Irreconcilable conflicts in legislation shall be resolved in favor of the entrepreneur.
Until the state body proves otherwise, the entrepreneur is considered to have acted in accordance with the legislation.
In Uzbekistan, the presumption of the entrepreneur's good faith applies in disputes between state bodies and business entities. Irreconcilable contradictions and ambiguities in legislation, as well as doubts arising when evidence provided by a state body is insufficient, are interpreted in favor of the entrepreneur.
This is established in the President's decree of August 27. The document is aimed at strengthening guarantees for the protection of entrepreneurial activity.
According to the decree, unless the state body proves otherwise, a business entity and its officials are considered to have acted in accordance with the law and to have duly fulfilled their obligations.
In court or another administrative body reviewing a dispute, the burden of proving that the legal measure applied to the entrepreneur or the decision adopted is lawful, justified, and proportionate, as well as that an offense was committed, is placed on the state body.
Until January 2027, draft regulatory legal acts will be developed to expand the mechanisms for the practical application of the presumption of the entrepreneur's good faith. In particular, if an entrepreneur, dissatisfied with a fine or other legal measure, files a complaint with a court or a higher authority within the established period, a mechanism will be established to temporarily suspend the effect of this measure.
Additionally, by April 2027, a draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers will be developed to expand the "silence is consent" principle in state services related to entrepreneurship. According to it, if an application submitted for a service is not reviewed within the established period, in certain cases the request will be considered resolved in favor of the entrepreneur. It is envisaged to extend this procedure to 50 percent of services to which the "silence is consent" principle does not apply.
The decree also establishes a new procedure regarding the execution of administrative court decisions. If the court imposes an obligation on a state body to reconsider its decision, the court's legal position is binding for the state body. As a result of the reconsideration, worsening the entrepreneur's situation compared to the previous decision is not permitted.
The state body must reconsider its decision within 30 days from the date the court decision enters into force. After this period expires, applying new legal measures against the entrepreneur in this case is prohibited.
The decree also introduces other reliefs for entrepreneurs. In particular, from November 1, the amount of advance payment for electricity and gas will be reduced to 15 percent, an economic amnesty "Second Chance" will be introduced, and a procedure for issuing a warning for a first offense when applying financial fines will be established. Additionally, a moratorium on inspections of small business entities will be introduced for a period of three years.
