Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - Non-cash payments are an integral element of the life of modern society, their improvement leads to transparency of cash flows, increase the efficiency of settlements with banks, reduce operating costs, accelerate the circulation of funds and, as a result, stability and development national economy.

According to article 21 of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Payments and Payment Systems”, the Central Bank is authorized to determine the procedure for making non-cash payments on the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Also, the adoption of the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Payments and Payment Systems” required a review and amendment of a number of regulatory legal acts related to payments and settlements.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in the framework of the work on revising the existing regulatory legal acts and bringing them into compliance, developed a new version of the “Regulation on cashless payments in the Republic of Uzbekistan”, which was registered with the Ministry of Justice on 13 April 2020, No. 3229.

In the process of developing a new edition, proposals and reviews of commercial banks, as well as the business community, including business entities, were studied.

The Regulation on non-cash payments regulates the general approaches to the organization of settlements with payment documents provided in article 33 of the Law “On Payments and Payment Systems” and the uniformity of the circulation of documents generated by banks during this process, and also determines the procedure for conducting non-cash payments by individuals and legal entities through payment documents.

According to the requirements for the development of regulatory legal acts, definitions of the concepts used, are given in the context of the Regulation, which helps users understand the main essence of the above rules.

In addition, the Regulation provides examples of forms of payment documents by which non-cash payments can be carried out, as well as the procedure for processing and submitting payment documents to the bank is defined.

It is also determined that international payments, in accordance with the requirements of legislative acts, must be made no later than two business days from the date of receipt of payment documents.

The procedure for processing and details of a payment document in foreign currency submitted to the bank for international payments are also set forth in the Regulation.

Based on international practice, the new term “value date” has been introduced, which implies the date of payment and crediting of funds to the beneficiary’s account. According to article 48 of the Law, this date must be indicated in the payment order and not exceed ten days from the date of submission of the payment document.

The new edition envisages the adoption of a payment document in paper form according to the mode of work with clients, when electronic payment documents can be submitted regardless of the time of work with clients.

The new Regulation improves the procedure for settlements with letters of credit in accordance with international experience, banking practice and the requirements of the Civil Code.

Also in the Regulation it is established that:

electronic payment documents sent by the client

through remote service channels, can be accepted by banks upon approval through identification tools, according to a signed agreement between the client and the bank;

the procedure for providing a client with a copy of a payment document, which is the basis for capitalizing funds to customer accounts, is determined by the agreement agreed between the client and the bank;

payment orders for taxes and fees credited to Card File-2 may be revoked on the basis of a written or electronic request from the tax authorities, as well as in accordance with a court decision;

when submitting payment documents (payment order and payment request) in paper form: two copies are issued instead of three, which were mandatory in the previous provision.

According to the new Regulation, banks can submit non-acceptance payment claims with the aim of collecting from the lender unpaid on time loan arrears and accrued interest, as well as from entities that are guarantors to repay received but outstanding loans and interest.

The deadline for accepting a payment request, regardless of the location of the client, is five business days after the day the payment document was handed over to the payer, and, in the case of a customer requesting, ten business days.

Now, payment requirements can be presented both in paper form and in electronic form via remote service channels.

In addition, the procedure for recalling and returning without accepting and accepting payment claims from Card File-2 is given in accordance with a court decision, a claimant’s statement, and also a certificate confirming the termination of a claimant’s activity.

According to the requirements of the new edition of the Tax Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a number of changes have been introduced to the procedure for submitting collection orders by tax authorities.

The procedure for collecting funds from the accounts of payers by submitting collection orders by the Ministry of Finance was brought into line with the legislation.

The procedure for settlements by collection orders has been simplified: they can be submitted in paper or electronic form to the bank of the payer or recipient of funds.

It should be emphasized that now a collection order can be withdrawn according to not only a court decision, but also a certificate confirming the liquidation of the payer.

In addition, a new version of the Regulation excludes a number of rules, in particular:

- the procedure for settlement with settlement checks, as this payment instrument has now lost its need and has not been used for several years;

- the chapter on settlements with bank cards, due to the fact that the Law “On Payments and Payment Systems” carefully considers issues of issuing and using a bank card as a means of electronic payment, a number of regulations regarding the issue and circulation of bank cards are also being revised;

- the rules for the submission of collection orders for the collection of mandatory payments to the off-budget Pension Fund under the Ministry of Finance, tax arrears issued to bank accounts of debtors on account of the reconciliation statement of settlements.

In general, the developed Regulation is the legal basis that determines the procedure for cashless payments in the country.