Uzbekistan agrees to zero customs duty on mobile phones under WTO accession

Currently, the import duty on smartphones and other mobile phones stands at 5%. It was established by a presidential resolution dated June 29, 2018. According to Olimjonov, the country is in the final stage of WTO accession negotiations, and one of the conditions is to harmonize import duty rates with the organization's member states. "Before joining the WTO, this rate will drop to zero in any case," he said. The agency's representative did not provide specific deadlines or an effective date for the changes. The Customs Committee also clarified that the agency is not authorized to determine duty rates, as relevant ministries handle this.

According to Olimjonov's estimates, after the duty is abolished, budget revenues will decrease by 300–400 billion soums, while phones will become almost 5% cheaper for consumers. VAT on the import of devices will remain, currently set at 12%.

According to Customs Committee data, 4.1 million mobile devices were officially imported into the country in the first ten months of 2026, which is 1 million more than a year earlier. Customs payments from their import rose 2.1-fold, reaching 2 trillion soums. Apple products accounted for 452,000 of these devices, generating 756.6 billion soums for the budget, which is 6.2 times more than in 2025.