Law “On Competition” was amended

Uzbekistan has introduced amendments to the Law "On Competition" to ensure a healthy competitive environment in the commodity and financial markets. This was reported by the Ministry of Justice.

In accordance with the amendment to the Law "On Regulatory-Legal Documents" signed by the President, new provisions require the coordination of regulatory legal document drafts related to the provision of state aid with the Committee for the Development of Competition and Protection of Consumer Rights.

Additionally, the Law "On Competition" was revised to stipulate that if a business entity is included in the list of natural monopoly entities based on its type of activity, that activity will be considered its primary activity.

To promote a more lenient enforcement approach, the law now provides that financial sanctions will not be applied to business entities committing minor violations of competition law with minimal economic impact, provided it is their first offense.

The law will take effect on the date of its official publication.

It is worth noting that at the thirty-seventh plenary session of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis, held in March 2023, the Law "On Competition" was adopted. This law was developed to ensure the free movement of goods within the country, safeguard the competitive environment, and create conditions for the effective functioning of commodity, financial, and digital markets. It consolidates the 2012 Law "On Competition" and the 1999 Law "On Natural Monopolies," unifying most of the requirements for natural monopolies and dominant entities.