RO Govt. ponders bill to prevent "speculative operations" during crisis periods

The Romanian Government, on Wednesday, May 11, discussed an emergency ordinance that establishes which operations would be incriminated as speculative and how they will be identified and fined.

The competition body Consiliul Concurentei, consumer protection agency ANPC and the tax collection agency ANAF will cooperate for the direct or indirect protection of consumers against "unjustified price increases and obvious market dysfunctions" during periods of crisis, according to Cursdeguvernare.ro.

The ordinance would apply only during a state of war, emergency, alert or "any other special situations specified in the Romanian legislation."

The ordinance has been publicly criticised by some as unnecessary, as long as existing legislation is in force applies. "The aim [of this bill] is to create a tool for the state to intervene in exceptional situations," explained Bogdan Chiritoiu, the head of the competition body Consiliul Concurentei, the main body supposed to enforce the new legislation. The fines will not be high, but those incurring losses will recover their money, he added, Bursareported.

There are three main categories of behavior targeted by the ordinance: hiking the price with no fundamentals, restricting the sales and accumulating inventory to increase prices. The Government is supposed to decide which products and services are at risk during crises or in other exceptional situations.

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