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The Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into petrol and diesel prices in the UK amid claims that retailers are not passing reductions in oil prices on to businesses and consumers.
The watchdog is to spend six weeks investigating whether falling crude oil prices are being reflected in the cost paid at the pumps.
It will also look into behaviour by supermarkets and oil companies to establish whether they are making trading conditions more difficult for independent fuel retailers, as well as examining the lack of competition at petrol stations in rural areas.
The investigation does not concern fuel duty, which is said to make up around 60% of the total cost paid.
The OFT is appealing to "the industry, motoring groups and consumer bodies" to get in touch with information relevant to the cause.
A spokesperson for the BVRLA told BusinessCar that the organisation had no current plans to submit information but that it was speaking to its members to assess what action, if any, they want it to take.
Claire Hart, director in the OFT's services, infrastructure and public markets group, said: "We are keenly aware of continuing widespread concern about the pump price of petrol and diesel and we have heard a number of different claims about how the market is operating.
"We have therefore decided to take a broad-based look at this sector, to provide an opportunity for people to share their concerns and evidence.
"This will help us determine whether claims about competition problems are well-founded."
The Department for Transport has previously suggested that an industry code of conduct should be introduced, in order to implement price reductions at the pumps as quickly as a fortnight after they had been felt in the wholesale market.
Speaking to the BBC, the OFT's senior director Ann Pope said: "We have a couple of options if we do find competition issues.
"If it's an industry-wide problem we may decide that we should make a reference to the competition commission. We also have our own competition enforcement where we might take action if we think the law is being broken."
The findings of the investigation are due to be announced in January. Parties interested in contributing should email roadfuel@oft.gsi.gov.uk by 17 October.
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