Regulations on price listing: Violations are widespread!
(Baonghean.vn)The Price Ordinance issued by the National Assembly in 2002 and Decree 169/2004 ND-CP stipulate: "Organizations and individuals producing and trading must post prices of goods and services at stores, transaction and service provision locations; acts of not complying with regulations on price posting will be subject to warnings or fines from 100,000 to 500,000 VND...". But up to now, many small traders and businesses in Vinh City still ignore this regulation, or if they do, it is only perfunctory and perfunctory....
As one of the wholesale markets with large consumption of goods, Vinh market currently has 2,800 fixed businesses with more than 3,000 stalls and about 1,000 non-fixed businesses, but most of the goods do not have listed prices, except for some processed products that have been printed directly on the packaging by the manufacturer.
Price posting is an effective measure to protect consumer rights.
Therefore, when buying goods, many consumers do not know the exact price of each product to balance their finances and choose the right purchase, leading to the situation of buying at a loss without having time to update market prices.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha (teacher at Nghi Loc III High School) indignantly said: "Once when I went to Vinh market, I bought a handbag with wheels. As soon as I met a customer, the saleswoman enthusiastically invited me to see the goods, introduced this bag as a genuine product and then "shouted" the price of 550,000 VND. Seeing that it was expensive, I went to another store, the seller immediately changed her attitude, using a "market" tone to force me to buy because the first sale had not yet started. Because I did not want a fight to happen, I had to buy that bag for 420,000 VND. With the way of selling goods always asking for "sky-high" prices and behaving uncivilly, the market will gradually lose its position when consumers have many choices." When asked why they did not comply with the regulations on posting prices and selling at the listed price, the sellers all had enough reasons to justify their violations. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, a cosmetics trader, said: "Here, we mainly sell wholesale, so the volume of goods is large, and prices fluctuate frequently, so there is not enough time to update customers. Buyers always like to bargain and do not trust sellers, so we have ignored the price posting rule."
It is known that recently, Vinh Market Management Board has, through the Women's Union of small traders, through the radio system, propagated and reminded small traders to demonstrate commercial civilization such as not demanding, not applying the "opening goods" trick.... And in the market regulations, it is also clearly stated that "All goods must have listed prices and be sold at the listed price", but up to now, most small traders are not "interested" in the above regulations.
According to Circular 77 issued by the Ministry of Health and Finance, retail prices of drugs must be publicly listed to consumers by writing on a board, printing, pasting on packaging and must not be higher than the listed price... But currently, many pharmacies do not comply with the regulations. Surveying pharmacies around the Provincial General Hospital, we did not see any boards listing retail drug prices. If there were any, they were blank or only listed the prices of a few drugs.
According to a saleswoman at Quynh Phuong pharmacy (on Nguyen Phong Sac street - Vinh city): The price of the medicine is already posted on the packaging, so why hang a sign? But when we pointed to the Neo-Codion medicine box, why is there no price listed? - the employee quickly explained: "That medicine was just imported yesterday afternoon, so we haven't had time to set the price yet." At Minh Tam pharmacy (also on Nguyen Phong Sac street), there is a price list but there are less than 30 items. When asked about the regulation of having to post prices, the saleswoman looked annoyed: "Where do we have the time to list all the medicines on the board? We only list the best-selling ones"...
In Vinh City market, household electrical appliances and equipment, PVC plastic coated wire (electrical cable) are growing quite strongly. This is one of the products that the State is required to register for quality and ensure product labels. Implementing the direction of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Provincial People's Committee, recently, the Department of Science and Technology Inspectorate presided over and coordinated with the Market Management Department, the Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality, the Center for Science and Technology Information and the Department of Economic Crime Investigation (Provincial Police) to conduct a large-scale inspection of electrical and electronic equipment products in the whole province. The interdisciplinary team inspected 27 production, business and import establishments...
According to the inspection results, in addition to strictly complying with the provisions of the law related to quality measurement standards and industrial property, ensuring the correct technical parameters and product quality announced by the facility are inspected by the Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality, and meet the registration requirements, violations of the Price Ordinance are still common. Many products that do not ensure quality are still sold mixed in, making it easy for consumers to buy the wrong product if they are not careful.
Talking to us about this issue, Mr. Tran Van Dien, Head of the General Planning Department - Market Management Department, said: Despite being continuously inspected and fined, violations of price posting and selling at the listed price are still widespread and have many variations. This situation is partly due to the psychology of consumers, but more importantly, small traders and businesses do not have the awareness to build modern commercial businesses. Besides, the administrative fines for violations of price ordinances are still low, not strong enough to deter...
In 9 months, specialized units have detected and handled 1,008 violations in the field of prices, mainly not posting prices and selling at the correct listed price... with fines of up to 779 million VND. And to effectively implement the State's price regulations, it is not only necessary to rely on the Department of Finance, the Department of Industry and Trade, and Market Management, but other specialized inspectors (such as the Department of Health, the Department of Agriculture...) must also further strengthen their vertical inspection and handling work along with the participation of local authorities (wards, communes, blocks) to promote State management of implementing price posting regulations...".
In order to effectively manage prices and restore order in prices, the Government recently issued Decree 84/2011/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions for violations in the field of prices, replacing Decree 169/2004/ND-CP... The new Decree has quite specific sanctions to regulate violations of posting prices of goods - which are quite common today. Accordingly, for acts such as not posting prices of goods and services at shopping centers, stores, points of sale, and service provision; posting prices that are not in accordance with regulations, unclear, and confusing to customers will be fined 2 million VND.
The penalty for selling or charging for services higher than the listed price is 5 million VND. For the above acts, the penalty will increase from 5 to 10 million VND for goods and services on the State's price stabilization list... The Decree also stipulates a penalty of 30 million VND for violations of price and freight subsidy policies; 40 million VND for selling goods lower than the floor price, minimum price or higher than the maximum price announced or regulated by competent authorities. The penalty levels in Decree 84 will officially take effect from November 15, 2011.
The above issues show that it is time to seriously and thoroughly resolve violations of the Price Ordinance, especially in a period of market fluctuations like the present. Implementation first of all requires the active participation of functional sectors, in which the market management force needs to strengthen inspection and strict and thorough handling. Local authorities and market management boards need to strengthen propaganda and mobilization work and have appropriate handling methods within their authority to contribute to preventing these violations in order to protect the legitimate rights of consumers.
Ngoc Anh
