A court in Dushanbe’s Shohmansour district has sentenced two vendors to five days of administrative detention for selling meat at inflated prices during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Dushanbe Police Department says that despite prior official warnings about maintaining stable prices during Ramadan, traders Umed Rajabov and Faizullo Jalilov “deliberately sold meat at inflated prices for financial gain.”
The authorities did not disclose the exact prices at which the meat was sold or specify the legal article under which the court issued its ruling.
The city police once again urged entrepreneurs to refrain from artificially increasing prices and to act in good faith. Officials warned that appropriate measures would be taken in case of violations, although specific legal grounds were not cited.
Earlier, on February 18, the Dushanbe police had called on business owners to avoid unjustified price hikes for food products during Ramadan. The authorities emphasized that Ramadan is a time of compassion and good deeds, and that artificial price increases contradict moral and spiritual values.
Meat is classified as a socially significant product, meaning the state has the authority to regulate trade markups or set maximum retail prices.
Exceeding these limits may constitute a violation of pricing regulations and can result in liability under Article 555 of Tajikistan’s Code of Administrative Offenses.
Additionally, consumer fraud constitutes a separate legal violation under Article 627 of the Code. Such violations include short-weighing customers, misrepresenting prices, imposing hidden charges, or selling lower-quality goods under the guise of premium products.
What Articles 555 and 627 of the Administrative Code provide
Article 555 of Tajikistan’s Code of Administrative Offenses establishes liability for violations of state pricing regulations. It provides for fines ranging from 5 to 10 calculation indictors (estimates) for individuals, from 10 to 20 for officials, and from 50 to 100 for legal entities.
Article 627 regulates liability for consumer fraud. Penalties under this article range from 3 to 5 calculation indicators for individuals, from 5 to 10 for officials, and from 20 to 40 for legal entities.
