Uzbekistan has adopted a law (No. LRU-1143) that significantly increases fines for legal entities for environmental violations. The law was passed on May 4 and approved by the Senate on April 7.

According to the amendments, financial sanctions are introduced for violations in the field of ecology, environmental protection, and nature management. In particular, the Law “On Environmental Protection” has been supplemented with new articles (54−61), establishing the following financial sanctions for legal entities.

If a legal entity admits guilt, the financial sanction is applied by the National Committee for Ecology and Climate Change. In case of a dispute or failure to voluntarily pay the sanction amount within one month from the date of the decision, the matter is resolved in court.

It is stipulated that repeated administrative punishment for the same offense for which financial sanctions have already been applied is not allowed.

Additionally, Article 88 of the Code of Administrative Responsibility (non-compliance with atmospheric air protection requirements) has been supplemented with new parts. Administrative liability is established for burning fuel, substances, materials, and waste in places or devices not intended for this purpose, as well as for burning waste containing tires, bitumen, fuel oil, film, synthetic cardboard, rubber, and similar components in greenhouses, production buildings, incinerators, or other facilities.

For citizens, fines range from 10 to 25 times the basic calculation value (BCV), and for officials — from 25 to 50 times the BCV. For repeated violations, fines for citizens range from 25 to 50 times the BCV, and for officials — from 50 to 70 times the BCV.

The law enters into force three months after its official publication.

Source: www.gazeta.uz