Maybe normally we are too familiar with headlines such as gasoline prices falling sharply in the first session of the week, gold prices skyrocketing, etc. This shows that the increase and decrease in commodity prices is always a topic of daily concern, especially in the context of current economic fluctuations. And one of the most frequently asked questions is whether commodity price fluctuations can be penalized?
Prices of goods and services are stabilized
According to the Price Law 2012, organizations and individuals producing and trading goods and services on the List of price stabilization goods and services must register prices during the time the State applies price stabilization measures. The catalog includes the following 10 items:
- Finished gasoline and oil;
- Electricity;
- Liquefied petroleum gas;
- Nitrogen fertilizer; NPK fertilizer;
- Pesticides according to the provisions of law;
- Vaccines to prevent diseases for livestock and poultry;
- Salt;
- Milk for children under 6 years old;
- Sugar, including white sugar and refined sugar;
- Paddy and ordinary rice;
Goods and services must be declared and listed prices
The following goods and services must be declared and listed in accordance with Decree 149/2016/ND-CP:
- Goods and services on the List of goods and services subject to price stabilization during the period when the State does not apply price registration measures;
- Cement, construction steel;
- Charcoal;
- Animal feed for livestock, poultry and aquaculture; veterinary drugs to detoxify, disinfect, sterilize and treat diseases for livestock, poultry and aquatic products according to regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
- Printing and writing paper (in rolls), domestically produced newsprint;
- Services at seaports;
- Specialized aviation services are on the list of state-regulated price frames;
- Fees for transporting passengers by rail for hard and soft seats ;
- Textbook;
- Domestic air passenger transportation services are on the list of state-regulated price frames;
- Medical examination and treatment services for people at private medical examination and treatment facilities; Medical examination and treatment upon request at state medical examination and treatment facilities;
- Fixed route passenger transport fares by road; passenger transport fares by taxi;
- Functional foods for children under 6 years old according to regulations of the Ministry of Health;
- Undenatured fuel ethanol; liquefied natural gas (LNG); compressed natural gas (CNG);
- Railway transportation operating services;
- Other goods and services according to specialized laws.
Administrative penalties for unreasonable increases or decreases in goods
For the above goods and services, unreasonable price changes will result in administrative penalties ranging from 1,000,000 VND to 60,000,000 VND depending on the total value of the goods and the violation. In addition, the amount of illegal profits resulting from administrative violations must be paid into the State Budget.
Unreasonable price increases and decreases are listed in Decree 109/2013/ND-CP and Circular 31/2014/TT-BTC, including:
- Increasing the selling price of goods and services higher than the price that has been or must be declared or registered with the competent state management agency according to the provisions of law;
- Arbitrarily increase the price according to the price registered or declared to the competent state management agency in case the competent state agency has requested to suspend the application of the new price and request re-registration and declaration. Re-declare the price according to the provisions of law;
- Unreasonable increase or decrease in prices of goods or services when examining price formation factors at the request of a competent person.
Those with the authority to sanction administrative violations performing official duties or civil servants performing state management tasks when detecting violations have the right to make records as a basis for sanctioning administrative violations.
Currently, Vietnam’s price control and market management policies are being implemented through cooperation between authorities and businesses to ensure stable and equal prices for people. consumption. Therefore, individuals and organizations should also master the regulations on increasing and decreasing commodity prices to not violate the law.
