Russia and Central Asia

Importing medicines into Uzbekistan

Regulator, legal routes, documents, approval times and shipping lanes for medicines supplied from India to Uzbekistan.

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At a glance

Regulator: CPPS
Main route: Ministry of Health order for orphan medicines or dangerous infections
Courier transit from India: 5 to 9 days
Air cargo transit from India: 6 to 14 days

Short answer

Medicines in Uzbekistan must normally be registered with the Ministry of Health before import. The law allows orphan medicines and medicines for dangerous infections to enter without registration when the Ministry orders it, and a 2025 Ministry list lets named medicines without registered analogues be imported subject to certification. A hospital or licensed importer usually leads.

Research summary, confirm with the regulator or a local agent

This guide was researched from official and published sources. A regulatory specialist has not confirmed it yet, so check current requirements before you rely on it.

Content updated November 13, 2026

Key facts

Regulator: Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan, through the Medicine and Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency and the Center for Pharmaceutical Products Safety (CPPS)
Main route: Ministry of Health order for orphan medicines or dangerous infections
Who applies: Ministry of Health, usually on a request from a hospital or licensed importer (confirm the filing route)
Import permit or approval: Needed before goods ship
Supply addressed to patients: Not a legal route. Supply goes to a licensed consignee
Typical approval time: Uzbekistan does not publish a processing time for orphan or individual-patient imports. A December 2025 draft would make the Center for Pharmaceutical Products Safety answer within 3 working days for shortage imports, but plan for several weeks and confirm the timeline with the Ministry or a local agent.
Courier transit from India: 5 to 9 days
Air cargo transit from India: 6 to 14 days
Common Incoterms: CIP, DAP, FCA
Local currency: UZS
Languages: Uzbek, Russian

Legal routes and who applies

Routes for a medicine that is not registered in Uzbekistan. The local party named under each route files the application, not the exporter.

Route 1Not published by the Ministry
Ministry of Health order for orphan medicines or dangerous infections
Article 24 of the Law on Medicines and Pharmaceutical Activity lets orphan medicines and devices, and products for particularly dangerous or epidemic infections, be imported without state registration when the import is ordered by the Ministry of Health. The law does not publish a form or timeline for this order, so the hospital or importer should confirm the process with the Ministry first.
Who applies: Ministry of Health, usually on a request from a hospital or licensed importer (confirm the filing route)
Route 2Certification time not published
Ministry of Health list of medicines without registered analogues
A Ministry of Health order of March 2025 lists 34 medicines and 117 medical devices with no registered equivalent in Uzbekistan, including burosumab, miglustat and sapropterin. They may be imported and used without state registration provided they pass mandatory certification, and the order is valid until 1 January 2028.
Who applies: Licensed Uzbek importer or pharmaceutical wholesaler
Route 3No permit step stated in the law, clearance practice not confirmed
Import for one course of treatment confirmed by a medical institution
Article 25 of the same law lets medicines enter without state registration and without customs clearance for treating a patient on a medical indication confirmed by a medical institution, within one course of treatment. It is a personal import route and the law does not describe a foreign supplier shipping to the patient, so confirm how a shipment would clear before relying on it.
Who applies: The patient or family, with a medical institution's confirmation of the indication
Route 4Review periods of 60 to 120 days by safety category reported for 2025 rules
Registration by recognition of a foreign approval
Cabinet Resolution 738 of 24 November 2025 registers medicines either through the general procedure or by recognition, with a five-year certificate. Recognition has existed since a 2018 decree for products approved in stringent regulator countries and by the European Medicines Agency, and orphan medicines are reported to get priority. This route suits a medicine needed regularly rather than a single patient.
Who applies: Marketing authorisation holder or its authorised representative

Document checklist

Documents a buyer in Uzbekistan usually needs. The exact list depends on the route and the product.

