MK David Bitan (Likud) Chairman of the Economy Committee at the debate on the approval of the obligation of license plates for electric tools/Knesset spokespersons
The Knesset Plenum approved in a preliminary reading the draft Consumer Protection Law (amendment - prevention of the exercise of unfair influence during the declaration of a state of emergency), MK David Bitan's Law-2024 and a group of Knesset members.
13 Knesset members supported the proposal, with no opponents or abstentions, and it will be forwarded to the Economic Committee for discussion.
It is proposed to establish that during the validity period of the declaration of a state of emergency, a dealer who offers, presents or sells the subscription service in the second appendix to the law, among other things, shall be considered an authorized provider that provides Bezeq and Internet services or a gas provider, other essential service or goods, at a price that significantly exceeds and exceeds its price The average, as someone who exercises unfair influence.
It should be noted that an emergency for the purposes of the proposed law is a security emergency, a civil emergency that also includes natural disasters as well as a health emergency.
The explanation for the proposal reads: "As a general rule, pricing of products should be done in accordance with market forces and in accordance with supply and demand, sometimes in an emergency situation there may be a need for regulatory intervention aimed at preventing a significant price increase and deviation from the accepted price while taking advantage of the situation, and ensuring that the same product or service is accessible to the entire population during the state of emergency".
An end to excessive price increases?
Bitan/Knesset Speakers, Noam Moshkowitz Knesset Speakers
At the end of October, the Ministry of Economy published a memorandum of law, according to which anyone who takes advantage of the situation and unfairly raises prices will be fined NIS 138,000.
The memorandum was based on different models in the world that were created due to emergency situations, such as natural disasters, epidemics and war events, which were created because of the fear that some merchants would take advantage of the circumstances to raise prices.
The person who prevented the advancement of this law, and another, similar law, promoted by MK Orit Parkash from the state camp, was the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich.
Because of this, Bitan is a member of Barakat, and today there is a rapid discussion of the very same law, except that this time Bitan and members of the Knesset are signatories more, and at the end it was prepared for a preliminary reading, which indeed passed unanimously. The chairman of the coalition, Ofir Katz, also joined the effort, joined the initiators of the law and promised that he would be exempted from the obligation of presumption, which would significantly shorten the procedures on the way to its final approval. The approval of the law in the committee leaves Smotrich is out of the game. The only objection he can express will be by voting against him in the Knesset.
More on the same topic:
price increases