Territorial design codes regulating outdoor advertising relations in Uzbekistan must now be developed and updated exclusively after comprehensive public discussions, under a cabinet resolution adopted on October 13. The regulation explicitly mandates that discussions on draft normative legal acts must take place on dedicated government portals. According to the document, new design codes can officially enter into force no earlier than three months after their official publication date. These amendments modify the government's previous framework on the outdoor advertising market dating back to February 2020.
The Tashkent city administration, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other relevant bodies, has been officially instructed to organize broad discussions regarding the capital's design code rules alongside entrepreneurs and mass media representatives by December 10. Based on the feedback collected, updated proposals for the design code must be formulated and submitted to the Tashkent City Council of People's Deputies for final approval. Furthermore, the development process must take into account the legitimate usage rights of registered trademarks belonging to local enterprises and organizations.
The resolution additionally sets stringent requirements concerning the forced dismantling procedure for unauthorized outdoor advertising structures. Specifically, if the owner of an advertising object remains unidentified, the official dismantling notice will be posted directly onto the structure itself. Public oversight regarding the placement of outdoor advertising objects is designated to be organized through the 'Xalq Nazorati' (People's Control) portal. These measures come in the wake of severe implementation issues earlier this year, which caused widespread disruption and friction among local business owners.
Earlier this spring, aggressive enforcement raids by the Tashkent authorities led to massive public protests and complaints from business owners regarding forced removals, electricity disconnections, and severe financial losses due to the sudden imposition of the design code. The Business Ombudsman's office subsequently intervened, confirming the validity of the complaints. Tashkent Mayor Shavkat Umurzakov later reportedly admitted that mistakes were made during the initial rollout due to insufficient communication with the public, claiming that properties subjected to proper design code integration supposedly saw a significant increase in value.
Source: www.gazeta.uz