Fines up to 3 million VND for not posting product prices
(Baonghean.vn) - According to information from the Nghe An Market Management Department, since the beginning of the year, the force has handled 263 price violations, with a total fine of over 80 million VND.
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| Most traders in the markets usually do not care about posting prices of goods. |
Of which, 62 cases were warned; 201 cases were administratively fined with a total fine of over 80 million VND.
In 2015, the market management force handled 856 violations of price listing. Of these, 141 cases were warned and 517 cases were administratively fined, with a total fine of over 206 million VND.
However, compared to other violations, the number of cases of price listing is very small. According to regulations, all essential goods must have their prices listed. In terms of form, prices are listed in places where consumers can easily see them (right on the product or on a price board with detailed listed prices).
In reality, except for large shopping malls and supermarkets that list prices and sell at the listed prices, some stores still do not ensure that prices are listed. The situation of not posting prices is common in the markets.
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| Many household electrical appliances sold in markets do not have listed prices. |
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Duan - Head of the General Planning Department, Nghe An Market Management Department: The reason is that the awareness of business owners, especially small traders in the markets, is still limited. Consumers often buy based on the habit of bargaining or buying familiar goods, so business owners often ignore posting prices.
On the other hand, the previous regulation on penalties for not posting prices for the first time was only a warning, and for the second time a penalty (from 300,000 to 500,000 VND) was imposed; this was not enough to deter businesses. Therefore, when Decree 49/2016/ND-CP on handling administrative violations in the field of price management comes into effect, it will be the basis for tightening the management of commodity prices in the market.
Decree 49/2016/ND-CP amends and supplements a number of articles of Decree 109/2013/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for violations in the field of price, fee, charge and invoice management; effective from August 1, 2016. Accordingly, the penalty for not posting prices will be increased. - First violation: Fine from 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND (instead of the warning penalty prescribed in Decree 109) for violations of not posting prices of goods and services at locations where they must be posted according to regulations, posting unclear prices, causing confusion for customers. - Repeated violations: Fine from 1,000,000 VND to 3,000,000 VND (instead of the fine before August 1 which was from 300,000 VND to 500,000 VND). - If the listed price is not correct (not within the price range or higher than the maximum price, lower than the minimum price prescribed by the competent state agency) for goods and services in the List of goods and services with State-determined prices, the fine is from 1 to 3 million VND. |
Dinh Nguyet
