Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Digital labeling has been introduced in the Republic of Uzbekistan since 2019. The Tax Committee under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, within the framework of the PPP agreement, together with the private partner CRPT TURON LLC, successfully launched the national digital labeling system “Asl Belgisi”.

Today, 6 product categories are labeled in the country, namely: tobacco, alcohol, beer, products, household appliances, medicines, as well as water and soft drinks.

Thanks to the integration of the “ASL BELGISI” system with the database of tax and customs authorities, with the register of IKPU, electronic invoices and checks and online cash register equipment, the country has introduced a goods traceability system that allows online observation of the chain of movement of goods from the moment of production or import to the final consumer.

“The numbers speak volumes about the success of the labeling project. Today, over 400 manufacturers and 1,600 importers are connected to the system. A database has been created of over 65 thousand different types of goods, 5 billion goods in circulation. In addition, digital labeling provides for the introduction of public control mechanisms. Through the “SOLIQ” and “ASL BELGISI” mobile applications, citizens can check the authenticity and legality of the purchased product, its “life path”, and also receive detailed information about the product (manufacturer’s name, composition, expiration date, etc.),” commented the manager project office for labeling of the State Tax Committee under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan Akhmadbek Fayziev at a session on digital labeling at SPIEF.

What is the essence and benefit of introducing a labeling system:

Firstly, the state can more effectively combat the production and circulation of illegal (smuggled and counterfeit) products;

Secondly, it becomes possible to keep effective and prompt records of manufactured and imported products, analyze the dynamics of demand for goods among the population, supply and demand, and therefore better predict their consumption;

Thirdly, it is a tool for effective control over the compliance of manufactured and imported products with state standards and certification of these products.

Also, most importantly, by reducing the shadow market, it is possible to increase the volume of tax revenues and other obligatory payments to the State budget.

“The implementation of the digital marking system is under separate control in our government. Recently released regulatory documents make it possible to significantly speed up the process of implementing the system, provide powers and opportunities to further strengthen control measures, including providing a number of benefits and preferences for business. In Uzbekistan, the country is actively discussing the issue of further expansion of the system; we are preparing for a pilot project on labeling medical products and vegetable oil. We also actively support businesses, allowing one company to use information about the movement of goods, which is also a useful tool for their marketing. The Tax Committee, together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Health, is at the final stage on the issue of introducing a system for recognizing labeling codes for medicines,” Fayziev noted.

“In our opinion, the main task and function of the system is, first of all, a tool for whitewashing the market. The labeling system already allows us to divide the market into white (legal) and gray (illegal) segments. Already today we see significant volumes of imports (a 6-fold increase in tobacco imports) and local production (a 4-fold increase in drug sales volumes). The introduction of an analytics system allows us to implement an effective accounting system, which makes it possible to see both production volumes and sales volumes of goods. Based on this, we first of all fulfill our fiscal function, that is, we provide additional revenue to the budget. This system allows us to identify unscrupulous market participants who violate the basic laws of competition and sell low-quality products to the public. In Uzbekistan, they take very seriously the issues of supporting businesses, providing them with equal conditions in competition, including supervisory measures in relation to business,” commented Fayziev.

During the discussion, it was also noted that the labeling system makes it possible to identify law-abiding or unscrupulous entrepreneurs. This, in turn, allows us to highlight measures to support law-abiding market entities and direct limited administrative and human resources to combat the unscrupulous segment that produces, imports and sells counterfeit, falsified and low-quality products.

“Today we are very interested in the mechanism of authorized sales introduced in Russia; this is an effective tool that will allow us to significantly improve the removal of labeled goods from circulation and will prevent the sale of low-quality products or those with an expired shelf life. This licensing system will soon help increase the potential of the labeling system in Uzbekistan,” concluded Akhmadbek Fayziev.