Provisions on Administrative Sanctions Against Price-related Illegal Activities (Revised in 2010)
Provisions on Administrative Sanctions Against Price-related Illegal Activities (Revised in 2010)
Provisions on Administrative Sanctions Against Price-related Illegal Activities (Revised in 2010)
Order of the State Council No. 585
December 4, 2010
(Approved by the State Council on July 10, 1999, firstly revised by the State Development and Planning Commission on August 1, 1999 in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on the Revision of the Provisions on Administrative Penalties Against Price-related Illegal Activities on February 21, 2006, secondly revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on the Revision of the Provisions on Administrative Penalties Against Price-related Illegal Activities on January 13, 2008 and thirdly revised in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on the Revision of the Provisions on Administrative Penalties Against Price-related Illegal Activities on December 4, 2010.)
Article 1 For the purposes of legally penalizing price-related violation of laws, maintaining a normal price order and protecting the legal rights and interests of consumers and business operators, these Rules are formulated in accordance with relevant provisions of the Pricing Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Pricing Law).
Article 2 The designated price administration authorities in the People's Governments at levels higher than counties' shall conduct supervisions and inspections of pricing in accordance with the law and make decisions on the administrative sanctions on illegal activities relating to price.
Article 3 The decisions on administrative sanctions on illegal activities relating to price shall be made by the designated price administration authorities of the local People's Governments with jurisdiction over the place where the illegal (price) activities occur. Where a regulation of the price administration of the State Council provides that the decision shall be made by the price administration at a higher level, such regulations shall be enforced.
Article 4 Should an operator be found indulging in any of the following illegalities, the relevant authorities shall order the operator to make corrections, confiscate his or her illegal gains, and may impose a fine of not more than five times the total of the illegal gains. If no illegal gains are involved, a warning may be issued, and a fine of not less than RMB100, 000 but not more RMB1,000, 000 may be additionally imposed. Where the circumstances are serious, the operator shall be ordered to suspend business for internal rectification, or the business license shall be revoked by the state administration of industry and commerce:
1. Disrupting the normal order of production and operation process to the detriment of the lawful rights and interests of the Sate or other consumers and operators, which results from distributing or supplying goods at a price lower than the market price which has been determined by the forces of demand and supply or otherwise, for the purpose of ousting competitors or monopolizing the market unless the price reduction is for disposal of fresh, seasonal, or overstocked goods; or
2. Practicing price discriminations against other operators who are under the same transaction conditions when supplying the same goods and or services.
Article 5 Business operators who, in violation of Article 14 of the Pricing Law, collude with each other to manipulate market price and cause the commodity prices largely rise, shall be ordered to take remedial action, and be confiscated their illegal gains and imposed with a penalty of less than five times of their illegal gains; or where there is no illegal gain, be imposed with a penalty of more than RMB100, 000 and less than RMB1, 000, 000 or more than RMB1, 000, 000 and less than RMB5, 000, 000 in case the circumstance is relatively serious; where the circumstance is serious, they shall be ordered to cease operation for reorganization or be canceled of their business licenses by the administrative authority for industry and commerce.
In addition to the foregoing circumstances, business operators who collude with each other to manipulate the market price and impair the legal rights and interests of other operators or consumers, shall be penalized in accordance with Article 4 hereof.
Where an industrial society or other units organize business operators to collude with each other and manipulate the market price, the said business operators shall be penalized in accordance with the foregoing two paragraphs and the industrial society or other units shall be imposed with a penalty of less than RMB500, 000 and be deregistered or be canceled of the business license by the registration authority in accordance with law in case of a serious circumstance.
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