Fines for Selling Expired Products in Uzbekistan to Triple

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has approved measures to strengthen consumer protection, including a significant tightening of controls over the sale of expired food products.

Starting from March 2026, the Asl Belgisi system will restrict the sale of goods past their expiration date that are subject to mandatory labeling.

At the same time, the Competition Committee proposed and received approval to increase administrative liability for selling expired products, as well as for selling goods without indicating the production date and expiration date where required by regulations. In particular, fines for individuals for such violations will triple: from the previous 3–10 sizes of base estimated values (1.236–4.2 million soums) to 30 sizes of base estimated values (12.36 million soums). For officials, the maximum fine will also be set at 30 sizes of base estimated values.

To enable rapid response to violations and track consumer complaints, the “Consumer Appeal” information system will be launched. The platform will record and monitor all complaints at every stage of their review.

The system will be integrated with the personal account of the Tax Committee, allowing businesses to receive timely notifications of complaints. Entrepreneurs are required to address complaints under the supervision of the Competition Committee within 10 days.

If a complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, consumers will be able to appeal directly to the Competition Committee or to public consumer protection organizations, which can issue recommendations for voluntary correction of violations. If the requirements are not met within the established timeframe, the case can be referred to the authorized state body or court.

Additionally, the authority for accounting the need for food-grade and technical ethyl alcohol, as well as monitoring its targeted use, has been transferred to the Alcohol and Tobacco Market Regulation Inspection under the Department for Combating Economic Crimes of the General Prosecutor’s Office. Previously, these functions were performed by the Competition Committee.