Regulatory update: anti-counterfeiting and customs enforcement in Uzbekistan under the Law on Special Economic Zones (2020)

Foreign brand owners and licensing entities operating in or supplying to Uzbekistan face a materially different customs enforcement landscape following the consolidation of the free economic zone regime under the Law on Special Economic Zones (2020). The legislation, which reorganised and extended Uzbekistan's network of special economic zones, introduced revised arrangements for goods movement through SEZ territories — arrangements that intersect directly with customs-level IP enforcement, border measures, and the obligations of rights-holders who wish to invoke ex officio or application-based detention of suspected infringing goods. For foreign companies whose distribution chains pass through Uzbekistani SEZs, or whose goods transit the country en route to other CIS markets, understanding how anti-counterfeiting and customs enforcement now operates in Uzbekistan is a practical commercial priority.

Before the consolidation introduced by the Law on Special Economic Zones (2020), Uzbekistan operated a fragmented landscape of zone-specific instruments: free industrial and economic zones, small industrial zones, tourist zones, and pharmaceutical zones each carried their own regulatory regimes. Customs procedures within those zones were governed partly by general customs legislation and partly by zone-specific presidential decrees, creating inconsistent treatment of goods suspected of infringing trademarks or other IP rights. Rights-holders attempting to invoke customs detention measures found that the applicable procedure could differ between zones, and that the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan — the authority responsible for border enforcement — applied varying interpretations of what documentation was required to initiate a hold.

The 2020 Law rationalised this structure by introducing a unified legislative basis for all special economic zones across Uzbekistan. In terms of customs enforcement, the practical effect was twofold. First, the single SEZ framework brought zone-applicable customs procedures into closer alignment with the general customs code, which in Uzbekistan follows a structure broadly comparable to the Eurasian Economic Union's customs union framework — though Uzbekistan itself is not an EAEU member and is not subject to EAEU customs regulations. Second, the 2020 Law clarified the status of goods that are produced within an SEZ for sale into the domestic Uzbek market, as distinct from goods that are merely transiting through an SEZ on their way to export. This distinction carries significant practical weight for IP enforcement, because it determines which border-measure procedures apply, and whether goods can be detained by the State Customs Committee at the point of exit from the SEZ territory into the domestic market.

The critical before-and-after shift for rights-holders, therefore, is this: under the prior fragmented regime, the applicable procedure for customs-level IP enforcement in an SEZ was uncertain and often required zone-by-zone engagement with local customs officials. Under the consolidated framework, a single set of procedural rules applies across all SEZ territories, but those rules require rights-holders to have completed customs recordal of their marks in advance — without recordal, the State Customs Committee has no formal basis for ex officio detention of suspected counterfeits at the SEZ boundary.

"The 2020 Law did not create border IP enforcement in Uzbekistan — it conditioned it. Rights-holders who treat recordal as optional now face a framework where the enforcement tool exists but is procedurally unavailable to them at the moment it matters most." — Nodira Yusupova, Contributing Regional Analyst — Uzbekistan · Foreign Investment and Market Entry

The foreign rights-holders most directly affected by this regulatory framework fall into three categories. The first is brand owners who supply consumer goods — electronics, apparel, fast-moving consumer goods, or personal care products — to Uzbek distributors whose warehousing or re-packaging operations are based within an SEZ. The second is pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, for whom Uzbekistan's pharmaceutical SEZ (the Pharmaceutical Industrial Zone in Tashkent region) represents a specific channel through which both genuine and counterfeit products may enter the domestic market. The third category is companies that use Uzbekistan as a transit corridor for goods destined for other CIS markets — most commonly Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan — and who therefore have goods in Uzbek SEZ territory even when they are not commercially active in Uzbekistan itself.

For all three categories, the key structural point is that the SEZ in Uzbekistan is not a customs-free zone in the sense of eliminating customs supervision entirely. Rather, it is a territory with modified customs procedures, and the modification affects the moment and method by which IP enforcement can be triggered. A brand owner whose marks are not recorded with the State Customs Committee of Uzbekistan cannot rely on the customs authority to act proactively when suspected counterfeits are identified moving through an SEZ. In practice, this means that counterfeit goods — whether produced within the SEZ or transiting through it — may reach the domestic market or a CIS export route before any enforcement action becomes procedurally available to the rights-holder.

Foreign companies advising on distribution arrangements into Uzbekistan should also note that the 2020 Law does not itself define what constitutes an infringing good at the customs level; that determination is governed by Uzbekistan's general IP and trademark legislation, which has been substantially updated in recent years through a series of presidential decrees and amendments. The interaction between the SEZ customs framework and the substantive IP legislation creates a layer of procedural complexity that is not always apparent to rights-holders relying on general descriptions of Uzbek customs law.

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For foreign rights-holders not yet engaged with the Uzbek customs enforcement framework, the starting point is a recordal assessment. Customs recordal in Uzbekistan operates through the State Customs Committee and requires an underlying registered trademark in Uzbekistan (registered either directly with the Intellectual Property Agency — Uzbekpatent — or through the Madrid System designating Uzbekistan). Rights-holders without a current Uzbek trademark registration cannot complete customs recordal and therefore lack the foundational tool for border-measure enforcement under the SEZ framework. Foreign companies that have historically relied on registration in Russia or Kazakhstan as sufficient coverage for the CIS region should note that Uzbekistan does not participate in the EAEU's unified trademark system, and a Russian or Kazakhstani trademark confers no customs enforcement rights in Uzbekistan.

