Customs transit (code 80): what conditions, obligations and documents are required when goods pass through Uzbekistan?

In transit the cargo does not stay in Uzbekistan, it only passes through its territory. That is why no duties or taxes are charged, but the state asks for a guarantee that the cargo will not "disappear" on the way. The main weight of this guarantee is on the carrier. In the declaration the procedure is marked with code 80 (Instruction on the Procedure for Completing the CCD, Annex 3).

Key points

1. There are two kinds of transit (Article 116). The first: goods brought in from abroad are carried under customs control between the customs authorities of departure and destination (the route may also pass through the territory of a foreign state). The second: Uzbek goods pass through the territory of a foreign state between two Uzbek customs authorities at the customs border. In both cases customs duties and taxes are not paid and economic policy measures are not applied. The authority in the zone where the carriage starts is called the authority of departure, and the one in the zone where it ends is the authority of destination.
2. Conditions (Article 117). The transit of the goods through Uzbekistan must not be prohibited by law and international treaties; if transit is allowed only with a permit, that permit must be present; the carriage must comply with the requirements of Chapter 31 of the Code; the customs authority must have been notified. The list of goods carried subject to security for customs payments is set separately in legislation, and legislation may also set additional requirements and conditions for certain types of goods.
3. Documents (Articles 118, 220 and 257¹). The declarant submits a transit declaration and the accompanying documents for the goods. The transit declaration is submitted electronically; customs checks that the cargo has reached its destination precisely through this declaration. If there are permits, customs checks them independently in its own information system.
4. Responsible person: the carrier (Articles 28 and 218). The carrier answers for compliance with the requirements of the transit procedure. In road transport, goods under customs control and goods not under control may not be loaded into one vehicle.
5. What the carrier must do on the way (Article 219). Keep the goods, seals and stamps intact; not allow cargo operations without customs permission; place the goods carried in the customs control zone; keep the vehicle in proper technical condition and ensure it meets the equipment requirements of Article 227; deliver the goods unchanged and without using them for other purposes. If the goods are lost or handed to someone else without customs consent, the carrier pays the customs payments.
6. Operations allowed on the way (Article 119). Under the control of the intermediate customs authority: reloading cargo from the arriving vehicle into the departing one; unloading goods at a temporary storage place when the vehicle breaks down. Such placement must not exceed the maximum duration of the temporary storage procedure. In case of an accident or force majeure the carrier immediately informs the nearest customs authority and takes the cargo there or to a place indicated by customs; customs does not reimburse the cost of these measures (Article 224).
7. Time limit (Articles 120 and 218). Under both articles the specific time limit is set by the authority of departure: it takes into account the usual carriage time, the type of transport, the route and the application of the carrier or declarant (Article 120 also adds the driver's work and rest regime). The Code gives the upper limit in two places, shown in the table below.
8. Completion (Article 120). The procedure ends when foreign goods are taken out of the customs territory or when Uzbek goods are brought back into the customs territory. The final operations are carried out by the authority of destination; the authorised person must present the goods and documents to it within the set time limit.

Time limits: Articles 120 and 218

Under Article 117 transit carriage must comply with the requirements of Chapter 31, so both articles apply to transit cargo. The Code does not say separately how they relate to each other; in practice the decisive figure for the carrier is the time limit written by the authority of departure. The time limit can also be extended: for this the authorised person or the carrier submits a reasoned request to the intermediate customs authority. If the set time limit is breached, the customs authority at the point of delivery collects from the carrier a fee in the amount set by the Cabinet of Ministers (Article 218).

Example

"Karvon Yo'l Logistik" LLC (Uzbekistan) carries a foreign customer's cargo by road from a post on the southern border to a post on the northern border. The route is about 900 km long (all data hypothetical).

Calculation: the 4 days set are below both limits. The limit for road transport in Article 218 is 10 calendar days, and the limit in Article 120 is 15 calendar days per 1 000 km, while the route is 900 km. So the carrier must follow not the upper limit in the Code but precisely the 4 days written by the authority of departure. When the risk of delay arose because of the repair, the driver could have asked the intermediate customs authority for a reasoned extension of the time limit. Had the cargo arrived on day 5 without an extension, the time limit would have been considered breached, and the question of the fee under Article 218 would have arisen.

In the carrier's accounts this trip is an ordinary transport service: when the settlement document is issued to the customer, Dt 4010 – Ct 9030 (NAS No. 21, paragraph 383, line 1). The transit cargo itself does not go onto the carrier's balance sheet, because it belongs to the customer.