The Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis has reportedly approved legislative amendments aimed at halving penalties for exceeding deadlines in returning foreign trade assets, provided that mitigating circumstances are present. Lawmakers adopted the respective changes to Article 11-1 of the Law "On Currency Regulation" during the second and third readings. The document has now been forwarded to the Senate for further review and formal approval.

The legislative initiative is purportedly designed to protect local entrepreneurs who allegedly fail to return funds or other assets on time due to the actions of foreign counterparties, international payment system restrictions, and other factors allegedly beyond their control. According to data cited during the parliamentary discussions, economic courts penalized 3,500 entrepreneurs a total of 752 billion soms in 2024, while the number of such cases surged to 9,100 with total fines reaching 3.3 trillion soms by 2025.

Proponents of the bill claim that current legislation purportedly fails to adequately account for situations where business entities attempt to fulfill their obligations in good faith but are obstructed by external barriers. Under the proposed amendments, courts will be authorized to reduce fines by 50 percent if at least one mitigating condition is met. However, officials noted that the reduction of fines does not exempt the company from paying the remaining foreign trade debt or from taking further recovery measures.

Ulugbek Kabulov, a member of the parliamentary Committee on Anti-Corruption and Judicial-Legal Affairs, stated that lawmakers clarified several key rules during the drafting process. Notably, situations where residents apply to courts or arbitration to protect their rights have been officially included among mitigating circumstances. Additionally, the threshold for returned assets was adjusted from strictly exceeding 50 percent to 50 percent and above, enabling a broader range of companies to qualify for the relief.

Source: www.gazeta.uz