A pharmacy in Hubei was fined 40,000 yuan for selling masks at 0.6 cents per piece. It was suspected of raising the price of masks!

Beijing News Express According to the official Weibo of the Publicity Department of Honghu Municipal Party Committee, recently, some media reported that a pharmacy in Honghu sold a batch of masks purchased at 0.6 yuan to consumers at a price of 1 yuan and was punished. On February 12, the Honghu Municipal Supervision Bureau responded that the purchase and sales price difference of the masks sold by the pharmacy exceeded 15%, and that the pharmacy's behavior constituted price gouging, so the relevant pharmacy was punished.

Due to the coronavirus, various medical supplies are in short supply and their prices have skyrocketed. In some places, disposable masks that usually cost one or two yuan are now selling for five yuan or even more. Although many places have introduced relevant measures to crack down on price gouging, they have not been able to stop the skyrocketing prices. Recently, a pharmacy in Honghu, Wuhan, sold masks for 1 yuan each, purchasing them at 0.6 yuan. It was found to be price gouging and was eventually fined 40,000 yuan. The author was very surprised when he saw the news. It is actually possible to buy a mask for 1 yuan now. This is simply a conscientious seller. At the same time, he was also puzzled that the Honghu Municipal Market Supervision Administration was suspected of violating the principle of reasonable administration in administrative law.

The pharmacy was fined for selling masks for 1 yuan after purchasing them at 0.6 yuan

The Honghu Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau has filed a case against Honghu Huakang Pharmacy for suspected price gouging of masks. The pharmacy sold masks at 1 yuan each, with a purchase price of 0.6 yuan. The difference in purchase and sales price exceeded 15%, constituting price gouging. The pharmacy was found to have raised the price of masks by more than 10,000 yuan, and was fined more than 40,000 yuan.

The administrative penalty was based on a guideline issued by Hubei Province, which stipulates that starting from January 22, the following actions will constitute price gouging:

1. The original price is the price of goods sold or services provided before January 21, 2020, and the price exceeds the original price after January 22;

2. The purchase cost of goods has changed, and the difference between purchase and sales has not remained consistent with that before January 21 and has increased;

3. There is no reference to the original price of the goods sold, and the difference between purchase and sales price exceeds 15%.

Based on the third point, if the purchase and sales price difference exceeds 15%, it is considered price gouging. However, there is a prerequisite: the goods sold have no reference to the original price. In other words, this pharmacy has never sold this mask before and has only started selling it recently.

As soon as the news came out, everyone questioned why such a conscientious seller should be punished. Let’s not talk about whether the pharmacy should be fined, but whether the administrative agency’s approach is legal and reasonable?