The Georgian National Competition Agency has started inspection of domestic fuel prices to study the competitive behaviour of large sellers in the Georgian market and its compatibility with the competition legislation.

“The inspection would answer important questions for the society, including whether the competition legislation was being violated by large companies, whether they colluded to affect prices, and whether their behaviour was conscientious towards customers”, - said the Chairman of the Agency Irakli Lekvinadze.

The move comes after Prime Minister called on the regulator to conduct an urgent review into the matter, following the 2022 monitoring upshots.

“As per the monitoring results of the first seven months of 2022, some companies had a competitive advantage in price, but it was not properly reflected in the retail market despite a curb in international oil prices.

Similar trends were observed in March-April of 2022, but were attributed to global and regional market instability. Under the rule established by the legislation, in case of violation, fine sanctions are determined”, - says the agency.