Uzbekistan Approves E-Commerce Plan Through 2030, Launches Bonded Warehouse Experiment

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree outlining measures to create favorable conditions for the further development of e-commerce in the country. The document aims to reduce the shadow economy, protect market participants' rights, and expand foreign trade operations.

The strategic plan sets ambitious targets for the period 2026–2030. The government aims to increase the volume of e-commerce in Uzbekistan to 30 trillion Uzbek soums. This expansion is expected to create over 7,500 new jobs and facilitate investment projects totaling $300 million. To simplify foreign trade regulation, a unified customs payment will be introduced for importing certain categories of goods.

A key innovation is the introduction of bonded warehouses under a legal experiment framework. This pilot program is scheduled to run from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2028. These warehouses represent a new form of free warehouse designed for the temporary storage of goods sold through specialized e-commerce platforms for personal use by individuals.

During the experiment, these bonded warehouses will be licensed according to free warehouse rules. Sales must occur through electronic trading platforms listed in a special registry maintained by the National Agency for Prospective Projects. Goods will be stored under the "free warehouse" customs regime and released for retail sale to individuals based on a shipment declaration.

Sanitary, veterinary, and other control measures will not apply when goods are placed in these warehouses. However, responsibility for ensuring product compliance with legislation rests entirely with the bonded warehouse operators. For Uzbek residents, placing goods in such warehouses will be considered as fulfilling asset repatriation requirements.

The decree explicitly prohibits placing domestically produced goods into these warehouses for sale on the internal market; this mechanism is intended primarily for goods destined for export or imported for personal consumption.

A separate focus of the presidential decree is the development of online trade in medicines. The National Agency for Prospective Projects, together with the Ministry of Health, has been instructed to prepare proposals within three months for implementing online sales of pharmaceuticals through internet pharmacies using electronic trading platforms.