Beijing residents report arbitrary pricing, nucleic acid testing agency penalized
[4] Compiled from: Red Star News
Case review
According to a notice on the website of the Beijing Municipal Market Regulation Bureau, two nucleic acid testing institutions in Beijing were ordered by the Fengtai District Market Regulation Bureau to correct their illegal actions and were fined and confiscated a total of over 250,000 yuan for not following government-guided pricing when providing nucleic acid testing services and overcharging.
Among them, Beijing Jingtong Times Health Management Co., Ltd., during the period from January 19, 2022, to February 17, 2022, did not follow government-guided pricing standards for providing COVID-19 nucleic acid testing services. The amount due was 119,544 yuan, but the actual amount collected was 154,655 yuan, with an overcharge of 35,111 yuan. For violating Article 39 and Article 41 of the Price Law of the People's Republic of China, and Item (1) of Article 9 and Article 16 of the Administrative Penalty Provisions for Price Violations, the Fengtai District Market Regulation Bureau ordered the party to correct the above illegal actions, imposed a fine of 175,555 yuan, and confiscated the illegal gains of 35,111 yuan.
Beijing Hanfang and Heshoutang Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Institute (Limited Partnership), during the period from January 19, 2022, to February 9, 2022, did not follow government-guided pricing standards for providing COVID-19 nucleic acid testing services. The amount due was 11,160 yuan, but the actual amount collected was 17,908 yuan, with an overcharge of 6,748 yuan. For violating Article 39 of the Price Law of the People's Republic of China, and Item (1) of Article 9 and Paragraph 2 of Article 16 of the Administrative Penalty Provisions for Price Violations, the Fengtai District Market Regulation Bureau ordered the party to correct the above illegal actions, and decided to impose a fine of 33,740 yuan and confiscate the illegal gains of 6,748 yuan.
Price Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 39
Operators who fail to implement government-guided prices, government-set prices, or statutory price intervention and emergency measures shall be ordered to correct their actions, have their illegal gains confiscated, and may be fined up to five times the amount of the illegal gains. If there are no illegal gains, a fine may be imposed. In severe cases, a suspension for rectification shall be ordered.
Article 41
If an operator causes consumers or other operators to overpay due to illegal pricing practices, the overpaid portion shall be refunded; if damages are caused, compensation liability shall be borne in accordance with the law.
[1] Provisions on Administrative Penalties for Price Violations
Article 9
If an operator fails to implement government-guided prices or government-set prices and commits any of the following acts, a corrective order shall be issued, illegal gains shall be confiscated, and a fine of not less than five times the illegal gains shall be imposed; if there are no illegal gains, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan shall be imposed, and for serious circumstances, a fine of not less than 500,000 yuan but not more than 2,000,000 yuan shall be imposed; if the circumstances are especially serious, a business suspension for rectification shall be ordered:
(1) Setting prices beyond the floating range of government-guided prices;
……
Article 16
If the illegal gains specified in Articles 4 to 13 of these Provisions constitute overpayments by consumers or other operators as defined in Article 41 of the Price Law, the operator shall be ordered to refund them within a specified period. If it is difficult to locate the consumers or other operators who overpaid, a public notice for identification shall be ordered.
If a business operator refuses to refund overpayments to consumers or other business operators as stipulated in the preceding paragraph, or fails to refund overpayments upon expiration of the time limit, the government price authority shall confiscate the amount. If consumers or other business operators request a refund, the business operator shall bear civil liability in accordance with the law.
[1] The author's perspective
Nucleic acid testing has become a routine part of our daily lives, partly to respond to the national call for universal epidemic prevention and partly to check our own health. Nucleic acid testing should be conducted at designated locations by specialized institutions with clearly marked prices in accordance with regulations. Although some regions have already implemented free nucleic acid testing for all, others still charge fees. Regardless of the method, the collection procedures must comply with relevant regulations, especially in fee-charging areas where pricing cannot be arbitrary and must strictly follow national rules; otherwise, it may lead to arbitrary or high charges, harming both epidemic prevention and people's livelihoods.
The reason this incident was exposed is due to public reports, showing that the public has sharp eyes and cannot be fooled by institutions trying to cut corners or exploit loopholes. As market demand grows and medical technology advances rapidly, the cost of nucleic acid testing is decreasing, indicating a trend and the government's clear regulatory stance. It is hoped that this penalty will serve as a warning to similar industries not to test the law.
