Uzbekistan Finalizes Islamic Banking Licensing Rules for Banks

Uzbekistan’s Central Bank has finalized the licensing rules that will govern the country’s new Islamic banking sector. The Ministry of Justice registered the amended regulations on July 17, 2026, according to Times of Central Asia, and the rules take effect upon official publication, closing out a process the Central Bank opened with a public draft in June 2026.

Uzbekistan’s new Islamic banking licensing rules, registered by the Ministry of Justice on July 17, 2026, according to Times of Central Asia, create three market-entry paths: dedicated Islamic banks, Islamic windows inside conventional banks, and full bank conversion, with licensing priced at 0.1% of minimum authorized capital, per BlackSwan Law.

The finalized text follows Uzbekistan’s Islamic banking law, which took effect June 29, 2026, per UzDaily. It also arrives days after the Central Bank set up a national Islamic Finance Council to steer the sector, a step The Halal Times reported on in July while the licensing rules were still in draft. Those rules are now final.

How the Licensing Works

The Central Bank’s framework, per UzDaily, establishes three operational models: dedicated, standalone Islamic banks; “Islamic windows” operated inside existing conventional commercial banks; and full conversion of a conventional bank into a Sharia-compliant entity. Islamic microfinance organizations fall under the same rules. Applicants move through a multi-stage process that UzDaily describes as preliminary creation permits, state registration, and final operational licenses.

Conventional banks that want to open an Islamic window can’t simply flip a switch. The Central Bank requires explicit clearance for members of a bank’s internal Islamic Finance, or Sharia, Council, and for senior executives overseeing Sharia operations, before they take office, a fit-and-proper standard reported by UzDaily. Islamic windows aren’t allowed to commingle funds with the parent bank’s conventional book; they require strict separate accounting, according to BlackSwan Law’s review.

Licensing itself is priced at 0.1% of a bank’s minimum authorized capital, per BlackSwan Law’s review of the legislative changes. The package pairs that cost with tax-neutrality provisions meant to keep Islamic contracts from being penalized against conventional finance: VAT exemptions apply to trade markups in Murabaha operations, to lease margins in Ijarah transactions, and to trust management services, BlackSwan Law reports. Income from Sukuk and investment deposits is treated as dividends or interest for tax purposes, and individual income from Islamic instruments is exempt from personal income tax, per the same review. Permitted operations under the framework include Murabaha, Ijarah, Musharakah, Salam and Istisna.

On deposits, the rules exclude investment deposits placed under Mudarabah from state deposit guarantees, while authorizing the Deposit Guarantee Agency to draw on Central Bank liquidity through Islamic instruments, according to BlackSwan Law. Council members are classified as related parties with restricted insurance compensation. Every Islamic banking entity must also stand up its own mandatory Council on Islamic Finance, whose members undergo Central Bank qualification checks and carry joint liability alongside the entity’s executive and supervisory boards.

The Law and the Council Behind the Rules

The licensing rules implement Law No. O’RQ-1126, which President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed on March 27, 2026, according to Times of Central Asia’s most detailed account of the legislation. The law took effect June 29, 2026, and establishes a dual banking system in which Islamic and conventional banks operate side by side, a structure The Halal Times covered as it moved through draft form earlier in the process.

Separately, the Central Bank has already stood up a national Islamic Finance Council to coordinate banks, microfinance organizations, the Deposit Guarantee Agency and other institutions operating under Islamic principles, per Times of Central Asia. The five-member council is chaired by Saidjamol Masayitov, a chief specialist at the Fatwa Center, with Muhammadyubkhon Khomidov as deputy chair. Members Hikmatilla Toshtemirov and Abdullatif Tursunov also come from the Fatwa Center, joined by Akhrorjon Sadullayev, managing partner of Orient Audit Group and a veteran of more than 20 years in banking and finance. The council prepares national standards, issues regulatory and supervisory recommendations, advises financial institutions, represents the Central Bank before international standard-setters, and reports annually to the Central Bank’s board, according to Times of Central Asia.

What Comes Next

The licensing framework doesn’t guarantee an immediate rush of new entrants. Uzbekistan’s first Islamic finance services are planned to launch through commercial banks in 2027, with at least three banks expected to be offering them by 2030, per Times of Central Asia’s reporting. That timeline gives banks roughly a year after publication of the rules to work through the permit, registration, and licensing stages before products reach customers.

The stakes are regional as much as domestic. A 2025 regional report cited by Times of Central Asia forecasts Islamic banking assets across Central Asia could reach $6.3 billion by 2033, with Uzbekistan projected to become the region’s second-largest Islamic banking market after Kazakhstan. Whether Uzbekistan hits that mark now depends less on legislation, which is largely settled, and more on how many conventional banks choose the window model versus a standalone license when the application window opens.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Uzbekistan’s Islamic banking licensing rules take effect?
The amended rules were registered by the Ministry of Justice on July 17, 2026, and take effect upon official publication, according to Times of Central Asia.

How can a bank get an Islamic banking license in Uzbekistan?
Under the Central Bank’s framework reported by UzDaily, a bank moves through preliminary creation permits, state registration, and a final operational license, choosing one of three models: a dedicated Islamic bank, an Islamic window, or full conversion from a conventional bank.

What is an Islamic window under the new Uzbekistan rules?
An Islamic window is a Sharia-compliant unit operated inside an existing conventional bank. The rules require windows to keep strict separate accounting from the parent bank’s conventional operations, per BlackSwan Law’s review, along with Central Bank clearance for the executives who run them.

How much does an Islamic banking license cost in Uzbekistan?
Licensing is set at 0.1% of a bank’s minimum authorized capital, according to BlackSwan Law’s review of the legislative changes.

When will Islamic banking services actually be available in Uzbekistan?
Times of Central Asia reports the first Islamic finance services are planned through commercial banks in 2027, with at least three banks expected to offer them by 2030.