A government resolution has amended the rules for placing outdoor advertising. Under the resolution, a business’s signboard displaying its name and line of business on the exterior of the building or structure it occupies, including at the entrance, no longer counts as outdoor advertising. The same applies to the company name, trademark or service mark shown on the signboard, none of which requires an advertising space passport.

Legal entities may advertise their trademark, line of business, products and services on vehicles they own or hold under other proprietary rights, using a simplified procedure.

To do so, it is enough to submit an electronic notification through the Unified Interactive Public Services Portal. Once the notification is accepted, the relevant authorities are deemed to have been notified automatically, and an advertising space passport is generated in the system. No fee is charged.

If a notification is found to contain false information or trademarks belonging to other parties, the passport is revoked automatically and a reasoned letter is sent to the legal entity.

Applicants can also voluntarily surrender an advertising space passport by submitting an application through the portal. The information is passed to tax authorities automatically.

The resolution also clarifies time limits for short-term advertising. Ads at construction sites may stay up until the work is completed, while ads for holidays and other events may run for up to 30 days.

The procedure for changing “design code” requirements for outdoor advertising has also been revised. Such decisions will now be adopted only after public discussion, including on the regulation.gov.uz portal, and will take effect three months after publication. Use of a registered trademark must remain possible. Tashkent’s design code will be discussed with entrepreneurs and media representatives by Dec. 10.

The resolution also sets out the procedure for mandatory dismantling of outdoor advertising structures. The date and time must be announced on a website two days in advance, and the owner must receive written notice.

Dismantling may take place only on working days, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. According to the committee, an official record is drawn up in the owner’s presence, stating the date, time and reason for dismantling, photographs, and the address to which the structure was sent for storage.

Businesses will also receive relevant decisions and notices in writing at their registered addresses. Public oversight of outdoor advertising placement will be carried out through the People’s Control electronic portal.

It was reported earlier that a signboard written in Tajik had been removed from the Evos restaurant in Bukhara.