Shijiazhuang: Make every effort to maintain market order and investigate 43 price violations such as price gouging.
Cctv news(Reporter Xu Hui): On August 31st, Shijiazhuang Municipal Market Supervision Administration announced five typical cases of price violation during the epidemic.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Shijiazhuang Municipal Market Supervision Administration has closely focused on the daily necessities such as grain, oil, meat, eggs, milk and vegetables, which are closely related to people’s daily lives, strengthened price supervision, issued the Notice on Regulating Price Behavior during the Prevention and Control of the Epidemic, set up a special inspection team, and quickly investigated and dealt with 43 price violations such as price gouging and unmarked pricing, and continued to maintain the high-pressure situation of cracking down on the key areas and fully safeguarding market order.
Case 1: Shijiazhuang qiaoxi district Hebei Shuilucky chance Trading Co., Ltd. was suspected of price fraud.
On August 28, 2022, Hebei Shuilucky chance Trading Co., Ltd. (Vegetable Zone 2 of qiaoxi district Vegetable Wholesale Market) sold cabbage dishes with the marked price inconsistent with the sales price. The price bulletin board was 0.8 yuan/kg. After verification, the actual sales price was 1.2 yuan/kg, and the parties involved were suspected of price fraud. On 28th, qiaoxi district Municipal Market Supervision Administration filed a case, which is currently under investigation and disposal. According to Articles 14 and 41 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Price Law and Articles 7 and 16 of Provisions on Administrative Penalties for Price Violations, it was ordered to make corrections, refund the overcharged price within a time limit, confiscate the illegal income, and impose a fine of 20,000 yuan.
Case 2: Yichengcheng Food Store in qiaoxi district, Shijiazhuang City is suspected of driving up prices.
On August 27th, 2022, Yichengcheng Food Store in qiaoxi district, Shijiazhuang City (Area E, Dongshen Dongli Market, No.77 Weiming South Street) sold vegetable 78 yuan/serving (weighing 4,000g) and pork/serving (weighing 1,500g) at a price significantly higher than that on August 24th, which pushed up the prices of vegetables and meat, and the parties involved were suspected of driving up prices. On the 27th, qiaoxi district Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision filed a case, which is currently under investigation and disposal. According to Articles 14 and 41 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Price Law and Articles 6 and 16 of Provisions on Administrative Penalties for Price Violations, it was ordered to make corrections, refund the overcharged price within a time limit, confiscate the illegal income, and impose a fine of 20,000 yuan.
Case 3: qiaoxi district Wu Mou British Vegetable Store in Shijiazhuang City is suspected of driving up prices.
On August 26th, 2022, qiaoxi district Wu Mou Ying Vegetable Store (Huarong Market, No.9 Dongma Road) in Shijiazhuang sold zucchini (2.6 yuan/kg, 3.5 yuan/kg) and celery (2.6 yuan/kg, 3.5 yuan/kg), and the prices were significantly higher than those on August 24th, which pushed the vegetable prices up too high. On 26th, qiaoxi district Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision filed a case on suspicion of price gouging, which is under investigation and disposal. According to Articles 14 and 41 of the Price Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Articles 6 and 16 of the Provisions on Administrative Penalties for Price Violations, it was ordered to make corrections, refund the overcharged price within a time limit, confiscate the illegal income and impose a fine on 200 yuan.
Case 4: Wei Mou, a comprehensive market in White, Yuhua District, Shijiazhuang City, was suspected of operating vegetables without clear price tag.
On August 28, 2022, the vegetables sold by Wei in the White Comprehensive Market in Yuhua District were not clearly marked, which was suspected of violating the relevant provisions of the Price Law. On the 28th, Yuhua District Market Supervision Administration has filed a case, which is currently under investigation and disposal. According to Article 13 of the Price Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Article 13 of the Provisions on Administrative Penalties for Price Violations, it is ordered to make corrections, and it is planned to confiscate the illegal income and impose a fine on 1000 yuan.
Case 5: The case of "fresh vegetables with peace of mind" in Xinhua District, Shijiazhuang City was suspected of driving up prices.
On August 29th, 2022, Meituan APP’s "Fresh Vegetables" store was suspected of driving up prices to sell vegetables and operating prepackaged foods without permission, which was suspected of violating the relevant provisions of the Price Law and the Food Safety Law. On the 29th, Xinhua District Market Supervision Administration has filed a case, and the store has been ordered to suspend business for rectification, and the follow-up handling of the case is under further investigation.
In the next step, Shijiazhuang Municipal Market Supervision Administration will earnestly perform its duties and responsibilities, continue to strengthen inspection and supervision, focus on the illegal prices of daily necessities, protective products and disinfection products, and comprehensively strengthen the work of epidemic prevention and control in the field of market supervision to maintain market order stability and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.