BILL TO INCREASE RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNGROUNDED PRICE RISE

ARMENPRESS
April 25, 2008

YEREVAN, APRIL 25, ARMENPRESS: The Armenian parliament is considering
amendments to the Law on Economic Competition which, if passed, would
actually ban ‘ungrounded and illegal price rise.’ The press office
of the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition told
Armenpress that the bill would drastically increase the amount of
responsibility for ungrounded price hikes.

One of the amendments says that apart from penalties that are levied
by the Commission, the company that violates the law, would pay to
state budget also all earnings received from the illegal and ungrounded
price rise.

The bill was passed in the first reading in 2007 September. It is
expected to be put to the second reading soon. The bill was prompted
by last year’s ungrounded rise of prices of a large number of food
products.

The current amount of penalties levied on companies for ungrounded
rise of prices constitutes 2 percent of their annual income.