the Customs Code do not contradict respective norms of ’sectional’ laws (Code on Administrative Responsibility, Procedural Criminal Code, in parts related with institution of inquiries, Tax Code, laws on currency regulation and currency control and etc.).

Especially, it is important to ensure conformity of customs legislation and legislation on foreign economic activity. In the absence of inter-coordination among these two branches of legislation the measures of non-tariff regulation (licensing, administration of quotas and etc.) become practically blocked and the efficiency of implementation of legislation on customs regimes is decreased.

As seen from above-mentioned, ensuring conformity of the Customs Code with other branches of legislation is one of the major tasks without solution of which it is impossible to build comprehensive customs legislation.

The meeting of Expert Council on customs reform was organized by the joint project of United Nations Development Programme and State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan entitled "Improving the System of Customs Administration in the Republic of Uzbekistan".

The objective of the Expert Council meeting was to continue constructive policy dialogue among the Government, private sector and other involved parties on joint discussion of the clauses of the draft document regulating the abovementioned issues.

Among the issues discussed during the course of event were such issues as necessity of introduction of corrections into determination of the base for computation of customs payments; levying of value-added tax and excise duties (in accordance with clauses 206, 211 and 230 of the Tax Code); regulating detailed list of persons who have rights to participate in the processing of customs violations cases, setting fixed timeframes for consideration of petitions, bringing into conformity norms regulating compilation of customs statistics of foreign trade with the norms of Law on State Statistics and others.

At the close of the meeting participants agreed to additionally consider discussed remarks and suggestions and submit them for consideration to the Working Group on elaboration of the draft Customs Code in new revision.