Bill eyes crackdown on profiteering, but how do you prove the crime?

A NEW bill cracking down on profiteering could mean jail for retailers found guilty of over-pricing goods.

An investigation conducted by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEVE) found that many small businesses, such as restaurants and kiosks, especially in tourist areas, were over-pricing their products and in some cases not labelling their prices at all.
The government first tabled a proposal banning profiteering to Parliament in April and the issue was raised again this week.

Marios Tsiakis, Director of Industry at KEVE, said yesterday the Chamber was definitely against profiteering, but warned: “It isn’t easy to prove it in the market. What is the normal price of goods before it becomes profiteering?”

Tsiakis added: “The government needs to get more personnel to set up a sort of watchdog under the Ministry, who will visit the market and identify profiteers from honest business men.”

Leondios Pericleus, acting director of the government’s Consumer Protection service accepted that profiteering was a problem, but stressed that, until the bill was approved, there was nothing his department could do. “We can’t say much about it as it is not our problem until it becomes law.”

Tsiakis said that while significant, profiteering in Cyprus was not a huge phenomenon, saying the problem lay not so much with large companies as with small businesses.
“Cyprus does not specifically need the bill for EU accession,” he said, “but other EU countries such as Greece and the Netherlands do have some sort of law that protects consumers from profiteers.”

Tsiakis understood that some small businesses were operating on very tight margins and with large families to feed or debts to pay. “It is definitely difficult to identify who is profiteering. But consumers do need protection,” he insisted, adding: “When I was in Paris, I bought a 250ml bottle of water for my children. It cost me one and a half euros. This is extortionate, so I can understand how consumers feel here in Cyprus.”
Parliament is expected to decide on the bill in the near future.