The key facts

  • Property tax and land tax for legal entities at reservoirs reduced by 50% until October 1, 2029
  • Deferral or installment of customs payments for 120 days when importing GPS beacons, rescue equipment and sanitary-hygienic complexes
  • Mandatory requirements: rescue service, safety equipment, sewage and a ban on wastewater discharge

Benefits in exchange for safety

On October 27, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed resolution PP-387 'On measures to regulate the use of reservoirs and adjacent territories, as well as ensuring safety.' The document was reported by the Ministry of Justice's legal information channel and specialized outlets, including Spot.uz. The resolution enshrines measures for developing tourism infrastructure based on artificial reservoirs, outlined at a meeting with the president on October 20.

What entrepreneurs get

Legal entities that organize tourism services at reservoirs and adjacent territories will, until October 1, 2029, pay property tax and land tax at a rate reduced by 50% from the established rate. In addition, the import of equipment for such facilities is simplified: when importing GPS devices for use on water, rescue and protective equipment, as well as modern sanitary and hygienic complexes, a deferral or installment of customs payments for up to 120 days is allowed.

Mandatory requirements

The benefits come with mandatory requirements. Entrepreneurs must equip tourism facilities with safety means to protect visitors' lives and health and prevent emergencies, as well as organize their own rescue service or conclude an agreement with professional rescue organizations for duty service. Separately, compliance with legislation on the safe use of small vessels and the bases where they are stationed is stipulated.

Environmental conditions

Tourism facilities at reservoirs must be equipped with internal sewage systems or local treatment facilities; discharge of untreated wastewater into water bodies is prohibited. Entrepreneurs are also obliged to comply with requirements for water protection zones and coastal strips and to dispose of household waste in the established manner.

Context: why now

The resolution follows the October 20 meeting, at which proposals on safety and tourism development at reservoirs were presented to the president. As Gazeta.uz notes, it was reported then that a rescue service exists at only four of the country's 56 reservoirs, tourism is organized at five, and such services could be launched at 25 more. Against this backdrop, the combination of tax benefits with the mandatory creation of rescue services looks like an attempt to simultaneously expand infrastructure and close the safety gap at water bodies where people rest en masse.