Tari shops fined K70,000

By PETER ESILA
THE Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) has fined seven shops in Tari, Hela, for overpricing items, commissioner and chief executive officer Paulus Ain says.
Ain said the fines totalled K70,000-K10,000 for each shop.
He said according to Order 11 of the Pandemic Act 2020, the shops were issued notices last month not to increase prices of certain declared items by more than 10 per cent of the base price.
“There were about seven established retail and wholesale shops that sold food items,” he said.
“Six of the shops were owned by Chinese and one by an Indian.”
The declared food items included rice, canned fish, canned meat, noodles, frozen chicken and other items included soap, sanitisers and medical products.
“Police were providing security to ICCC officers during this enforcement exercise throughout PNG.”
Ain said 12 shops in Mt Hagen and two in Goroka had been issued fines.