Transparent and effective customs administration is a major instrument for further development of foreign trade and the private sector. But in the current customs administration in Uzbekistan, there are some administrative barriers because of the large number of regulations that are sometimes contrary to the Customs Code, the lack of harmonization of customs legislation with international standards, as well as the low use of modern information and communication technologies in customs administration.

In this regard, the Government of Uzbekistan put forward the task of developing new revision of the Customs Code, which should become a regulatory act of direct action and conform to international standards and agreements. Customs regulation should become an effective tool for creating more favorable conditions for large-scale private sector participation in the country’s foreign economic activity. Efficient activity of an individual entrepreneur and the economy of the country as a whole depend on transparent, predictable and uncomplicated customs procedures and precise regulation of the rights and duties of business entities and customs bodies.

As seen from above-mentioned, unification and harmonization of national customs rules and procedures with international norms and standards, as well as introduction of advanced information and communication technologies in customs administration of Uzbekistan are the most important tasks, without which it is impossible to carry out a comprehensive customs reform.

In this connection, two publications: policy paper entitled “Practical aspects of automation of customs administration in Uzbekistan” and analytical report entitled “Improving the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan on customs valuation of goods in accordance with international standards” that touch upon urgent issues of ongoing customs reform, in particular issues of improving customs legislation and customs administration in Uzbekistan are prepared and published within the framework of the joint project of UNDP and the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan entitled “Improving the System of Customs Administration in the Republic of Uzbekistan”.

So, the policy paper “Practical aspects of automation of customs administration in Uzbekistan” contains analysis of the current status of the application of modern technologies in customs administration, the existing communications network, and relevant institutional infrastructure. It also studies the international experience, standards and best practices of automation of customs services in various countries.

On this basis, suggestions and recommendations on introduction of modern information and communication technologies in the customs service of Uzbekistan. In particular, the paper includes analysis of such important aspects of trade facilitation as introduction of the ’single window’ mechanism in the implementation of foreign trade procedures, systems of preliminary exchange of information and registration of customs declarations, control of transit goods through innovative electronic system of transit monitoring, as well as the automation of registration and processing of passenger declarations.

The analytical report “Improving the legislation of the Republic of Uzbekistan on customs valuation of goods in accordance with international standards” contains clause-by-clause comparative analysis of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Customs Valuation and the relevant customs legislation of CIS and the Republic of Uzbekistan on the methods of determining the customs value of imported goods.

Besides this, the report analyzes the sequence of application of the above methods on administrative procedures in the customs valuation and the requirements for information that is used for customs valuation. In addition, the paper examines conformity of the system of customs valuation of the Republic of Uzbekistan with additional requirements stipulated by the WTO Agreement.

It should be noted that these materials were prepared with the efforts of teams of international and national consultants of the Project and pre-examined and widely discussed within expert community.

It should be also noted that these publications are part of a series of in-depth quantitative and qualitative researches of the current system of customs administration and reviews of relevant international standards envisaged to be carried out within the framework of the above Project. For instance, the Project previously has published the analytical report entitled «Improving regulation of export-import operations and enhancing the efficiency of customs control», as well as the report on the results of survey among participants of foreign economic activity on current system of export-import operations regulation and customs administration.

These research papers will assist in further elaboration of the overall strategy of the customs reform and will make positive contribute to the improvement of the system of customs administration in Uzbekistan.

These publications will be of interest not only for a narrow circle of specialists, but also for a wide range of readers - representatives of academia, international organizations, mass media, participants of foreign economic activity and entrepreneurs, customs brokers, auditors, lawyers and others.