MOVE TO CONTROL PRICES

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 256, 25 July 1936, Page 10

MOVE TO CONTROL PRICES

One-man Tribunals PROFITEERING BILL OUTLINED June 1 Scheduled the Basis The procedure adopted by the Government for the regulation and control of commodity prices is outlined in the Prevention of Profiteering Bill which was introduced in the House of Representatives by Governor-General’s Message yesterday just before the House rose for the week-end recess. • The former intention of the Government to establish a tribunal consisting of a magistrate and two assessors to investigate price increases has been abandoned in favour of a tribunal consisting of a magistrate alone. The provisions of the Bill, which include the fixing of basic prices, are extended to services as well as goods.

Under the Bill a basic price is to be determined. It is to be either the current price at which goods were sold on June 1 this year or the actual price charged for goods on that date. Questions of locality, quantity, quality and terms of payment and delivery are taken into account in determining the prices ruling on June 1 and if there are distinctions between the current price aud the actual price the lower of the two is to be tlie basic price. The same considerations, with the necessary modifications, are to apply to the fixing of prices or rates to be charged for services, except in the case of contracts of service between master and servant. Penalties For Offences. The Bill lays it down that every person commits the offence of profiteering who, cither as principal or agent, sells, supplies Or offers for sale or supply any goods at a price that exceeds the basic price by an unreasonable amount. The maximum penalties for offences are fixed at a tine of £2OO or three months’ imprisonment in tlie ease of an individual oj a line of £lOOO in the case of a company or other corporation. It is provided that one or more special tribunals, to be known as Judicial Tribunals for the Prevention of Profiteering. are to be appointed by warrant and the area in which a tribunal is to have jurisdiction may be defined. Unless a special area is defined, a tribunal appointed under the legislation will have jurisdiction throughout the Dominion. Only a stipendiary magistrate can be appointed to a tribunal. Magistrates will be specially appointed and will be entitled to extra salary or allowances at the discretion of the Government.

Instigation of Proceedings. Proceedings under the legislation for offences of profiteering must be instigated by an officer of the Department of Industries and Commerce, acting by the direction of the Minister of Industries and Commerce. A magistrate alone will hear the proceedings, and the informant may appear personally or be represented by counsel or by any other person appointed by the Minister. Prosecutions for offences under the legislation can be instituted at anytime within three years of the commission of the offence.

When proceedings are brought before a magistrate, he will have full judicial powers and may also require any person to produce books or other documents having a bearing on the case. A person nominated by the magistrate is empowered to inspect and take extracts from these books and documents, but any information obtained in this fashion is to be regarded as confidential except for the purposes of the proceedings. The magistrate will have power to prohibit the publication of any information produced or evidence given in the course of the proceedings if he is satisfied that its publication would be unduly detrimental to the defendant in the conduct of his business. Any breach of this prohibition will be regarded as contempt of court. Admissibility of Evidence. The admissibility of evidence in any proceedings is to be at the sole discretion of the magistrate, irrespective of whether such evidence would be legally admissible in other proceedings. The Bill sets out the factors to be taken into consideration by the magistrate in determining whether any particular increase in the price of goods or services is reasonable or not. The two relevant factors are the extent by which the expenses of a defendant have been directly or indirectly increased since June 1 by the operation of any amendment to industrial legislation; and the extent by which a defendant’s business has been or is likely to be increased by a greater publie demand due to higher purchasing power. The magistrate will have absolute discretion in determining whether increases above the basic price have been reasonable or not. His decisions are to be final and conclusive. “The object of the Bill is to protect the consuming public against unfair and unreasonable increases in prices,” said the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Hon. D. G. Sullivan), when the Bill was introduced. Referring to basic price, the Minister said it would be the current price obtaining for the particular class of goods in question on June 1. If an industry was selling goods at a price below the current price on that date, it would have to take the responsibility for that price. Justification would have to be shown for any increases made since that time. “Services ns well as goods will come under review,” added the Minister, “and there will be set up a tribunal consisting of a specially-appointed magistrate from whose decision there will be no appeal. There is to be no actual pricefixing, but it is made an offence to charge an unreasonable price.” The Bill was read a first time.