FIXING PRICES

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21364, 7 March 1941, Page 8

FIXING PRICES

POWER OF TRIBUNAL AMENDMENTS GAZETTED “APPROVAL ALWAYS REQUIRED - I (By Telegrapn. —Press Association) i ~ WELLINGTON, Thursday ' | Changing conditions had necessi- i tated amendments being made to the 1 Price Stabilisation Emergency Regulations, 1939, and amendments : gazetted today were designed to overcome difficulties which had become ! apparent in the practical application ! ot the original regulations, said the , Minister of Industries and Commerce, ; the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, tonight. “One important amendment is that ! which refers to new lines of goods, 1 that is, goods which were not on the j New Zealand market when war ! broke out, and also to goods known ! as fashion lines,*’ said Mr Su’livan. i “With respect to these, the Tribunal can now require the vendor to sub- i mit such particulars as will enable it to determine whether the price ! charged is fair and reasonable, and I can make an order fixing prices j Which may be charged lor such i goods.*’ Some doubt had been expressed as I to whether the original regulations j covered sales of goods which were j accompanied by an act of service, as j lor example, the supplying of meals ! m a restaurant, the Minister added. j The Tribunal always considered the i regulations covered such cases, but . to make the position quite clear a J clause had been inserted in the j amending regulations to remove any i doubt.

Position of Local Bodies “Thus the prior approval of the ! Tribunal is required before any in- J creases in charges for combinations ; of goods and services can be made,” \ continued Mr Sullivan. “A further | amendment removes any doubt 1 which might have existed as to the j jurisdiction of the Tribunal with re- I spect to increases imposed by local j authorities and public bodies which j are entitled by virtue of some Act of j general or special application to fix ! prices or charges for transactions in- I volving the sale yf goods or the performance of services. It is now clear that no increases may be imposed without the permission of the Tribunal. “A further amendment provides that when so required by the Tribunal, retailers throughout New Zealand, or it may be retailers in some specified locality, must exhibit and keep prominently displayed in their shops notices showing old and new selling prices of such lines of goods as the Tribunal nominates. “It has been considered necessary to enumerate a number of offences. These are:—Without the consent of the Tribunal issuing price lists purporting to carry the Tribunal’s ap- | proval, without the consent of the Tribunal packing goods in smaller containers and packing fewer goods in similar size container than previously used, altering to the prejudice of the consumer any formula or recipe, and manufacturing goods of quality inferior to that of goods previously manufactured, with intent to deceive.”