Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan

An Important Law Aimed at Ensuring Efficient Use of Land Resources Has Been Adopted
(Law No. ORQ-1142 dated April 30, 2026)

In recent years, large-scale reforms have been implemented in our country to ensure the efficient use of land resources, improve the investment climate, and create equal and transparent conditions for business entities. In particular, significant measures have been taken to improve the operation of special economic and industrial zones, allocate land plots through auctions, and strengthen oversight over the implementation of investment projects.

However, practical analysis shows that some business entities fail to fulfill their investment obligations and use allocated land plots inefficiently or contrary to their designated purpose. This not only leads to underutilization of land resources but also hinders the implementation of new investment projects.

Practice of Reclaiming Land Plots Through Court

Under the current procedure, directorates of special economic and industrial zones lease land plots to entrepreneurs through auctions. An investment agreement is concluded with the auction winner, clearly specifying project implementation deadlines and obligations.

If an entrepreneur fails to fulfill these obligations, the directorate files a claim with the economic court to reclaim the land plot. However, state authorities are currently required to pay state duty fees when filing such claims.

According to available data, the country currently has:

• 47 special economic zones;
• 701 industrial zones.

Between 2020 and 2025, the directorates of these zones filed a total of 1,896 claims with economic courts, paying 2.2 billion UZS in state duties. The success rate in court exceeded 97%.

These figures demonstrate that the claims filed by state authorities are well-grounded and lawful.

Essence of the New Law

To address this issue, amendments were introduced to Article 9 of the Law “On State Duty”.

According to the amendments:

local executive authorities and directorates of special economic and industrial zones are exempt from paying state duty fees in advance when applying to economic courts to reclaim land plots from entrepreneurs who failed to fulfill investment obligations.

These changes will:

• simplify the court application process;
• ensure efficient use of land resources;
• prevent long-term inefficient use of land plots;
• strengthen investment discipline.

No Damage to the State Budget

One of the key aspects of the law is that it does not impose any additional financial burden on the state budget.

This is because:

• state authorities are exempt from paying state duties only at the stage of filing claims;
• if the claim is rejected, the state authority itself pays the state duty in accordance with the law;
• if the claim is satisfied, the state duty is recovered from the business entity.

Thus, this mechanism both protects state interests and prevents unjustified spending of budget funds.

International Experience Was Also Studied

While drafting the law, the Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade analyzed the experience of several foreign countries.

In particular:

• in Azerbaijan, state authorities are exempt from court expenses in cases related to the protection of state interests;
• in the United Arab Emirates, ministries and local government bodies are exempt from court fees for claims they file.

In international practice, reclaiming land plots in special economic zones is regarded as a mechanism for protecting public and state interests.

Significance of the Law

According to experts, the adoption of this law will contribute to:

• rational use of land resources;
• monitoring timely implementation of investment projects;
• strengthening legality in land relations;
• enhancing environmental and ecological protection measures.

Most importantly, this law represents a significant legal step aimed at protecting public and state interests, reintegrating idle land plots into economic circulation, and increasing investment efficiency.