Ministry of Health order or listing that covers the unregistered product
Certificate of conformity from mandatory certification of the batch
Prescription and medical institution confirmation of the indication
Hospital or importer request letter
Importer's pharmaceutical wholesale licence
Proforma invoice and commercial invoice
Packing list
Certificate of analysis for each batch
Certificate of pharmaceutical product or proof of registration abroad
GMP certificate for the manufacturing site
Air waybill

The documents a country, buyer type and product usually need, ready to print.

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The regulator

The Ministry of Health regulates medicines in Uzbekistan. Market policy and import planning sit with the Medicine and Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency under the Ministry, which took that name in May 2026 when the former Agency for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry was merged into a wider body. The Center for Pharmaceutical Products Safety (CPPS), a state institution under the Ministry, keeps the State Register of medicines under the 2025 registration rules and runs post-marketing control. Unregistered products imported under the Ministry's 2025 list must also pass mandatory certification.

Uzbekistan is not a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, so EAEU registrations do not apply.

Legal routes for unregistered medicines

The Law on Medicines and Pharmaceutical Activity sets the base rule: medicines are used as a rule only after state registration, and importing unregistered medicines is prohibited except where the law allows it.

Orphan medicines and dangerous infections

Article 24, part three, lets orphan medicines and devices for orphan diseases, and products for particularly dangerous or epidemic infections, be imported without state registration when the Ministry of Health orders the import. The law does not publish a form, fee or timeline for this order, so the hospital or importer should agree the process with the Ministry before the exporter prepares the goods.

Listed medicines without registered analogues

In March 2025 the Ministry of Health approved a list of 34 medicines and 117 medical devices that have no registered equivalent in Uzbekistan. Examples include aflibercept, burosumab, deflazacort, miglustat, sapropterin and vigabatrin. Listed products may be imported and used without state registration if they pass mandatory certification, and the order runs until 1 January 2028. A medicine not on the list needs another route.

One course of treatment

Article 25 lets medicines enter without state registration and without customs clearance for treating a patient on a medical indication confirmed by a medical institution, within one course of treatment, and for personal use during a stay in the country. A 2016 Cabinet regulation reported limits for travellers, such as up to 10 medicine names with no more than 5 packs each. Neither text describes a foreign supplier shipping to a patient's home, so treat this as a personal route and confirm it before any shipment.

Registration by recognition and the 2025 rules

Cabinet Resolution 738 of 24 November 2025 replaced the earlier registration rules. Medicines are registered through the general procedure or by recognition, and certificates run for five years. Recognition is not new: a 2018 decree and Resolution 862 let products approved in 20 stringent regulator countries or by the European Medicines Agency register without repeat expert review. In November 2025 officials described shorter review periods of 60, 90 or 120 days by safety category. Law firm summaries of Resolution 738 also report that donated and humanitarian medicines may be used without registration on a positive Ministry conclusion.

A draft fast track for shortages

A December 2025 draft regulation would let scarce medicines be imported without full registration during temporary shortages. The CPPS would answer within 3 working days, importers would need a wholesale licence and qualified staff, and every product would be certified and tracked by QR code. It was still a draft when reported.

Documents a buyer usually needs

Ministry of Health order or listing covering the unregistered product
Certificate of conformity from mandatory certification
Prescription and the medical institution's confirmation of the indication
Hospital or importer request letter and the importer's wholesale licence
Proforma invoice, commercial invoice and packing list with matching names and quantities
Certificate of analysis, certificate of pharmaceutical product and GMP certificate
Air waybill

Timeline: a worked example

A children's hospital in Tashkent needs an orphan medicine that appears on the Ministry's 2025 list, with a licensed Uzbek wholesaler as importer.

Step	Who acts	Typical time
Prescription and confirmation of the indication	Treating hospital	1 to 5 days
Proforma invoice, certificate of analysis and GMP evidence	Exporter in India	2 to 5 days
Contract and confirmation that the listed route applies	Importer and Ministry of Health	1 to 4 weeks (not published)
Export documents and dispatch from India	Exporter and forwarder	2 to 7 days, longer if a CDSCO export NOC is needed
Air transit	Carrier	2 to 6 days
Certification and customs clearance in Tashkent	Importer, certification body and broker	5 to 15 days (not published)

Total: roughly 4 to 10 weeks from request to delivery. These are planning estimates, not published service times.

