ICCC hits store with K20,000 fine for over-priced canned fish

By ELIAS LARI
A MT Hagen store was fined K20,000 by the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) yesterday for violating national emergency order No. 19 in selling canned fish above the controlled price.
The ICCC issued four infringement notices to the store management for increasing their shelf price for a carton of Blue Sea Tuna canned fish from K99 to K105.50
The store was requested to pay a spot-fine of K5,000 for each infringement notice.
According to the ICCC Commissioner Paulus Ain, so far a total of 57 infringement notices have been issued to retail outlets that increased the price of goods under price control above the five per cent margin.
Ain said the commission was still identifying retail outlets in other provinces that were in breach of this emergency order.
“We continue to receive complaints from consumers throughout the country and based on the evidence, we are able to gather, the commission is acting on them successfully despite limited resources,” he said.
“Infringement notice carries a spot-fine of K5,000 for an initial offence and a further K10,000 for a repeat offence.
“So let’s say, for example, if a particular shop is found to have increased (by more than 5 per cent) the price of a regulated good like a rice product and tinned meat, then they are issued two infringement notices each with a K5,000 fine.”
Ain said the total fine in this example would be K10,000, that has to be paid within seven days from the issue of the fine or face further penalties.
Ain said ICCC would be continuing its price monitoring exercise in provinces that were earlier under strict travel restrictions due to the Covid-19.
These include Western, East Sepik, West Sepik, East New Britain and the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.