Will the fight against monopolies intensify under the President?

A State Agency for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control under the President has been established, based on the State Service for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree regarding this on August 27.

The first institution in Azerbaijan dedicated to combating monopolies—the Anti-Monopoly Policy and Entrepreneurship Support Committee—was established back in 1992. In 2001, this Committee was incorporated into the Ministry of Economic Development and operated as the Anti-Monopoly Policy Department. However, in subsequent years, new agencies were created alongside the abolition of older ones in this area. For example, on December 28, 2006, the State Service for Anti-Monopoly was established under the Ministry of Economic Development, and the function of consumer market control was also assigned to it. In 2009, the agency was renamed the "State Service for Anti-Monopoly Policy and Consumer Rights Protection" by a relevant decree. Eight years later, a new order integrated this agency into the structure of the Ministry of Economy as the State Agency for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control. Finally, on October 23, 2019, the Agency was again granted State Service status.

Some experts believe that all these changes have not led to significant positive developments in the anti-monopoly field.

According to a statement from the Cabinet of Ministers, the new agency will function as a central executive authority responsible for state regulation in the areas of anti-monopoly, unfair competition, public procurement, consumer rights protection, and consumer market control. It is emphasized that the establishment of the State Agency for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control under the President will further strengthen the fight against monopolies in the country.

Eyyub Huseynov, the head of the Free Consumers Union, told "Turan" that he hopes this change will be effective: "Because over the years, this agency has operated under various names, but consumer rights issues have been neglected, leading to the current situation. Although consumer rights protection was part of the agency's charter, its performance was unsatisfactory."

According to Huseynov, when complaints from consumers about a company were brought to his organization and they could not mediate, they would refer the matter to the State Service for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control: "The agency would then send a letter to the company. The company, however, would respond with the same excuses they had used to deceive the consumer, and send them back to the State Service. The agency would simply copy those excuses and send them back to us... We have very rarely seen consumer rights actually being protected."

He hopes that the new agency's name will also reflect "consumer protection": "Unfortunately, consumer rights in this country have been sidelined. I expect that after this change, the agency will have broader powers. It will work closely with the public and media, and won't just tell people to 'take it to court' when it comes to consumer rights issues."

Lawyer and banking expert Akram Hasanov told Radio Azadliq that monopolies in Azerbaijan have not decreased, but rather have increased over time: "Until now, the State Service for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control being subordinate to the Ministry of Economy made any changes in this area virtually impossible."

The expert believes that the State Service for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control should have long been turned into an independent body: "Because most of Azerbaijan's state companies are subordinate to the Ministry of Economy. These companies are, in a way, natural monopolies. Secondly, all public procurement oversight was also carried out by the agency within the Ministry of Economy."

Hasanov believes that the creation of the new agency is a positive step: "But I'm not under any illusions, and the agency won't start changing things overnight. The implementation of the Competition Code, which came into force this year, is still in question. At the same time, if the State Register of Real Estate and the State Register of Commercial Legal Entities are not made public, there can be no real fight against monopolies. Without public oversight, it is impossible."

Several experts also believe that the issue is not just about which entity the agency operates under. They argue that if there were real possibilities for a determined fight against monopolies in the country, that agency could have operated positively even under any ministry.

It was not possible to obtain a response from the leadership of the State Service for Anti-Monopoly and Consumer Market Control regarding the opinions expressed in the article. However, they have previously evaluated their performance positively.