Uzbekistan plans to set the customs duty on imported mobile devices at 0% as part of its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), a senior customs official said on November 11. Farhod Olimjonov, head of a department at the Customs Committee, told a press conference that alternative customs duty rates had been agreed with other countries during WTO negotiations, with mobile devices slated for a zero rate. The move is expected to affect import volumes, consumer prices and budget receipts, making it a closely watched step in the country’s long-running WTO bid.
Key Takeaways: The planned zero duty is linked to Uzbekistan’s WTO accession and could cut budget revenue by 300–400 billion soum while making mobile devices up to 5% cheaper for consumers. In the first ten months of 2026, Uzbekistan officially imported 4.1 million mobile devices, up by 1 million year on year, with customs receipts reaching 2 trillion soum. iPhone imports exceeded 452,000 units, generating 756.6 billion soum in customs payments.
The measure sits within a much longer accession process. Uzbekistan applied to join the WTO in 1994, and active negotiations on membership terms resumed in 2020. Authorities had aimed to complete the process before the organization’s 14th Ministerial Conference in March 2026, but that target was missed. Azizbek Urunov, Uzbekistan’s chief negotiator and the president’s WTO representative, has said some countries are slowing the review of documents and warned late last year about the risk of an “unexpected slowdown” in the process.
Olimjonov said the rate would fall to zero regardless on the eve of WTO accession. “As a result, budget receipts will be 300–400 billion soum lower, but mobile devices will become up to 5% cheaper for the population. However, VAT will still be paid,” he said. Customs Committee data show that 4.1 million mobile devices were officially imported into Uzbekistan in the first ten months of 2026, 1 million more than in the same period a year earlier, while customs receipts from those imports rose 2.1 times to 2 trillion soum.
Over the same period, officially imported iPhones exceeded 452,000 units. Customs payments on them reached 756.6 billion soum, 6.2 times higher than in the corresponding period of 2025. The figures underline the fiscal stakes of the planned zero rate: consumers may see lower prices, but the budget will have to absorb a loss in customs revenue, with value-added tax remaining a key source of receipts.
In May, a meeting chaired by the president reaffirmed that Uzbekistan still intends to join the WTO in 2026. As of the start of the year, the country had completed negotiations with 33 of the organization’s 34 members. At the 13th meeting of the working group on July 27–28, Urunov said Uzbekistan aims to complete the accession process in 2026. The next steps depend on closing the remaining negotiating gaps and on how quickly partners review the outstanding documents.
Source: www.gazeta.uz