The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published draft guidance on how it plans to enforce the forthcoming Fuel Finder open data scheme, which will require every petrol filling station to publish pump prices within 30 minutes of any change.
The consultation—linked to the Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025—explains how non-compliance could trigger penalties of up to 1% of worldwide turnover and daily fines up to 5% of daily worldwide turnover. Responses close at 5pm on 3 November 2025.
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What the fuel finder rules would do
The government’s aim is to boost fuel price transparency so drivers can compare petrol and diesel prices in real time via map, sat-nav or third-party apps that use the open data feed.
Under the plans, all UK forecourts must participate, reporting current retail prices for all petrol and diesel grades; a flexible setup allows reporting either by a central office or by the site itself.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has appointed VE3 Global to operate the data platform, with launch targeted—subject to parliamentary timing—by the end of 2025.
Why the CMA is tightening oversight
The CMA’s 2023 market study found competition in the road fuel retail market had weakened since 2019, with supermarket fuel margins rising and motorists paying more at the pump than wholesale trends alone would suggest.
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By GlobalDataThe watchdog now holds a statutory road fuel monitoring role under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and plans to use Fuel Finder data to scrutinise pricing behaviour.
It has run a temporary, voluntary open-data scheme since 2023 covering about 40% of forecourts and 65% of fuel sold, but that dataset updates only daily; the statutory scheme is designed to deliver up-to-the-minute pricing.
How enforcement and penalties would work
The draft guidance outlines a “proportionate and targeted” approach. The CMA can investigate suspected breaches, request information or interviews, and issue compliance notices.
Where failures occur “without reasonable excuse”, the regulator may impose administrative penalties—either a single fixed amount (up to 1% of worldwide turnover), a daily penalty (up to 5% of daily worldwide turnover), or a combination.
Before any fine, firms would receive a notice of intent and the chance to make representations; final penalty notices are appealable to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Late payments can accrue statutory interest. Examples of a “reasonable excuse” could include a significant, demonstrable IT failure that could not reasonably have been foreseen.
Context for global retail readers: for fuel retailers, the proposal aligns with a wider regulatory push towards open data and price transparency in essential goods, with real-time disclosure intended to sharpen competition at local level and deter unjustified price gaps.
Retailers operating forecourts in the UK should prepare systems capable of reliable 30-minute price updates, clear internal reporting responsibility (site vs. central), and evidence trails to demonstrate compliance in the event of CMA inquiries.
Access the report here (UK government PDF). GOV.UK Assets
