Provisions on the Administrative Punishment of Price-related Violation (2010 Revision)

Provisions on the Administrative Punishment of Price-related Violation (2010 Revision) Provisions on the Administrative Punishment of Price-related Violation (Approved by the State Council on July 10, 1999, promulgated by the State Development and Planning Commission on August 1, 1999, amended for the first time on February 21, 2006 in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Provisions on the Administrative Punishment of Price-related Violation, amended for the second time on January 13, 2008 in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Provisions on the Administrative Punishment of Price-related Violation, and amending for the third time on December 4, 2010 in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Provisions on the Administrative Punishment of Price-related Violation) Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Price Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the “ Price Law ”) to punish price-related violations according to law, maintain the normal price order, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and business operators. Article 2 The competent price departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall make supervision and inspection on price-related activities according to law and determine the administrative punishment of price-related violation. Article 3 The administrative punishment of any price-related violation shall be determined by the competent price department of the local people's government at the place where such price-related violation occurs; if it shall be determined by its supper level competent price department as prescribed by the competent price department of the State Council, such provisions shall prevail. Article 4 Where any business operator, in violation of Article 14 of the Price Law , and has any of the following acts, he/it shall be ordered to make correction, confiscated of illegal gains, and be imposed on a fine of not more than five times the illegal gains; if there is no illegal gains, he/it shall be imposed on a fine of 100,000 yuan up to 1 million yuan; if the circumstances are serious, he/it shall be ordered to cease business operation for rectification, or be revoked of his/its business license by the industrial and commercial administration: 1. where, in addition to selling fresh or live commodities, seasonal commodities, overstocked commodities or other similar commodities at a reduced price according to law, dumps the goods at below-cost prices in order to squeezing out competitors or dominate the market, which has disrupted the normal production and operation order, and caused great detriment to the interests of the State or the lawful rights and interest of other business operator; or 2. applying discriminatory prices to the commodities or services of a same kind offered by certain business operators under same trading conditions. Article 5 Where any business operator, in violation of Article 14 of the Price Law , manipulates market price by collusion, which causes the soaring of commodity price, he/it shall be ordered to make correction, confiscated of illegal gains, and be imposed on a fine of not more than five times the illegal gains. If there are no illegal gains, he/it shall be imposed on a fine of 100,000 yuan up to 1 million yuan, or be imposed on a fine of 1 million yuan up to 5 million yuan if the circumstances are relatively serious; or if the circumstances are serious, he/it shall be ordered to cease business operation for rectification, or be revoked of his/its business license by the industrial and commercial administration. Where, in addition to the circumstances prescribed in the preceding paragraph, business operators manipulate market price by collusion, and impair the legitimate rights and interests of other business operators or consumers, they shall be punished according to Article 4 of these Provisions. Where an industrial association or any other entity organizes the business operators to collude with each other to manipulate market price, the business operators shall be punished according to the preceding two paragraphs; and the industrial association or entity may be imposed on a fine of not more than 500,000 yuan, and be deregistered or revoked of its business license by the registration administrative authority according to law if the circumstances are serious. Article 6 Where any business operator, in violation of Article 14 of the Price Law , commits any of the following acts to push up the commodity price to excessive rise and to an overly high level, he/it shall be ordered to make correction, confiscated of illegal gains, and imposed on a fine of not more than five times the illegal gains. If there are no illegal gains, he/it shall be imposed on a fine of 50,000 yuan up to 500,000 yuan, or be imposed on a fine of 500,000 yuan up to 3 million yuan if the circumstances are relatively serious; or if the circumstances are serious, he/it shall be ordered to cease business operation for rectification, or be revoked of his/its business license by the industrial and commercial administration: 1. fabricating or spreading price rise info......