Import (40), temporary admission (42) or customs warehouse (74): how to choose the procedure?

The procedure is chosen by the authorized person, that is, the owner of the goods or a person acting on the owner's behalf under a contract or power of attorney, who may later also change it to another one (Customs Code, Articles 7 and 26). The difference between the three most frequently chosen procedures changes the cash flow completely.

Key rules

• 40 Import. The goods remain in free circulation without an obligation to take them back out (Article 55). Two things are required to move to this procedure: customs payments are paid, and economic policy measures, that is, under Article 15 quotas, licensing and other measures regulating foreign trade, are complied with (Article 56). This is the procedure for goods to be sold or issued to production
• 42 Temporary admission. The goods are brought in for a certain period and used temporarily with conditional exemption from payments or with periodic payments paid (Article 61). The period is two years from the date of placement (Article 64). For goods in the ten categories listed in Article 64, the customs authority may, on the application of the authorized person, extend the period beyond two years; the application is submitted before the period expires
• Under procedure 42 the goods must remain unchanged. Work needed to keep them intact, including minor repairs and maintenance, is allowed, but it must not increase the value of the goods above their value at the time of placement under the procedure; major repairs and modernisation are not allowed (Article 62)
• Article 62 sets out five groups that cannot be placed under procedure 42 at all. First, any goods whose importation into the country is prohibited. Second, waste. Third, energy and flowing resources: electricity, water, oil and gas delivered by pipeline, and also fuel. Fourth, things that are used up in use: consumables and consumable samples, raw materials, semi-finished products. Fifth, cars imported by legal entities and individuals of Uzbekistan; international freight transport and cases established by law and international treaties are an exception
• The periodic payment is calculated for each calendar month the goods are under procedure 42; even an incomplete month is taken as a whole month. Amount: 5 percent of the duties and taxes that would have to be paid if the goods were placed under the import procedure on that day. It is calculated in foreign currency and paid in soum at the Central Bank rate on the payment date. The total of periodic payments does not exceed the import payments. The amount paid is not refunded, but if the goods later move to the import procedure, it is credited against the import payments (Article 66)
• 74 Customs warehouse. Imported goods intended for export are stored under customs control without payment of duties and taxes (Article 90). The period is three years (Article 94). After notifying customs, the following may be done with the goods (Article 95): work needed to keep them unchanged; checking, inspection and measuring; moving them within the warehouse without damaging their condition, packaging and customs marks; taking samples for testing; preparation for sale and transport (splitting into consignments, assembling shipments, sorting, packing, repacking, marking, simple assembly; affixing excise stamps is an exception); other work that improves quality. Mixing, processing and treatment are not allowed
• Leaving the customs warehouse: no later than the day the period expires, the goods are declared for another procedure (except the temporary storage procedure) and removed from the warehouse within three working days from the day of placement under the new procedure (Article 98). If goods under procedure 42 are placed in a customs warehouse, the temporary admission period is suspended (Article 68)
• To close procedure 42, the goods are returned abroad or moved to another procedure. This must be done no later than the day following the day the period expires (Article 69)

Example: bringing in equipment for 6 months

The calculation is compiled by the author, and the amounts are hypothetical. "Baraka Qadoq" LLC brought in packaging equipment leased from a foreign company for 6 months: the equipment was placed under procedure 42 on 1 March and returned abroad on 31 August, that is, it stayed under the procedure for 6 calendar months. The duties and taxes payable under the import procedure would total 8 000 USD. It is assumed that the equipment is not on the list of goods eligible for conditional exemption, so the periodic payment applies under procedure 42:

Because the equipment is to be returned, the company pays 2 400 USD. This amount is not refunded (Article 66). Note: had the equipment arrived on 15 March and been returned on 14 September, it would have covered 7 calendar months, because an incomplete month is also counted as a full month: 400 × 7 = 2 800 USD. If it is later decided to buy the equipment and move it to the import procedure, the periodic payments paid are credited against the import payments (Article 66), while customs fees are paid separately (Article 69). If the equipment stays for 20 calendar months, the periodic payments in total reach the 8 000 USD payable on import (400 × 20). Under the Code they do not exceed this amount.