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Uzbek
Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree aimed at improving the system of state support for civil society institutions. This decree focuses on providing various public organizations with tax benefits and easing the mechanism for allocating state funds to important social projects.
What Do the Support Measures Include?
The presidential decree outlines six key areas of state support designed to enhance the role of civil society institutions at the current stage of Uzbekistan’s development. The primary focus is on creating conditions for the transparent and effective distribution of state resources to important social projects implemented by public organizations.
Institutional-Level Support
To improve the quality and transparency of project selection for state grants and social contracts, a Public Fund for the Support of Civil Society Institutions will be established under the Parliament. Its territorial divisions will ensure the targeted allocation of funds, helping to eliminate bureaucratic barriers and make the support process more efficient.
An important step will be the launch of a unified electronic platform aimed at ensuring the transparency of all processes related to the allocation of state subsidies, grants, and social contracts to civil society institutions. This will minimize corruption risks and ensure equal opportunities for all participants.
New Mechanisms of Social Partnership
The presidential decree introduces several important mechanisms aimed at developing social partnerships between state bodies and civil society institutions:
- Annual Competitions: State bodies will hold annual competitions for social contracts, allowing the selection of the best projects and initiatives for support.
- Funding of Initiatives: State bodies are granted the right to finance initiative projects of social partnership with civil society institutions without holding competitions, for amounts up to 1,000 times the base calculation value (BCV).
- Support Program: Each year, the Cabinet of Ministers will approve a separate program to involve civil society institutions in implementing socio-economic development programs based on social partnership.
Benefits for Civil Organizations
To support socially significant projects and encourage their implementation, the decree provides several benefits to civil society institutions:
- Tax Reductions: Within the framework of state grants and social contracts, income tax and social tax rates will be reduced by 50% for a period of three years.
- Reduction of State Fees: Starting January 1, 2025, the state fee for the registration of associations of persons with disabilities, veterans, women, and children’s organizations will be halved.
- Increase in Tax-Exempt Amounts: The tax-exempt amount for charitable funds from sponsoring organizations for individuals in need of social protection has been increased from 15 million soums to 34 million soums (100 times the BCV).
The Significance of the Decree
These measures demonstrate the Uzbek government’s commitment to developing and supporting civil society institutions by providing them with not only financial but also institutional support. The introduction of tax benefits, simplification of procedures, and the creation of new social partnership mechanisms will enable civil organizations to participate more actively in the development of society and the resolution of social issues.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s decree is an important step toward strengthening the civil sector, which will play an increasingly significant role in the life of the country.
The text has been translated by AI. For more accurate information, please refer to the Russian version of the article.
