Shaanxi Yulin and other places have "improperly punished" administrative penalties, and the province has notified the deployment of rectification

　　The State Council's major inspection is in action | Shaanxi Yulin and other places have "improperly punished" administrative punishment, and the province has notified the deployment of rectification

　　Xinhua News Agency, Xi'an, August 29th.

　　Xinhua News Agency "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporter Zheng Minghong

　　He was fined 20,000 yuan after selling 4 sheets of yogurt that expired 4 days after the return, and he was fined 66,000 yuan for 20 yuan from the sale of 5 catties of celery that exceeded the standard. The sixth inspection team found in Shaanxi that some administrative penalties imposed by the local market supervision department on small and micro market players have problems such as "excessive punishment and inappropriate punishment" and "different punishments for similar cases", which affect the normal operation of small and micro market players.

The phenomenon of "small excessive punishment" is prominent

　　Self-employed Luo and his wife He run a vegetable grain and oil store in Yuyang District, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province.

In October 2021, Luo purchased 7 catties of celery from a farmer at a farmers market, of which 2 catties were extracted and inspected by the Yuyang District Market Supervision Bureau, and the remaining 5 catties were sold at a price of 4 yuan per catty, with a total income of 20 Yuan, the net profit is less than 10 Yuan.

　　About a month later, the couple received feedback from the market supervision department that one of the indicators of the batch of celery exceeded the standard.

Because the sold celery could no longer be recovered, and the couple could not provide the supplier's license certificate and bills, could not truthfully explain the source of the purchase, and failed to perform their inspection obligations, the Yuyang District Market Supervision Bureau decided to impose a fine of 66,000 yuan.

　　This is not a case.

In March this year, a pancake shop in Tongchuan New District, Shaanxi purchased a bottle of mustard oil at a unit price of 5 yuan to make eggplants with teppanyaki sauce.

During the inspection by the market supervision department, it was found that the mustard oil was not marked with the production date, and the store did not check the supplier's license and qualification certificate when purchasing, and found that the illegal income was 1.6 yuan and a fine of 5,000 yuan.

　　The inspection team reviewed the administrative penalty ledger of the Yulin Market Supervision Bureau and found that since 2021, the bureau has imposed fines of more than 50,000 yuan on small and micro market entities in 21 food safety cases, with the value of the cases ranging from tens to hundreds of yuan. The ratio of the amount of fines to the illegal gains is 100 to 200 times, and in individual cases it exceeds 3,000 times.

　　At the same time, the local market supervision department has the problem of "different penalties for similar cases".

For example, a supermarket in the High-tech Zone of Yulin City once sold 4 plates of expired yogurt with a value of about 60 yuan. After returning it to consumers, it was reported and was fined 20,000 yuan by the local market supervision bureau.

In the first half of this year, the Yuyang District Market Supervision Bureau also found that a supermarket in its jurisdiction was suspected of selling expired snail powder, but only confiscated the expired snail powder, and did not impose other penalties.

　　The inspection team also found that there are a large number of local administrative punishments, and the two-level market supervision departments in Xi'an are responsible for 934 administrative punishments, involving 533 laws, regulations and rules.

Some of the penalties have been seriously deviated from reality, but they have not been revised or abolished.

Although some have been adjusted, the grassroots market supervision departments are still implementing them.

　　For example, Shaanxi will promote electronic certificates from 2021, and certificates can be found online.

However, the market supervision department of Beilin District, Xi'an City still imposes penalties on small catering self-employed individuals who fail to publicize the paper license in a prominent position.

Law enforcement officers have too much discretion, and penalties are linked to performance appraisals

　　Luo and his wife's vegetable grain and oil store is located in a farmers' market in Yulin City. The inspection team visited the market and found that only a dozen stores near the entrance were operating normally, and the rest of the stores were closed.

The farmer's market administrator Chang Mou said that due to factors such as the epidemic and geographical location, the business of the merchants was not sluggish.

　　He said that her and her husband's business behavior was indeed flawed, but the fine of 66,000 yuan was too high, and their annual net profit was only 70,000 or 80,000 yuan.

　　The inspection team believes that after three years of epidemic situation and a large number of difficulties in operating the real economy, the punishment method is severe and severe, which is not only not conducive to creating a good business environment, but also offsets the effect of the state's bailout of enterprises to a certain extent. .

The main reasons for the occurrence of problems such as "excessive punishment and inappropriate punishment" and "different punishment for similar cases" are as follows:

　　First, the relevant laws and regulations are not detailed, and law enforcement officers have too much discretion.

According to the inspection team, some laws and regulations on administrative penalties were formulated earlier and have not been revised in time. There are problems such as broad punishments, abstract expressions, and lack of objective standards.

It is very common for some local law enforcement officers to use their discretionary powers to enforce the law at will, with severe punishments and inequitable penalties.

　　Second, the severity of punishment is linked to performance appraisal, forcing strict handling of cases.

The inspection team found that in the field of food safety, the relevant departments conducted assessments based on the number of cases handled and the scale of fines.

　　Third, there is a lack of effective checks and balances on the enforcement power of administrative penalties.

According to the inspection team, the administrative punishment cases are filed by the agency, the agency investigates and collects evidence, the person in charge of the agency makes the punishment decision, and the higher-level agency supervises and inspects the lower-level agency, which is too concentrated.

Although small and micro market entities can file for administrative reconsideration, it is difficult to obtain corrections.

At the same time, administrative litigation procedures are complex and time-consuming, and it is difficult for small and micro market players to bear the relevant costs.

All this has resulted in insufficient protection of the rights and interests of small and micro market entities.

Prudential supervision refines and quantifies penalty standards

　　The person in charge of the market supervision department of Yulin City said that the fine of 66,000 yuan for selling 5 kilograms of celery exceeding the standard is indeed an "improper punishment".

　　The inspection team believes that under the current economic situation, while maintaining market order, market supervision departments should also take on the responsibility of protecting market entities.

For market players who have violated the law, especially minor violations or first-time violations, they should not be punished excessively, but should implement inclusive and prudential supervision.

　　The inspection team suggested that market supervision departments at all levels should formulate administrative penalty discretionary benchmarks in accordance with the basic requirements of stabilizing market entities, refine and quantify penalty standards according to the facts, nature, circumstances and social harm of illegal acts, and effectively solve the problem of "excessive punishment and improper punishment". Issues such as "different punishment for similar cases" and "willful law enforcement".

　　In addition, the inspection team also suggested that it is strictly forbidden for market supervision departments to issue or disguise the number or amount of penalties to be issued, so as to avoid stimulating sports enforcement due to evaluation and assessment.

　　On the afternoon of August 29, Ye Niuping, vice governor of Shaanxi Province, held a teleconference on promoting the province's market supervision and law enforcement inspection work, informing the State Council of the issues related to market supervision and law enforcement and deploying the next stage of work, requiring relevant departments to formulate rectification as soon as possible. The plan focuses on the issues raised by the inspection team, coordinates law enforcement work and serves market entities, and relieves market entities from their worries.