In the first two months of this year, the Directorate General of Consumer Protection, Competition and Fraud Repression (CCF) found that more than a third of the fuel stations it inspected did not comply with legal standards for selling fuel to customers.

According to the CCF report, officials inspected 768 fuel business locations nationwide during the period and found that 267 of them were practising dishonest business tactics.

“These stations were selling poor quality gasoline or inflating the quantity of petrol they pump with each transaction. That being said, compared to the last two months of 2021, offences related to the fuel business had decreased,” it said.

The report said that in November and December, officials inspected 663 stations and depots across the country and found that 254 fuel depots were engaged in fraudulent business practices.

CCF director-general Phan Oun told The Post on March 7 that these locations were fined, noting that in case of repeated offences, the fine would be doubled.

He said the CCF would pursue legal action if the businesses continued to flout legal guidelines, adding that data from each round of inspections would need to be analysed to determine the number of offences each business had committed.

According to the Consumer Protection Act, misconduct involving goods, services or misleading claims requires a written warning to the person who commits an offence for the first time.

The law also stipulates that in the event of receiving a written warning and continuing to commit the offence, law enforcement officials have the right to suspend or revoke a business registration certificate or licence.

Law enforcement officials are also entitled to impose a fine of less than 20 million riel ($5,000). Should a business owner continue to commit the offence leading to legal action, they face a prison sentence of between six months and two years.