Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The congestion in the arrivals hall of Tashkent Airport, caused by the registration of mobile devices in the UzIMEI system, has sparked a strong reaction on social media. The specialized customs complex "Tashkent-Aero" has commented on the situation.

According to the agency, an on-site investigation was conducted by order of the Customs Committee leadership, with the participation of representatives from the Ministry of Digital Technologies and the UzIMEI system.

Under the established regulations, new phones must be declared upon entry into Uzbekistan. Completing a customs declaration is required regardless of duty-free import limits. If this requirement is not met, the device owner must pay a 30% customs duty. The declaration serves as the basis for registering mobile devices in the UzIMEI system, which is integrated into the Customs Committee’s database.

For passengers’ convenience, customs declarations issued at the airport are entered into the Customs Committee’s database and automatically registered in the IMEI system. Up to 150 people voluntarily register their mobile devices daily in the arrivals hall, with the process taking an average of eight minutes per person. However, simultaneous arrivals of multiple flights can cause temporary delays.

To reduce queues, as of 20 February, the number of customs officers handling registrations has been increased to four, and an additional operator has been connected to the IMEI system. These measures are expected to cut the registration time to two minutes per passenger.

Passengers are not required to register their devices immediately at the airport. It is sufficient to declare new or unregistered mobile devices upon entering Uzbekistan by specifying their unique identification codes. After that, the owner has 30 days to complete registration in the UzIMEI system at a convenient time.

Additionally, efforts are underway to implement electronic passenger customs declarations and develop mobile applications to streamline the procedure.

Earlier, it was reported that failure to complete a customs declaration when bringing a new phone into Uzbekistan prevents users from registering their devices in the UzIMEI system and results in a customs duty payment.