The Provincial Government of Havana shut down four private businesses for allegedly violating the regulations of "banking" and forced merchants to make 77 forced sales of their products during a control operation conducted the previous week in the capital.
Officials from the Provincial Inspection Directorate and the Ministry of Finance and Prices (MFP) carried out a "price control exercise" in the 15 municipalities of Havana last Friday and Saturday, aimed at "customer protection as the main objective," according to a press release distributed by the Portal del Ciudadano de La Habana.
During the inspection, multiple commercial entities in the Cuban capital were found to have "irregularities" in complying with the pricing policy established by the MFP in the country, including Resolution 225 approved last July, which set maximum retail prices for six basic products of high demand.
On Friday, the authorities conducted 294 inspections in private businesses and imposed 422 fines, of which 259 were for price violations. The amounts of the fines were not specified, but they can reach or even exceed 8,000 pesos as established by Decree-Law 30 of 2021.
Additionally, the inspectors ordered sellers to market their goods through forced sales, which totaled 77.
On that day, government officials also closed four establishments "for failing to comply with Resolution 93 on banking," although the information did not specify the infractions committed by those businesses that led to their closure.
However, publications from the MFP on social media reported the closure on Saturday of a point of sale by a self-employed worker (TCP) in the Boyeros municipality for not having paid their taxes so far this year.
"In images from the point of sale of TCP that has not paid its taxes this year, this project in the Boyeros municipality is being closed," said a post on the X network.
The statement published on the website of the provincial government of Havana insists on the official rhetoric that “the fight against illegalities and abusive prices is a top priority task,” which has been strictly applied throughout the country, with greater emphasis since early July.
Meanwhile, state stores in freely convertible currency (MLC) maintain their exorbitant prices, prohibitive for the vast majority of Cubans living on the island.
Over the weekend, the government campaign against price violations by the private sector also reached the agricultural fair in the municipality of Placetas, in Villa Clara, where all offenders were fined an amount of 8,000 pesos, according to the provisions of Decree 30 of 2021.
In addition to the fines, the forced sale of the products was ordered, and in some cases, the goods were confiscated.
On Friday and Saturday, a similar operation took place in Santa Clara, where inspectors from the municipal government detected violations committed by 87 small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed workers out of 95 audited.
The leaked information specifies that 24 fines of 8,000 pesos were imposed for abusive prices, of which 17 were for violations of Resolution 225/2024 of the MFP.
With this regulation, the government set the retail prices for cut chicken, cooking oils (except olive oil), powdered milk, pasta, sausages, and powdered detergent.
Since its implementation at the beginning of July, the authorities have intensified control operations across the country to detect price violations in the non-state sector and sanction offenders.
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