Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Committee for Competition Development and Consumer Protection of Uzbekistan has conducted an investigation into the procurement tender for medical microscopes with cameras and light filters, announced by the state-owned enterprise O‘ZMEDIMPEKS (now the Procurement Center under the Ministry of Health of Uzbekistan) for a total amount of 12.1 billion soums.

The review revealed that, according to the conclusion of the Center for Comprehensive Expertise of Projects and Import Contracts under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the comments and recommendations outlined in the tender documentation were only partially considered.

Furthermore, the technical specifications for the microscopes were formulated without permissible ranges or limit parameters, effectively restricting the procurement conditions to products from the Japanese manufacturer Olympus Corporation.

Based on these violations, the Special Commission of the Antimonopoly Committee initiated a case against O‘ZMEDIMPEKS (now the Procurement Center under the Ministry of Health) for violating the Law "On Competition," leading to the annulment of the tender.

Additionally, the agency has been instructed to rectify the identified violations and implement measures to prevent similar situations in the future.

Parties that disagree with the decision of the Special Commission have the right to appeal to the Committee’s Appellate Council or in court.