Govt increases fines against unfair price increase

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Consumer Affairs Amendment Bill will be presented to the Parliament on Monday (06), State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna says. The State Minister said that legislation will be amended to deal with individuals and companies who deliberately inflate the prices of essential commodities and sell goods in excess of the control price. The relevant Act categorizes fines as individual businesses and companies. Accordingly, the maximum fine for an individual business has been increased from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 1 million. The maximum fine of a company has been increased from 200,000 to 10 million, a release issued from the State Ministry denotes. The minimum fine for an individual has been increased from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 100,000 and the minimum fine for a company has been increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 500,000.