Uzbek President Islam Karimov /UzA Photo/

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbek President Islam Karimov has signed a decree on setting up a free industrial and economic zone (FIEZ) in Navoi region. The FIEZ would be set up in the area of Navoi international airport.

The main area of the activities of the economic entities at the Navoi free industrial and economic zone is specified with the manufacturing of a wide range of high-tech, competitive products on the world market through introducing up-to-date highly productive foreign equipment and machines, technological lines and modules, as well as innovative technologies.

The document stipulates that the term of functioning of the Navoi industrial and economic zone will be 30 years with an opportunity for its further extension; during the term of the functioning of the FIEZ, a special customs, foreign currency and tax regime, a simplified procedure for entering, staying and leaving, as well as receiving a licence to carry out labour by non-residents of Uzbekistan will be in force in its territory; a special legal regime, including tax, foreign currency and customs, is only applied to the activities, being carried out by economic entities, which are registered with the FIEZ directorate, exceptionally in the territory of the FIEZ; coordination and operational management of the activities of the FIEZ are carried out, accordingly, by the Administrative Council, being set up from among representatives of the state agencies and the FIEZ directorate.

The staff members of the Administrative Council are approved by the Cabinet of Ministers; all the territory, where the Navoi free industrial and economic zone is set up, is given to the management of the Administrative Council for use during the period of the FIEZ’s existence; the FIEZ directorate rents out land plots in the territory of the FIEZ to economic entities without a right to sub-rent, handing their rights and duties over to another person under an agreement, handing over rental rights as mortgage, as well as using the land plots as a contribution to authorized capital. Sale and other kinds of allocation of the land plots in the territory of the FIEZ are prohibited.

The decree stipulated releasing economic entities, registered with the Navoi free industrial and economic zone, from taxes on land, property, income, the improvement and development of the social infrastructure, from unified tax (for small companies), compulsory payments into the national road fund and the national secondary school fund, if the volume of direct investments are: from 3 million euros to 10 million euros - for seven years; from 10 million euros to 30 million euros for 10 years. In the next five years, the income tax and unified tax rate is set at half the current rate; over 30 million euros - for 15 years. In the next 10 years, the income tax and unified tax rate is set at half the current rate.