The Secretary of Commerce established fines of up to one million pesos for non-compliance in which the companies participating in the Fair Prices programwith the option of doubling that amount in case of repeated recidivism.
The measure was formalized through Resolution 118/2022 published in the Official Gazette, and includes an annex detailing the breaches and their respective fines.
The standard is complementary to the Resolution 75 of November 11by which the model of the Specific Collaboration Agreement was approved between the Secretariat of Commerce and “the municipalities of the various provinces of the Argentine Republic that contribute to the activities of inspection, control and prosecution of non-compliance with the price agreements that have been subscribed” with the participating companies of Fair Prices.
Since that resolution did not specify the amounts of the fines to be applied in the event of non-compliance, Commerce considered it “pertinent” for “operational issues” to establish criteria for setting them.
In the case of offers of program products at prices higher than those established by the Agreement, the fines will be between $500,000 to $1 millionthe same range if there is a lack of supply in each branch of the companies of at least 80% of the expected products, without their respective substitutes being offered.
A penalty of $200,000 up to $400,000, if there was one lack of correct identification through program signage in each branch of the participating companies of at least 80% of the products included in the corresponding agreements.
Also, the resolution establishes fines of $150,000 to $300,000 if this signage is used “in the supply of products subject to inspection, which are not included in the Annexes of the corresponding agreements.
Finally, fines of $250,000 to half a million pesos are set for “establishing any restriction on the number of products for sale per consumer or family group without prior authorization from the Secretary of Commerce.”
The rule specifies that in case of recidivism, “an increase of up to 40% of the fines may be applied”an increase that may reach 100% “in the case of a second recidivism”.
