Wholesale, production, shops, restaurants and beer: we determine the regime, check the premises before you sign a lease, file the licence or a notification for each outlet and answer the Inspectorate.
How much does an alcohol licence cost in Uzbekistan and who needs one?
As of November 2026, an alcohol licence in Uzbekistan is required only for wholesale trade and production, and it is issued by the Alcohol and Tobacco Market Regulation Inspectorate. With the BRV at UZS 440,000, a wholesale licence costs 5 BRV (UZS 2,200,000) for the review of the application and 200 BRV (UZS 88,000,000) a year; the decision takes 4 working days and the charter capital must be at least 1,000 BRV paid in cash. Shops, restaurants and cafés do not get a licence: the legal entity files a notification with the district tax inspectorate for each outlet and pays a monthly fee, capped in Tashkent at UZS 1,200,000 for a shop and UZS 600,000 for a restaurant or café. Pactum handles the whole process from UZS 1,000,000; state duties and fees are paid separately.
These are not abstract risks but the scenarios that break deals and turn decisions of state authorities against you.
The law lets only legal entities sell alcohol: an outlet cannot lawfully run under a sole proprietor, and the money put into it has to be moved to a new LLC.
Typical mistake: The shop or café was registered to an individual entrepreneur because it was faster. The LLC comes first, then the notification for the outlet.
The premises are paid for and refurbished, yet alcohol cannot be sold there: a school or gym is nearby, the hall is below the minimum or has no separate entrance.
Typical mistake: Nobody checked the 100-metre rule for educational, sports and religious organisations, the hall size (at least 25 m² in a city) or the separate entrance before the lease.
An outlet without its own notification sells without the right to do so — a fine of 25 BRV (UZS 11,000,000) for the legal entity — and the fee is charged per outlet anyway.
Typical mistake: The notification was filed for the company rather than for each address. Both the notification and the monthly fee apply to every outlet separately.
The decision to grant the wholesale licence is cancelled and the cycle starts again — with a new review fee and an idle warehouse.
Typical mistake: The first annual payment of 200 BRV was not made within 30 days of the notice. The money for the duty has to be budgeted before filing, not after the decision.
Storage at a place not listed in the licence carries a sanction of 100% of the goods' value, and at least 100 BRV (UZS 44,000,000) for a wholesaler.
Typical mistake: Renting the warehouse was assumed to be enough. A new warehouse is first added to the licence by amending it, and only then are goods brought in.
The charter capital, warehouse and contracts were set up for an act that is no longer in force, and the preparation has to be redone.
Typical mistake: The work followed Resolution No. 301 of 20.05.2020, which lost force on 30.01.2025. What applies now are the passports to CMR No. 80 and No. 88 and the Regulation approved by CMR No. 45.
Licence or notification, which authority and which payments — for wholesale, import, production, a shop, a restaurant or beer.
The 100-metre rule, hall size and separate entrance, warehouse, cash register and card terminal — before the lease is signed.
Company registration, because a sole proprietor cannot sell alcohol, from UZS 1,500,000; for wholesale, charter capital of at least 1,000 BRV paid in cash.
The application listing warehouse addresses, documents on the right to the warehouse and on the charter capital, filing through license.gov.uz and replies to the Inspectorate's notices.
Notifications to the district tax inspectorate for shops, restaurants and beer retail, and the monthly fee worked out for each address.
Adding a new warehouse to the licence, re-registration after a change of name or address, inspections, lifting a suspension.
What you sell, to whom and where: this decides the regime, the authority, the charter capital and the fees. The premises are checked at this stage too.
We register the LLC or check the existing one and prepare the warehouse and outlets for the passport requirements.
The licence application with an e-signature through license.gov.uz or my.gov.uz, and a notification for each outlet. The wholesale decision takes 4 working days, production 15.
The first annual licence payment within 30 days of the notice; the outlet fee in advance by the 10th of the month.
Every point links to the primary source so that you can check it yourself.
