Economy

Price fixers face harsher penalties

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-12-11 15:05

BEIJING - Chinese vendors who collude to fix prices will face fines of up to 5 million yuan ($751,880) under new penalties to control prices.

The new penalties, released by China's State Council, or the Cabinet, on Dec 10 overturn the previous 1-million-yuan maximum fine for collusion to manipulate prices.

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The Revision to the Provisions on Administrative Penalty against Price-Related Unlawful Practices, which was passed on November 29 at the 134th State Council executive meeting, is effective immediately.

The revision imposes stiffer penalties for a range of illegal pricing practices, such as hoarding, price fixing, fabricating information that affects prices and failure to comply with government-set price limits.

The regulation adds "maintaining normal price order" to the previously stated purposes of "penalizing price-related unlawful practices according to the law and protecting the lawful rights and interests of consumers and operators."

The regulation stipulates that anyone who severely disturbs market order and commits a crime will be prosecuted.

The new penalties come as China tries to deal with rising inflation.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, rose to a 25-month high of 4.4 percent in October from a year earlier.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said it would release the November CPI figures on Dec 11.