China’s top market regulator issues draft rule on penalties for monopolistic practices

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation issued a draft rule on Friday confirming the penalty benchmark for monopolistic behavior by companies, ranging from 1 million yuan ($139,600.5) to 4 million yuan, based on the degree of violation of the nation’s anti-monopoly laws. 

The draft rule shows there is an improving market regulation system in China, Liu Dingding, a veteran industry observer, told the Global Times on Friday.

The preliminary amount of the fines will be determined in stages. For cases without the effect of severely excluding or restricting market competition, the preliminary fines will be set at 2.5 million yuan. 

Business entities that report their monopolistic practices to the market regulator and that take measures to rectify the situation will be exempted from penalties. 

China’s State Council, the cabinet, unveiled revised rules on January 26 this year for declaration standards in this area.

The revised rules are meant to ease market access, reduce institutional transaction costs, make anti-monopoly and law enforcement oversight more efficient, and promote mergers and acquisitions, the Xinhua News Agency reported.