Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan’s Oliy Majlis has adopted, in its third reading, a bill to simplify the procedures for imposing financial penalties, appealing them and refunding unlawfully collected funds. The document has been submitted to the Senate for consideration.
The bill is intended to establish uniform and transparent rules for applying financial sanctions, while introducing mechanisms for voluntary compliance and simplified collection.
Under the proposed provisions, businesses would be exempt from paying the remaining portion of a fine if they voluntarily pay 50% of its total amount within one month of the decision to impose the sanction. Alternatively, they would be able to pay the fine in instalments over six months.
Separate provisions address the refund of funds collected under decisions imposing financial penalties. If such a decision is overturned or declared invalid, the amount must be refunded as soon as possible.
If the refund is delayed, interest would accrue at a rate of one three-hundredth of the Central Bank’s key rate for the relevant period.
The proposed amendments are expected to strengthen the protection of businesses’ rights and legitimate interests by ensuring the timely and full refund of unlawfully collected funds and reducing the risk of unjustified or excessive financial penalties.