Shipping lanes from India

Tashkent is the main gateway. IndiGo restarted Mumbai to Tashkent flights on 1 September 2025, four times a week, after a pause linked to airspace closures, and a Delhi service by Centrum Air was reported from October 2025. Other routings connect through Dubai, Istanbul or Almaty. Express courier service is usually 5 to 9 days for small, non-controlled parcels. Air cargo with a broker is usually 6 to 14 days including certification and customs.

CIP and DAP to Tashkent are the usual terms, and FCA suits importers with their own forwarder. DDP is rarely practical because the Uzbek importer must arrange certification and clearance.

Practical tips for buyers

Check the Ministry's 2025 list first. If the medicine is on it, the certification route is the clearest published path.
Duty on HS 3004 medicines rose from 0 to 2 percent of customs value from 1 April 2025 under decree UP-13, according to GTAI. Serums, vaccines, blood products and dressings are outside that rate.
The VAT exemption on imported medicines ended on 1 April 2024, so expect VAT at the standard rate.
Leave time for certification after arrival. It is mandatory for listed unregistered products and is not covered by a published service time.

Shipping from India at a glance

Typical transit times and terms on the lanes from Indian airports to Uzbekistan.

Courier, door to door

5 to 9 days

Air cargo with clearance

6 to 14 days

Usual Incoterms

CIPDAPFCA

Cold chain on this lane

Direct flights from India to Tashkent are few, with IndiGo from Mumbai four times a week since September 2025, so many shipments connect through Dubai, Istanbul or Almaty. For 2 to 8°C products use passive shippers qualified for at least 120 hours with data loggers, and agree a cold room in Tashkent for certification and customs.

Check a shipper against this lane

Transit times are typical estimates from India, not carrier commitments.

Questions about importing into Uzbekistan

Can a medicine that is not registered in Uzbekistan be imported?

Only in the cases the law allows. Orphan medicines and products for dangerous infections can enter without registration when the Ministry of Health orders the import, and a March 2025 Ministry list allows 34 named medicines without registered analogues subject to mandatory certification. Other unregistered medicines need registration or another confirmed route.

Which medicines are on the Ministry of Health list of products without registered analogues?

The March 2025 order lists 34 medicines and 117 medical devices, including aflibercept, burosumab, deflazacort, miglustat, sapropterin and vigabatrin. Listed products may be imported and used without state registration if they pass mandatory certification. The order runs until 1 January 2028.

Can a patient in Uzbekistan receive a prescription medicine directly from a supplier in India?

This is not a clearly established route. The law allows medicines for one course of treatment confirmed by a medical institution to enter without registration or customs clearance, but it does not describe a foreign supplier shipping to a patient's home. Ask the treating hospital to work through a licensed importer and confirm with the Ministry first.

Does Uzbekistan recognise registrations from other regulators?

Yes. Since 2018, products approved in a group of stringent regulator countries and by the European Medicines Agency could register without repeat expert review. Cabinet Resolution 738 of November 2025 keeps registration by recognition alongside the general procedure, with five-year certificates.

What duty and VAT apply to imported medicines in Uzbekistan?

Duty on HS 3004 medicines is 2 percent of customs value from 1 April 2025, with serums, vaccines, blood products and dressings outside that rate. The VAT exemption on imported medicines ended on 1 April 2024, so VAT applies at the standard rate. Ask a local customs broker for a full calculation.

Who regulates medicines in Uzbekistan?

The Ministry of Health, working through the Medicine and Pharmaceutical Industry Development Agency and the Center for Pharmaceutical Products Safety. The Center keeps the State Register under the 2025 registration rules and runs post-marketing control.

Sources

Official sources first, then published secondary sources. Each was read when this guide was researched.

This page explains how regulatory routes work. It is not legal or medical advice. Confirm current requirements with the regulator or a local agent before goods ship.

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