Uzbekistan’s Customs Committee resumed mobile-phone clearance at Tashkent airport on 11 November after a suspension it blamed on a lack of specialist IMEI-verification capacity, drawing public criticism before the halt was lifted the same day.
Uzbekistan’s Customs Committee has suspended clearance of newly imported smartphones at Tashkent airport to address IMEI fraud, leaving travellers’ devices held with no timeline for resumption — as passengers allege unofficial fast-track fees of up to $1,100.
Tashkent airport customs officers seized twenty iPhones worth nearly 310 million soums after passengers reprogrammed the handsets to display IMEI codes belonging to previously smuggled devices, exposing a mismatch between software settings and network-level checks.
A Norma.uz-compiled package of changes taking effect 1 November 2026 covers a 20% customs fee cut on courier parcels, proactive pension delivery, exchange-only LPG trading, expanded police response obligations, a ban on late-night promotional calls and new SMS advertising consent rules.
