CEILING PRICES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 180, 1 August 1944, Page 6

CEILING PRICES

COMMENT BY MINISTER RETAILERS MAY CHARGE LESS (P.A.) WELLINGTON, this day. "Retail prices given in price orders are maximum or ceiling prices, and do not prevent any retailer from charging less," said the Ministej- of Stabilisation, Mr. Sullivan, to-day,"when commenting on a Christchurch Press statement, which he said gave the impression that a price order had increased the price of towels.

This report, he added, showed how widespread was the misconception concerning the way in which price orders worked. He had previously, on several occasions, made it clear that the ceiling price was the upper limit only, and that it was legal to charge any price under that limit, but not above it. Some retailers appeared to be unwilling to accept that definition, and some even went to the length of telling the public that the price was fixed by the tribunal, and they could not charge less. That was entirely wrong. Over the whole range cf price orders, not one was a fijced price. They were all ceiling prices only. This applied to all types of articles subject to price orders. In some cases, such as vegetables, the retailer was required to charge less than the ceiling price when the wholesale price was low, as the retailer was allowed' only a defined percentage over his cost price.