INTERFAX
October 1

As of October 1, Uzbekistan will be canceling the prior registration of import contracts at the with the agency for foreign economic relations.

This is ordered by President Islam Karimov in a plan for further liberalizing foreign trade activity in the country that has been published in the country's press.

A system of monitoring will replace the contract registration, envisioning a range of measures for accounting for them, customs evaluation of import contracts and exchange of information between authorized agencies.

It also follows from the document that import contracts financed out of the state budget, loans either raised or guaranteed by the government, and also currency resources owned by businesses in which the government's share of charter capital is more than 50%, will be subject to analysis by the agency.

Import contract registration at the Foreign Economic Relations Ministry was instituted in the country in 1996 along with limits on access to foreign currency.

The IMF then froze a stand-by credit of $180 million. The Fund decided in 2001 not to send representatives to Uzbekistan in light of inconsistencies in market reforms.

At the start of last year, the country and Fund resumed their dialog on restoring cooperation, the government pledging to liberalize the currency market and speed up reforms.

The most recent IMF mission, in Uzbekistan June 18-25, said the government had been able with rigorous monetary-crediting policy to reduce inflation, significantly liberalize the currency market and virtually unify multiple exchange rates.

Under a plan designed by the government and Central Bank, Uzbekistan undertook to wrap up the process of liberalizing the currency regime in 2-3 months and sign article eight of the IMF charter, which envisions the convertibility of the national currency in current operations.

In the period July-September, the government lifted a number of prohibitions in currency-financial matters, particularly one forbidding legal entities from making advance payments on import contracts in favor of third party non-residents and on buying forex with loan funds.

The amount of cash private individuals can freely take out of the country was increase form $1,500 to $2,000, and up to $5,000 can be transferred to accounts outside the country. The government is also looking to do away with banks on advance payment and payments for services in offshore zones.

Uzbekistan become an IMF member in 1992. In 1995, the Fund approved an STF credit of $144 million, along with a $185 million stand-by credit for supporting the balance of payments. The extension of the second stand-by tranche was halted in 1996, as the government was not living up to cooperation conditions with the Fund.

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