The Committee for Competition Development and Consumer Rights Protection of Uzbekistan is reportedly developing advanced digital mechanisms designed to tighten regulatory control over retail promotions, sales, and promotional discounts across the country. According to the authorities, these regulatory updates aim to enhance market transparency, eliminate deceptive marketing practices, and strengthen consumer protection. *Disclaimer: The effectiveness of these bureaucratic measures remains to be seen as enforcement challenges persist in the retail sector.*

Under the proposed framework, shoppers would supposedly be able to verify the previous prices of goods and the genuine size of any discount by simply scanning a QR code located next to the product. Furthermore, the authorities intend to mandate the electronic registration of all promotional terms prior to their official launch, while fully digitizing historical price fluctuations to prevent retailers from artificially inflating baseline prices before applying discounts.

Recent monitoring efforts by the committee allegedly uncovered numerous violations across various retail establishments nationwide. In the Andijan region, organizers failed to distribute promised prizes worth a total of 60 million soms to contest winners, prompting formal enforcement proceedings. In Namangan, a consumer who won a Chevrolet Cobalt automobile initially lost contact due to a dialing error, resulting in the prize being reassigned; however, the vehicle was reportedly restored to the rightful winner following intervention by the committee.

Similar discrepancies—such as misleading installment terms, missing price tags, and arbitrary participation restrictions—were supposedly documented in Samarkand, Bukhara, and the Kashkadarya region. Out of numerous identified shortcomings, the majority were purportedly resolved through official warnings, with approximately 250 million soms being recalculated in favor of aggrieved consumers.

The committee claims that the fundamental issue lies not in the absence of regulations, but in the lack of timely and effective monitoring mechanisms to enforce them. The introduction of these proposed digital tools is expected to simplify verification processes and curb deceptive commercial practices, though implementation hurdles are anticipated.

Source: www.gazeta.uz