Uzbekistan adopts implementing regulation for bonded warehouse e-commerce framework

20 July 2026

Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 388, signed on 16 July 2026, approves two implementing regulations that operationalise the bonded warehouse e-commerce framework introduced by Presidential Resolution No. 136 of 13 April 2026. Where the April resolution established the policy framework for cross-border e-commerce through bonded warehouses, this resolution sets out the detailed operational rules: registry criteria, customs declaration procedures, and the rights and obligations of bonded warehouse operators, e-commerce platforms and goods owners.

Two regulatory bodies, two registries

The resolution establishes a clear institutional split. The Customs Committee under the Ministry of Economy and Finance is designated as the authority responsible for forming and maintaining the bonded warehouse registry. The National Agency for Prospective Projects is designated as the authority responsible for forming and maintaining the special e-commerce platform registry. Both authorities must integrate their information systems with the relevant operators within two months of an application being submitted, enabling real-time monitoring of goods from arrival through to final sale.

Bonded warehouse registration requirements

To be included in the bonded warehouse registry, an applicant must hold a valid free warehouse licence covering the relevant territory, have a cooperation or partnership agreement with a special e-commerce platform, operate an automated electronic accounting system integrated with customs information systems capable of tracking goods movement from arrival to release from customs control, and control a contiguous free warehouse area of at least 15,000 square metres held under ownership, possession, use or lease rights.

Applications are submitted to the Customs Committee, which must review the application and supporting documents within 10 working days and issue a written or electronic decision. A warehouse operator that fails to meet the requirements, or that breaches its obligations, will be removed from the registry, at which point any goods still held are treated as being under temporary storage customs status rather than bonded warehouse status, and no further goods may be placed in or sold from the facility.

Special e-commerce platform registration requirements

To be included in the platform registry, an applicant must be registered as a legal entity in Uzbekistan, comply with personal data protection legislation, and demonstrate specific infrastructure: an online cash register or virtual cash register, either a contract with a nationwide delivery service provider or its own transport fleet capable of nationwide delivery, ownership or contractual access to a bonded warehouse, and a network of order pickup points and operational warehouses, including sorting centres where applicable, across cities and districts.

Applications are submitted to the National Agency for Prospective Projects, which follows the same 10-working-day review timeline. A platform may act as an agent, sub-agent or commission agent for third-party sellers, or sell its own goods directly.

Permitted operations within a bonded warehouse

Goods placed in a bonded warehouse may undergo storage, operations to preserve their unchanged condition, preparation for sale and transport including sorting, batching, packaging, repackaging and labelling (excluding excise stamps), and simple assembly operations. Retail sale to individuals for personal, non-commercial use is permitted only through a registered special e-commerce platform.

Notably, goods that cannot be remotely tracked by quantity and movement, or that are not packaged for retail sale, or that require weighing or measuring, are prohibited from being placed in a bonded warehouse at all.

Customs clearance procedure for incoming goods

Goods may enter Uzbekistan by any mode of transport through standard border customs posts and must then be delivered to the bonded warehouse, with arrival confirmed under the standard cargo operations procedure for goods under customs control. Once the information system confirms arrival, responsibility for the full safekeeping of the goods transfers to the bonded warehouse operator.

The goods owner must submit a customs cargo declaration placing the goods under the free warehouse customs regime within 15 calendar days of delivery. The declaration carries specific formatting requirements, including a dedicated code identifying bonded warehouse placement and mandatory disclosure of retail unit quantities (pieces, pairs, sets) in addition to standard declaration data. Declarations are processed through the risk management system, and goods routed through low-risk channels are not subject to non-tariff document verification, except for goods subject to phytosanitary control.

Responsibility for ensuring goods comply with technical regulation, sanitary and veterinary legislation rests with the bonded warehouse operator.

Customs clearance procedure for goods sold to individuals

When a bonded warehouse item is sold to an individual within Uzbekistan through a registered platform, it exits the warehouse on the basis of a shipment declaration submitted by the goods owner or a customs broker on their behalf. Customs duties are calculated automatically from the shipment declaration data and must be paid in full before release; the obligation to pay these duties rests with the special e-commerce platform operator, not the individual buyer or the warehouse operator. Once duties are paid and the declaration is processed, the goods acquire Uzbek origin status. Cleared goods must physically leave the bonded warehouse within three calendar days of declaration processing.

A parallel but distinct procedure applies to goods sold to buyers located outside Uzbekistan: these move through the bonded warehouse to a special storage area and then to the border under a transit declaration, retaining foreign goods status throughout, with export customs duties applied where the goods owner is required to pay them under Uzbek law.

Returns handling

Where an individual returns a purchased item under Uzbekistan's consumer protection legislation, the item does not go back into the bonded warehouse. Instead it is received into the platform's own operational warehouse for potential resale on the domestic market. Customs duties already paid on the returned item are not refunded, and the item's onward disposal is governed by the commercial arrangement between the warehouse operator, the platform operator and the seller.

The two-year disposal rule

Goods placed in a bonded warehouse that remain unsold through the e-commerce platform after two years must, within one month of that deadline, be placed under one of the standard customs regimes: re-export, destruction, abandonment in favour of the state, or release for free circulation upon payment of applicable customs duties. This creates a hard operational deadline that international sellers using the bonded warehouse model need to factor into inventory planning.

Obligations and liability of participants

Bonded warehouse operators are responsible for maintaining security, restricting access to authorised personnel only, equipping the facility with the technical means required for customs control, preventing unauthorised release, substitution or prohibited handling of goods, submitting real-time reporting to customs authorities, and paying customs duties in cases where goods are released, lost or otherwise unaccounted for without customs authorisation.

Goods owners are responsible for the timely submission of declarations and for ensuring declared goods are removed from the warehouse within the applicable deadlines.

Customs authorities are correspondingly obligated to carry out risk-based processing efficiently, notify goods owners when physical inspection is required, respond to written enquiries, and maintain confidentiality of commercial and personal information obtained in the course of their duties.

What this means for your business

This resolution is the operational rulebook that determines whether the bonded warehouse e-commerce model announced in April 2026 is actually workable in practice. For international companies considering cross-border e-commerce into Uzbekistan, several elements stand out.

The 15,000 square metre minimum warehouse size and the requirement for full integration with customs information systems set a meaningful capital and technical bar for bonded warehouse operators, meaning most international sellers will need to work through established local logistics partners rather than setting up their own facility. The clear allocation of customs duty payment obligation to the e-commerce platform operator, rather than the buyer or warehouse operator, is an important point for platform operators to build into their pricing and compliance model.

The two-year unsold goods deadline is an operational constraint that affects inventory strategy, particularly for lower-turnover or long-tail product categories. The returns procedure, which routes returned goods to the platform's own warehouse rather than back into the bonded facility, without refund of already-paid customs duties, has direct cost implications that should be factored into return policy design and pricing.

Companies exploring this channel should engage directly with registered or prospective bonded warehouse operators and e-commerce platforms to understand practical implementation, since much of the operational detail, such as risk channel calibration and integration timelines, will only become clear as the registries are populated and the system becomes operational.