Three-day inspection safari: Gas stations, ship canteens and sunbeds under the microscope

In view of the fifteenth of August, the checks carried out on a daily basis on the prices of goods and services by the Interagency Market Control Unit (DIMEA) of the Ministry of Development and Investments are increasing, with the emphasis being placed on tourist areas.

Complaints about the prices on sunbeds and canteen items on ships have widened the list that auditors have targeted.

According to information from APE-MBE, checks are being intensified across the entire range of the market, however, the complaints received these days at the 1520 telephone center of the General Secretariat of Trade and Consumer Protection mainly concern sunbeds and umbrellas on the beaches as well as the prices and the adequacy of fare items in the canteens of the ships, especially on the coastal shipping lines of the Cyclades and the Dodecanese.

In particular, DIMEA officials check the price lists in the ships’ canteens for the items that are subject to pricing, but also for the profit margin, while it is examined whether there is a sufficient supply of lower cost products, such as e.g. the small bottle of water.

“Recycle-Change Device”

However, a new field of controls has also been launched within the framework of the “Change device” program.

The control is carried out in the electronic price lists of large companies and in both wholesale and retail store chains and concerns 80% of the market, as DIMEA executives comment to APE-MBE.

It is noted that according to an order of the Ministry of Development and Investments, until 31.12.2022 it is prohibited to make a gross profit from the sale of any product or the provision of any service that is necessary for the health, nutrition, livelihood, movement and safety of consumer, as well as from the sale of agricultural products and food, in particular raw materials for the production of fertilizers, animal feed, raw cereals of all kinds, flour, sunflower and vegetable oils, when the gross profit margin, per unit, exceeds the corresponding gross profit margin, per unit, before 1.9.2021.

In the above arrangement, the electrical appliances of the “Change device” program were recently included, namely air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers. For these categories of products, it is stipulated that from the beginning to the completion of the program, it is prohibited to obtain a gross profit from their sale, which exceeds the corresponding gross profit margin, per unit, before 31.12.2021.

In addition, the application of the measure to publicize the trade name of companies that violate the measures to reduce the phenomena of unfair profit in times of crisis was also extended until 31.12.2022.

Fuel

In the meantime, checks continue on the fuel market, in its entire range from refineries to gas stations.

It is noted that remote controls are also carried out. It is established, for example, through the Observatory of Liquid Fuel Prices, that in some tourist destinations high prices are recorded, a document is sent to the gas station that is controlled, in order to submit to the service the data of purchases and sales of both stocks and sales. Based on the data, it is determined how much the gas station owner buys, how much he sells and how much he earns to determine whether there is any violation.

It is reminded that the prices are published on fuelprices.gr.

Finally, it is recalled, according to the postings of the Ministry of Development and Investments, on its online page, with the detailed statements for each month, that the total fines based on the Rules for the Trafficking and Trading of Products and the Provision of Services (DIEPPY) for July were 51,750 euros (in June the total fines were 31,000 euros, in May 29,000 euros, in April 48,250 euros, in March 119,250 euros, in February 77,250 euros and in January 36,000 euros).

RES-EMP

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