At the beginning of the event, the Head of state congratulated those present on the Entrepreneurs Day, expressing deep respect and best wishes to them.
At the meeting, the results of previous meetings were considered. In 2021, due to the dialogue, 57 initiatives were put forward, last year – 55. Their implementation in practice has greatly simplified doing business.
For example, based on proposals last year, business entities were divided into micro, small, medium, and large categories, each of which began to apply a separate approach. Similarly, districts and cities were divided into 5 categories, and individual tax, credit, and financial regimes were introduced in 60 districts.
The deadline for the return of value-added tax has been shortened. Last year, 20 trillion UZS were returned to 6,000 enterprises. Most importantly, by reducing this tax rate to 12 percent, the number of participants in the value chain increased by 26,000, and their activities came out of the “shadow”.
When lending, a system has been created to use goods in circulation, export contracts, letters of credit, and future proceeds as collateral. Through this opportunity, $1 billion in loans have been provided to entrepreneurs.
The processing system in the customs territory was simplified. As a result, the number of entrepreneurs using this customs regime has doubled. Using this opportunity, products worth $455 million were exported during the year.
Licenses and permits for 119 activities previously difficult to obtain for new entrepreneurs have been canceled or transferred to a notification form. For six months this year, the number of inspections of the activities of taxpayers decreased by 40 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
Over the past year, the number of small entrepreneurs increased by 40,000, and the number of medium-sized entrepreneurs rose from 2,000 to 10,000. The number of large enterprises grew by 400 to 1.5 thousand.
Using the preferences provided, the annual turnover of 155 enterprises exceeded $100 million. The volume of annual foreign investments for the first time reached $10 billion.
After open dialogues over the past two years, domestic enterprises have exported products worth $25 billion, and the country has begun production of previously imported products worth $10 billion.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev outlined five main areas in his speech at the dialogue. Each of them includes many initiatives.
The first direction is new opportunities for small businesses.
The creation of an integral ecosystem for training representatives of this sphere in entrepreneurship, providing them with projects, financing their activities, and searching for a market for their products and business partners has been announced. For this, first of all, the Qishloq Qurilish Bank will be transformed into a Business Development Bank. In total, 14 small business centers will be created at the bank in each region. The projects of entrepreneurs studying in them will be financed on the most favorable terms. Small businesses participating in this program will not be audited for three years.
In general, this system will help 150,000 small businesses get on their feet, 25,000 will be able to move to the medium category, and 250,000 new permanent jobs will be created.
Within the framework of the second direction, initiatives related to medium-sized businesses were announced.
In particular, to support entrepreneurs who want to move from small to medium-sized businesses, the respective funds' activities and methods of work will be changed.
An industrial mortgage system will be launched, and entrepreneurs will be provided with production areas as a “ready-made business”. In particular, at least 3 new industrial zones will be created in each region.
The Entrepreneurship Fund, in turn, will be responsible for the service sector – another driver of the economy. The Fund will introduce a “mortgage of services” system in tourism, trade, and service.
It was emphasized that due to these new opportunities, it is possible to create additional services worth $1 billion, produce new products worth $5 billion and create 350,000 new jobs.
The third direction is to enter new markets with a quality and competitive product.
“We cannot, like some countries, ensure high economic growth by selling oil and gas resources. Our oil and gas is a valuable and high-quality product created by enterprising businesspeople like you”, the President said.
As a result of state support for this area, over the past four years, the number of exporting enterprises has increased from 4.5 thousand to 7.2 thousand. The types of export products rose from 1.5 thousand to 3 thousand, and the geography expanded from 139 to 164 countries.
Last year, the program “New Uzbekistan – a country of competitive products” was launched. A special credit, tax, and customs regime has been introduced within its framework for 100 leading exporting enterprises.
During the dialogue, it was announced that the program will be continued this year, and the number of enterprises covered will increase to 500.
The Head of state paid particular attention to attracting prestigious foreign brands. It was emphasized that for this, it is necessary to consider the conditions of foreign partners and introduce international standards, environmental requirements, certification of production, and a favorable customs regime to create decent working conditions for employees at enterprises.
The fourth direction is the increase in highly profitable enterprises. To this end, with the involvement of international consultants, 140 projects were developed in the electrical, textile, leather and footwear, jewelry, construction, furniture, polymer, chemical, and food industries. Their total cost is $10 billion. It is planned to create 60,000 jobs, produce products worth $5 billion, and export $2.5 billion annually. These finished projects were offered to entrepreneurs.
The fifth direction is aimed at simplifying tax administration and eliminating bureaucracy. The President noted the growth of complaints related to corruption in this area and the unfair practice of using the tax gap coefficient when returning value-added tax. In this regard, it was decided to cancel this practice from October 1.
It was emphasized that all financial sanctions would be reviewed and fair norms would be established.
Also, consideration of all disputes between the entrepreneur and the tax authorities will be transferred to the competence of the administrative court. Any restrictions on their direct application to the courts will be lifted.
To save time and money for entrepreneurs, duplicate and outdated reports will be abolished from January 1, 2024. It was noted that all accounts will be submitted through a single electronic system, and their paper form will be canceled.
“At a new stage in the development of our country, every year is the time for the implementation of large-scale programs and projects. As long as we have courageous and enterprising businessmen who have passed life’s tests, we will achieve our goals”, the President said following his speech.
The open dialogue continued in the form of questions and answers. Responsible persons were given instructions on the proposals and problems voiced by entrepreneurs.
