Jiang Shan, associate professor at the w88 casino of Law, w88 casino: The government should pay more attention to maintaining the order of competition and respecting the free choice of consumers when issuing consumer vouchers
(Source: Ifeng.com Financial Channel 2020-04-02)
A few days ago, Hefei, Nanjing, Jinan, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangxi and other places have announced consumption distributions to stimulate consumption and help economic recovery. Some local governments have designated a single Internet platform to cooperate in issuing w88 casino, which has attracted attention from the legal community. For example, Hangzhou issued 1.68 billion yuan in consumer coupons, which can be directly deducted by consumers only through Alipay. In Nanjing and Guangxi, local governments jointly issued consumer coupons exclusively with Alibaba and Alipay.
Some people believe that consumer vouchers have a direct effect on economic recovery after the epidemic, but if the government designates a single Internet platform for cooperation, it will not only destroy the fairness of market competition, but also directly affect consumers’ right to choose freely, which is contrary to the government’s original intention of allowing consumers to truly enjoy benefits. The reporter interviewed Jiang Shan, associate professor at the Law w88 casino of the w88 casino, on relevant legal issues.
Reporter: Local governments have successively launched w88 casino. What role can they play in the current context of resumption of work and production?
江山: Consumption vouchers are not a new thing. During the economic crisis or financial crisis, many countries have issued relevant consumption vouchers. Around 2009, many places in China also tried consumer coupons, which played an important role in directly stimulating domestic demand and thereby promoting the expansion of production. From a legal point of view, compared with directly providing subsidies to enterprises, the government's issuance of w88 casino to consumers will cause less competition concerns and risks of violation.
Reporter: Is there any clear legal provision that the government should pay attention to fair competition in the market when issuing w88 casino?
江山: At the legal level, Article 32 of my country’s Anti-Monopoly Law clearly stipulates: Administrative agencies and organizations authorized by laws and regulations with the function of managing public affairs shall not abuse administrative power to restrict or disguised restrictions on units or individuals operating, purchasing, or using goods provided by their designated operators.
Not only that, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Establishing a Fair Competition Review System in the Construction of the Market System" in 2016 to implement the fair competition review system, stipulating that "policy-making agencies shall formulate market access, industrial development, investment promotion, tendering and bidding, and government procurement Regulations, normative documents and other policies and measures involving the economic activities of market entities such as business conduct standards and qualification standards shall be subject to fair competition review. Among them, the review standards for market access and exit stipulate that "the operation, purchase, and use of goods and services provided by specific operators shall not be restricted."
On this basis, the 2017 "Implementation Rules of the Fair Competition Review System (Interim)" also clearly stated in terms of market access and exit standards that "the goods and services of operators shall not be restricted", which includes the behavior of administrative agencies through "denying access to platforms or networks, etc., to restrict or disguised restrictions on the operation, purchase, and use of goods and services provided by specific operators."
From antitrust laws to fair competition review opinions, it can be seen that the country is seriously concerned about the competitive impact caused by this type of government-restricted transactions at the legal level. There is nothing wrong with the urgent need to promote economic recovery after the epidemic, but the formulation and implementation of measures to stimulate consumption led by administrative entities should return to the legal framework.
Reporter: Are there any exceptions listed in the above-mentioned laws?
江山: In the Anti-Monopoly Law, there is no clear exception for the above-mentioned administrative monopoly behavior. According to China's fair competition review system, there are exceptions. If the relevant policy measures of the policy-making authority are to maintain the country's economic security and cultural security, to achieve social security purposes such as poverty alleviation and development, disaster relief and assistance, and to achieve social and public interests, they can be included in the exceptions for consideration.
However, even if exceptions are considered, the following conditions must be met at the same time: First, it is indispensable to achieve the policy goal, that is, there is no less restrictive way to achieve the policy goal; second, it will not seriously exclude or restrict market competition; third, the implementation period is clear.
If the relevant government entity that issues w88 casino believes that its behavior falls under exceptional circumstances, it should provide an explanation. Among them, it is necessary to focus on whether there is a way that is less restrictive to competition. Otherwise, if such measures are determined to have the effect of excluding or restricting competition after fair competition review, they should not be introduced or should be adjusted to meet relevant requirements before being introduced.
Reporter: The government designates a single Internet platform to cooperate in issuing w88 casino. What impact will it have on consumers?
江山: The method of issuing w88 casino should be reviewed based on the policy objectives of issuing w88 casino. Using only the Internet platform, and using only a single Internet platform to issue consumer coupons, even if it is based on efficiency considerations, fairness and order of competition should be taken into account.
On the one hand, using only the Internet platform to issue consumer coupons may have availability issues. For example, there are some elderly and disadvantaged groups who do not know or are inconvenient to use the Internet platform. How can they enjoy this inclusive benefit more conveniently? Is it possible to simultaneously issue physical consumption coupons to supplement the electronic consumption coupons issued by the Internet platform, so that consumers who are inconvenient to use the Internet platform can also benefit fairly.
On the other hand, using only a single Internet platform will increase consumers’ switching costs, or directly reduce consumers’ choices. Once restricted, consumers can only apply for and use w88 casino through specific platforms, which is actually equivalent to the government giving the platform a dominant position in specific transactions and services, which will strengthen the lock-in effect of the platform. If more operators who meet the requirements can participate, it will not only give consumers more freedom of choice, but also widely promote the recovery of the upstream and downstream industrial chains, which is more in line with the original intention of stimulating demand, driving production and employment, and fully restoring the economy.
Reporter: Some people believe that if the government reaches cooperation agreements with some enterprises through bidding and bidding, it will be more compliant. What do you think about this?
江山: Bidding is a method of compliance, and whether to use this method depends on the government's choice. No matter which method is adopted, the core elements that need to be ensured are compliance with the Anti-Monopoly Law and the standards of fair competition review. The government can set certain entry qualifications in a non-discriminatory manner, and all competitors who meet the standards should have access qualifications. For example, after registering and collecting on the government's municipal app, you can get a universal QR code that can be used on all major platforms. Similar practices should not be too difficult in the current Internet technology background.
In general, only when the order of market competition is maintained and consumers can choose freely can we eliminate some doubts from all walks of life and return to the original intention of issuing w88 casino. Judging from the impact of the epidemic on the national economy, various regions may gradually introduce some policies to stimulate consumption this year. It is hoped that local governments can take into account efficiency and fairness within the legal framework, maintain market competition, and benefit more people and more industries.
Attached original text link:
http://finance.ifeng.com/c/7vL6MvELus1
