The Antimonopoly Committee imposed fines on a number of companies operating in the fuel market. In particular, Zolotoy Ekvator will have to pay UAH 16.2 million, VOG Retail — UAH 54.3 million, OKKO Nefteprodukt — UAH 77.8 million, Alliance Holding — UAH 39.7 million, AMIC Ukraine — UAH 12.5 million, SOCAR Petroleum — UAH 2.5 million, and Parallel — UAH 1.4 million.
The decision was made after the authority reviewed a case concerning violations of norms related to the protection of economic competition. It concerns concerted actions without competition on the part of the mentioned enterprises, which, in the period from January 2013 to January 2016, set retail prices for light petroleum products.
During the investigation, it was found that these companies changed price tags for A-95 gasoline and diesel fuel simultaneously or almost simultaneously, with a difference of several days, displaying new figures on the information boards of their stationary filling stations. This was reported by the committee's press service.
According to the AMCU, such steps led to the elimination of price rivalry among oil traders, and other market participants were forced to focus on these tariffs, setting prices at an unjustifiably high level. As a result, competition in this area weakened overall.
In addition, the committee obliged fuel companies to develop and implement clear and transparent conditions for providing discounts on light petroleum products displayed on the boards, as well as to create a mechanism that would allow informing consumers about actual retail prices for each brand of gasoline and diesel fuel at stationary gas stations, including data on loyalty programs, promotional offers, and provided discounts.
As emphasized by the AMCU, the market analysis indicates the absence of objective grounds for increasing fuel prices, which is a violation of the legislation on the protection of economic competition.
