Long lines for phone registration at the airport: measures have been implemented to expedite the process.

According to established regulations, mandatory declaration of new phones has been implemented in Uzbekistan. Filling out the declaration is required regardless of the maximum limits for duty-free import of goods. Failure to comply with this requirement obligates the device owner to pay a 30% customs duty. The declaration serves as the basis for registering mobile devices in the UzIMEI system, which is integrated into the database of the Customs Committee.

For the convenience of passengers, customs declarations processed at the airport are entered into the Customs Committee's database and automatically registered in the IMEI system. On average, up to 150 individuals voluntarily register their mobile devices directly in the arrival hall each day, which typically takes around 8 minutes per person. However, simultaneous arrivals of multiple flights can lead to temporary delays.

In order to reduce queues, as of February 20, the number of customs officers involved in the registration process has been increased to four, and an additional operator has been connected to the IMEI system. This is expected to reduce the registration time to 2 minutes per passenger.

Passengers are not required to register their devices directly at the airport. It is sufficient to declare new or unregistered mobile devices upon entering Uzbekistan by providing their unique identification codes. After this, the owner can register in the UzIMEI system at any convenient time within 30 days.

Furthermore, efforts are underway to implement electronic processing of passenger customs declarations and to develop mobile applications to simplify the procedure.

It was previously reported that without filling out a customs declaration, importing a new phone into Uzbekistan deprives the user of the ability to register the device in the UzIMEI system and also incurs a duty.