Twenty-Two Nukus Gas Stations Fined for Coordinated Price-Fixing, Courts Uphold Penalties

Twenty-two compressed natural gas stations operating in Nukus, the capital of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, have been fined for simultaneously raising prices in what Uzbekistan’s Competition Committee determined was coordinated anti-competitive conduct. Nine of the penalised businesses challenged the decision in court and lost, with judges confirming the committee’s findings were lawful.

The investigation was triggered by a citizen complaint received by the committee. Inspectors examined pricing at all 22 compressed-gas refuelling stations and found that each had raised the price of one cubic metre of compressed gas by an average of 1,050 soums above the prevailing rate — and had done so at the same time. The simultaneous, uniform increase was the basis for the committee’s Special Commission opening cases under Article 19 of the Law on Competition, which prohibits coordinated actions that restrict market rivalry.

Fines and Mandatory Orders

At the conclusion of proceedings, the Special Commission issued financial penalties against all 22 business entities in accordance with established procedure. Alongside the fines, the commission issued binding instructions requiring each operator to remedy the identified violations and to prevent recurrence. The committee did not disclose the total monetary value of the penalties.

Nine of the operators refused to accept the outcome and filed court challenges. In each case the court upheld the commission’s decisions, confirming their legal validity. The remaining thirteen businesses did not contest the rulings.

Monitoring to Continue

The Competition Committee said its Special Commission would continue monitoring market participants for coordinated anti-competitive behaviour regardless of their ownership structure. The Nukus cases illustrate the committee’s stated approach of acting on citizen complaints as a trigger for sector-wide price reviews, rather than waiting for formal regulatory referrals.

Compressed gas is a widely used vehicle fuel in Uzbekistan, and retail price movements at filling stations directly affect transport costs for ordinary drivers and small businesses. A coordinated price increase across an entire local market, if left unchallenged, can function in practice like a cartel even without a formal agreement — which is precisely the conduct Article 19 is designed to address.