A licence is required for wholesale trade in alcohol (except natural and sparkling wines and beer) and for producing ethyl alcohol and alcoholic products; retail, catering sales, and beer production and wholesale run on a notification (Law No. ZRU-701, Annexes 1 and 3).
lex.uz — ZRU-701, Annexes 1 and 3The review of a wholesale licence application costs 5 BRV and the decision takes 4 working days; the applicant needs charter capital of at least 1,000 BRV paid in cash and an owned or leased warehouse (CMR No. 80, passport 8).
lex.uz — CMR No. 80, passport 8Production licence: a review fee of 4 BRV and a review period of 15 working days (CMR No. 80, passport 7).
lex.uz — CMR No. 80, passport 7The annual state duty is 200 BRV for a wholesale licence and 25 to 250 BRV for production, depending on the product group (Law on State Duty No. ZRU-600, annex, para. 50).
lex.uz — ZRU-600, annex para. 50The first annual payment is due within 30 days of the notice of the decision; otherwise the decision to grant the licence is cancelled (para. 29 of the Unified Regulation on Licensing, CMR No. 80).
lex.uz — CMR No. 80, para. 29Alcohol retail requires a notification to the district tax inspectorate for each outlet, with no fee for the notification (CMR No. 88, passport 19); beer is produced and sold wholesale on a notification to the Inspectorate with a fee of 0.5 BRV (passport 24).
lex.uz — CMR No. 88, passports 19 and 24In 2026 the monthly fee for the right to sell alcohol at retail in Tashkent is capped at UZS 1,200,000 for a shop and UZS 600,000 for catering, per outlet (Law on the 2026 State Budget No. ZRU-1105, Annex 9).
lex.uz — ZRU-1105, Annex 9Wholesale, production, retail and catering sales of alcohol are open only to legal entities; a shop needs an alcohol-only sales hall with its own entrance of at least 25 m² in a city and must be at least 100 m from educational, sports and religious organisations (Law No. ZRU-844, Arts. 21, 29 and 32).
lex.uz — ZRU-844, Arts. 21, 29, 32The fine for a legal entity is 300 BRV for wholesale or production without a licence and 25 BRV for alcohol retail or catering sales without a notification (Law No. ZRU-701, Annex 4).
lex.uz — ZRU-701, Annex 4The maximum review period is 20 working days; if no decision is made in time, the applicant who notifies the authority through the system and pays the state duty obtains the licence and may operate (Art. 28 of ZRU-701).
lex.uz — Art. 28 of ZRU-701Resolution No. 301 of 20.05.2020 on licensing alcohol wholesale lost force on 30.01.2025; alcohol turnover is governed by the Regulation approved by CMR No. 45 of 29.01.2025.
lex.uz — CMR No. 45, Annex 3The base calculation value (BRV) is UZS 440,000 (Presidential Decree No. UP-115 of 23.06.2026); state duties, fees and fines are calculated from it.
lex.uz — UP-115| Activity | Regime and authority | Filing payment | Recurring payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcohol wholesale, except natural and sparkling wines and beer | Licence, Inspectorate | 5 BRV = UZS 2,200,000 | 200 BRV = UZS 88,000,000 a year |
| Production of ethyl alcohol and alcoholic products | Licence, Inspectorate | 4 BRV = UZS 1,760,000 | 25 to 250 BRV a year by product group |
| Beer production and wholesale | Notification, Inspectorate | 0.5 BRV = UZS 220,000 | — |
| Shop | Notification, district tax inspectorate | none | up to UZS 1,200,000 a month in Tashkent |
| Restaurant, café, bar | Notification, district tax inspectorate | none | up to UZS 600,000 a month in Tashkent |
| Beer retail | Notification, district tax inspectorate | none | 10% of the BRV = UZS 44,000 a month |
The expensive mistake is not in the paperwork but in the model: a shop is prepared like a wholesaler, an importer does not realise that selling to retail chains is wholesale, and a chain files one notification instead of one per outlet. That is why the work starts with the model and the premises, not with a folder of documents.
We will go through your situation, say what can realistically be done and in what time, and name the fee once we understand the scope. Any figure before that would be invented.
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This material is for reference and is not legal advice on your particular situation. Rules and tariffs change — check the current wording through the links to the primary sources above. To have your case assessed, send a request.