Recent amendments to the Administrative Offences Code impose higher financial penalties for breaches of waste management legislation. Below is an overview of the recent changes.
Waste management
Organisations and sole traders operating category I or II facilities, must develop technological norms in order to be able to apply for an integrated environmental permit or to have this permit revised.
Technological standards for the mentioned categories of facilities must contain the following information:
Integrated environmental permits are issued to legal entities and sole traders operating category I environmentally hazardous facilities. One permit is to be issued for each separate facility with a negative impact on the environment, including a linear facility following an application submitted by the operator.
Amendments to the current criminal procedure legislation that would introduce the concept of corporate liability have been presented for public discussion. The amendments are a part of the overall Concept of Criminal and Criminal Procedure Legislation Improvement and aim to improve the efficiency of the existing criminal law of Uzbekistan.
As of 15 April 2018, facilities belonging to environmental hazard categories I, II and III are required to develop and implement their internal environmental compliance self-monitoring program in accordance with the adopted requirements.
Manufacturers and importers of products subject to recycling targets (i.e. those subject to the extended producer responsibility) must pay the environmental charge for 2017 before 15 April 2018, if they are required to pay such a charge.
Operators subject to the environmental charge payment are required to submit to the authorities, before 1 April of the year following the relevant reporting year the following documents:
As of 5 December 2017, each facility impacting the environment is to be assigned, by the Russian authorities, to a particular environmental risk category. Such a risk category is to be assigned in order to determine the frequency with which the facility is to be inspected by environmental authorities.
There are five risk categories, which will be inspected with the following frequency:
As of 20 October 2017, all organisations and sole traders are prohibited to retail any ethanol-containing nonfoods as well as ethanol-containing food additives and flavourings for another 180 days. It is prohibited to retail any ethanol-containing products with the ethanol content exceeding 28% if such products are sold at a price (per 0,5l) that is lower than the price set for alcoholic drinks with the ethanol content above 28% by Order No. 58n of 11 May 2016.
Facilities using subsoil resources are to be required to comply with additional environment protection requirements. The amendments to this effect have been made to the laws “On Nature Protection” and “On Subsoil Resources”.
The amendments clarify that a facility may only use subsoil resources if it complies with all applicable environment protection requirements and observes the rights of all other users of natural resources.
As of 1 October 2017, all organisations performing activities that have an impact on the environment are required to comply with the adopted environmental protection rules (the Rules).
The Rules contain environment protection requirements regulating:
Occupational exposure limits, HS management, health and safety training, H&S management, occupational safety rules
Environmental liability, waste management, air protection, water management, hazardous substances management, dangerous goods transportation, use of chemicals…
Cosmetics, food, electronics, chemicals, clothing, textiles, other consumer goods
the Privacy policy.