On the issue of the price difference between purchases and sales, the national level can give a more specific and clear red line to avoid disputes caused by "different penalties for the same situation".
Recently, a wholesaler in Daqing, Heilongjiang Province was fined 300,000 yuan for potatoes with a price of 1.2 yuan/catties, and the selling price rose from 1.4 yuan/catties to 2 yuan/catties, which caused concern.
In this regard, many netizens expressed confusion and doubts.
Simply looking at the data, the purchase price of 1.2 yuan/catties, and the sale to 2 yuan/catties, does not seem to be particularly outrageous; and the fine of 300,000 yuan is relatively large, compared to potatoes with a unit price of only one or two yuan per catty, which is shocking. Some people's life perception.
So, what is the specific situation of this case?
What laws and regulations are the penalties based on?
The staff of the Daqing Municipal Market Supervision Bureau said that the fine was made in accordance with the No. 4 Announcement issued by the Heilongjiang Provincial Headquarters for Response to the New Coronary Virus Pneumonia Epidemic, the Price Law and the Administrative Penalty Regulations for Price Violations.
"The announcement requires that if the price difference between purchases and sales exceeds 30%, the market supervision departments at all levels shall act in accordance with the law in accordance with the behavior of driving up prices, and punish them severely and quickly in accordance with the law."
In different regions of the country, the standards in this regard are not uniform.
For example, in July 2020, Urumqi strictly investigated price gouging, and stipulated that the price difference between purchases and sales should not exceed 35%; in March this year, the Jilin City Market Supervision and Administration Bureau warned operators that during the epidemic prevention and control period, online sales of vegetables and other daily necessities will increase the price The rate shall not exceed 25%.
During the epidemic, price gouging should of course be investigated and dealt with in a timely manner, because this is directly related to the residents' vegetable baskets and harms the vital interests of the general public.
However, in terms of strength, breadth, legitimacy, rationality, and standardization, it needs to be more balanced and precise.
Perhaps, on the issue of the price difference between purchases and sales, the national level can give a more specific and clear red line to avoid disputes caused by "different penalties for the same situation".
Let's look at laws and regulations.
According to Article 39 of the Price Law, if an operator fails to implement government-guided prices, government-fixed prices, and statutory price intervention measures and emergency measures, it shall be ordered to make corrections, its illegal gains will be confiscated, and a fine of not more than five times the illegal gains may be imposed concurrently; If the illegal income is obtained, a fine may be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, it shall be ordered to suspend business for rectification.
Article 6 of the Administrative Penalty Regulations for Price Violations as claimed by the relevant staff: "Operators violate the provisions of Article 14 of the Price Law by fabricating and disseminating information on price increases, disrupting the market price order, etc. to push commodity prices too fast or too high Anyone who commits one of the high-rise behaviors shall be ordered to make corrections, the illegal gains shall be confiscated, and a fine of not more than five times the illegal gains shall be imposed; if there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan shall be imposed, and if the circumstances are more serious, a fine of not less than 500,000 yuan shall be imposed. A fine of less than 3 million yuan..."
Judging from the information presented so far, the relevant departments have not disclosed whether the store actually sold potatoes at 2 yuan per pound and how much they sold. In which case range did the local Municipal Supervision Bureau fall into?
These questions remain to be answered.
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News Special Commentator Fan Cheng