Once a domestic registration is in place, recordal with the State Customs Committee allows rights-holders to benefit from the ex officio detention mechanism — where the customs authority suspends clearance of suspected infringing goods for a defined period to allow the rights-holder to inspect and, if appropriate, initiate civil or administrative proceedings. The period for which goods can be held without a court order is limited under Uzbek procedure; rights-holders who do not act promptly within that window risk losing the detention and facing the procedural cost of pursuing the goods after they have cleared customs.

Under the current framework, foreign rights-holders operating across the Russia–Uzbekistan corridor — for example, companies whose goods are manufactured in or sourced through Russia and distributed into Central Asia — face an additional compliance dimension: the customs enforcement framework in Uzbekistan operates entirely independently of Russian customs procedures, and a parallel-import authorisation or exemption applicable under Russian law has no direct bearing on the Uzbek enforcement position. This independence is commercially relevant for companies navigating parallel import controls in both jurisdictions simultaneously.

Rights-holders who have delayed establishing an Uzbek trademark registration and customs recordal position should be aware that counterfeit goods identified in Uzbek SEZ territory but not subject to a recordal hold may reach downstream markets — including Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan — before enforcement action is procedurally available. Recovering market position after counterfeit penetration into a CIS distribution chain is substantially more resource-intensive than maintaining a preventive enforcement position.

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Q: What specifically changed for IP enforcement under the Law on Special Economic Zones (2020) in Uzbekistan? A: The 2020 Law replaced a fragmented set of zone-specific customs instruments with a single legislative framework applicable across all special economic zones in Uzbekistan. For IP enforcement, the key practical effect was to consolidate the procedural basis on which the State Customs Committee can detain suspected infringing goods moving through or out of SEZ territory. Customs recordal became the operative precondition for ex officio border-measure enforcement across all SEZ types. Rights-holders who had previously relied on zone-by-zone engagement or informal notification to customs officials now operate under a uniform procedural framework that rewards advance preparation over reactive enforcement.

Q: Which types of foreign company are most affected by the Uzbek SEZ customs enforcement framework? A: The framework is most directly relevant to three groups: brand owners supplying goods to distributors operating within Uzbekistani SEZs; manufacturers — particularly of pharmaceuticals — for whom a specific SEZ is the primary channel to the Uzbek domestic market; and companies using Uzbekistan as a transit route for goods destined for other CIS markets such as Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan. In each case, the absence of advance trademark registration and customs recordal in Uzbekistan removes the primary tool for detaining suspect goods at the SEZ boundary before they enter wider distribution.

Q: What should a foreign rights-holder do to establish an enforcement position under the current framework? A: The first step is confirming that a current trademark registration exists in Uzbekistan — either filed directly with Uzbekpatent or through a Madrid System designation that includes Uzbekistan. An EAEU-registered trademark does not substitute for Uzbek registration. Once registration is confirmed, the rights-holder can apply for customs recordal with the State Customs Committee, which provides the legal basis for ex officio suspension of infringing goods at customs. Both steps require local representation in Uzbekistan. Legal advice on the registration and recordal process, and on the interaction with any parallel position in Russia or Kazakhstan, is available from counsel with cross-border CIS experience.

• [IP Protection and Enforcement in Uzbekistan: an Overview for Foreign Rights-Holders](/jurisdictions/uzbekistan/ip/)
• [Market Entry and Company Formation in Uzbekistan: What Foreign Investors Need to Know](/jurisdictions/uzbekistan/company-formation/)
• [Cross-Border Distribution in Central Asia: Legal Framework for Foreign Suppliers](/jurisdictions/uzbekistan/distribution-franchising/)

Vetrov & Partners is a Russian boutique law firm established in 2009, recognised by Pravo-300 for eight consecutive years and listed as a trusted adviser by the German Consulate General in Novosibirsk. The firm advises foreign companies and rights-holders on IP enforcement, asset protection, and cross-border disputes, with particular experience on matters involving the Russia–CIS corridor. For matters governed by Uzbek law or requiring local representation in Uzbekistan, the firm collaborates with qualified local counsel.

The firm's IP Protection & Enforcement practice assists foreign brand owners in assessing their registration and customs recordal position across CIS jurisdictions and in coordinating enforcement action where infringing goods are identified in cross-border distribution chains. With over 1,000 matters handled since 2009, the team brings direct partner involvement to every engagement.

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This publication is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice under Russian or any other applicable law. The information herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal counsel tailored to your specific circumstances. Vetrov & Partners is a Russian-qualified law firm. For matters governed by foreign law or requiring local admission in another jurisdiction, we collaborate with trusted counsel in the relevant jurisdiction. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vetrovpartners.com.

— Nodira Yusupova Contributing Regional Analyst — Uzbekistan · Foreign Investment and Market Entry vetrovpartners.com/contributions/