Susan Ning, Ding Liang

According to officials of the National Development and Reform Commissions (NDRC), the Department of Price Supervision of NDRC was renamed as the Price Supervision and Anti-monopoly Bureau and the internal offices are under reconstruction[1].

The following is a diagram of the current State Council Anti-monopoly Enforcement Agencies’s organizational structure:

 Before the reconstruction, the Department of Price Supervision of NDRC has seven offices, and the Anti-Price Monopoly Office is the only one office that handling anti-monopoly conduct:

(1) The General Office;

(2) The Legislative Affairs Office;

(3) The Supervision and Guidance Office;

(4) The Price Inspection Office; and

(5) The Fee-Charging Office;

(6) The Market prices Supervision Office; and

(7) The Anti Price Monopoly Office.

According to NDRC officials, after the reconstruction, there could be two or three new offices supervising and investigating anti-price monopoly conduct. 

Commentary

Compared to hundreds of merger review cases handled by MOFCOM, NDRC has investigated only a number of antitrust cases in the past three years and most of them are sanctioned under the Price Law. The rename and restructure of the Price Supervision and Anti-monopoly Bureau may strengthen the anti-price monopoly enforcement.  It is reasonable to believe that there could be more anti-price monopoly investigation in the near future.  We will continue to monitor the new development of Price Supervision and Anti-monopoly Bureau.

 

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[1]  See http://www.chinanews.com/cj/2011/07-27/3213971.shtml.