All proposed government support measures will be assessed for their impact on the competitive environment. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the relevant regulation on September 4.
The document introduces an “all or nothing” principle for providing state aid to companies operating under the same conditions in commodity and financial markets and meeting the relevant criteria. Support will be provided on an equal basis, without selective assistance under special arrangements, or not provided at all.
The Committee for the Development of Competition and Protection of Consumer Rights is responsible for assessing the impact of government support on the competitive environment.
According to the regulation, government support may be provided for the following purposes:
- increasing the level of socio-economic development of Uzbekistan’s regions or individual sectors of the economy;
- ensuring the innovative nature of projects being implemented;
- promoting employment and supporting socially significant projects;
- conducting research and development work;
- protecting the environment and improving environmental conditions;
- supporting small and medium-sized businesses and/or women entrepreneurs.
Government support may be provided to address specific situations where market mechanisms prove ineffective, as well as to create a level playing field in the market. However, it must be demonstrated that the desired outcome cannot be achieved by other means without negatively affecting the competitive environment.
The amount of support must be proportionate and limited to the minimum necessary amount and duration, without providing excessive compensation to the recipient.
Support measures must have an incentive effect and facilitate activities that would not have been carried out without the assistance. Their development must also ensure transparent and competitive allocation.
The Competition Committee will review all draft regulatory and legal acts providing for government support to businesses, together with regulatory impact assessment reports. The documents must include:
- information on the number of participants in commodity and financial markets whose interests are affected;
- calculations of the effects of providing assistance to all market participants or refusing to provide it;
- a report on the impact of assistance on competing businesses when it is provided to one or more business entities;
- the level of demand for goods and services affected by the provision of assistance;
- documents and analytical materials that served as the basis for developing the draft.
The assessment of the impact of government support on the competitive environment will take 10 working days. During this period, the Committee will issue an opinion on the appropriateness of the support measures, the need to revise them or their inexpediency.
Official data may be used in the assessment. This includes statistical information, data from government bodies, forecasts based on research and analytical materials, results of social surveys conducted by government agencies, official publications on the internet and social media, court practice, regulatory and legal acts, and other sources.
The Committee may also use unofficial data, including commercial information, public surveys, data from unofficial online resources and requests from individuals and legal entities. It may also consider the opinions of independent experts and specialists.
The Committee’s opinion, together with the draft regulatory act for which it was issued, will be submitted to the Ministry of Justice. It must be attached to the draft when it is submitted to the Oliy Majlis, Cabinet of Ministers and Presidential Administration.
The assessment will not be conducted for drafts developed to prevent emergencies, including outbreaks of infectious and parasitic diseases, or to mitigate their consequences. It will also not be required when support is provided to all businesses operating within a specific territory.
The English version of this material was generated with the assistance of AI translation tools and may differ slightly from the original text.
