The State Administration for Market Regulation announced today (14th) five typical cases of cracking down on inferior quality and low prices.
1. The Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau investigated and dealt with the case of Wang Moumou’s production and sales of lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles that did not meet national standards.
1. Introduction to the case. Based on the report, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Bureau carried out law enforcement inspections on the business premises of Yiming Lithium Battery (Douyin account) located in residential buildings. After investigation, Wang Moumou (hereinafter referred to as the party) operated the Douyin account, purchased second-hand battery cells at low prices without obtaining production qualifications, and privately assembled different specifications of "Yiming Energy" battery packs in residential buildings for external sales. The parties attracted traffic through live broadcasts, collected deposits online, delivered offline and closed the final payment, with the cumulative sales amount exceeding 100,000 yuan. The inspectors seized 7 semi-finished products of lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles, 596 battery cells in 8 models, and 7 finished products in 6 models for sale at the scene. The items involved were sold for 4,000 to 8,000 yuan, and the finished products were worth 29,450 yuan. After inspection, the battery component product logo, mutual recognition collaborative charging project, 8 battery cell logos, and acupuncture projects did not meet the mandatory standards of GB 43854-2024 "Safety Technical Specifications for Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Bicycles" and were judged to be unqualified.
2. Legal basis and processing. The party concerned sold lithium-ion batteries for electric bicycles that did not meet the national standards for protecting human health and personal and property safety. The sales amount exceeded 100,000 yuan. According to the "Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China" and "Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Laws in Criminal Cases concerning the Production and Sale of Counterfeit and Substandard Products", his behavior has been suspected of a crime. The Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation transferred the case to the public security agency in accordance with Article 3 of the "Regulations on the Transfer of Suspected Criminal Cases by Administrative Law Enforcement Agencies". At present, the public security organ has filed a case and the case is under further investigation.
3. Case analysis. In this case, the production and business premises were hidden in residential buildings and were difficult to detect during routine inspections. Law enforcement officers conduct verification through offline visits and electronic evidence collection to lock down evidence and accurately crack down on hidden illegal activities. The party concerned has no business license and production qualification, no quality control and factory inspection of the products, mixed production and living places, and no fire isolation and fire protection facilities. The products are sold at low prices but have great hidden dangers. The investigation and handling of this case demonstrates the rigid constraints of the market regulatory authorities on battery product safety supervision, and provides experience for the investigation and handling of similar covert network illegal cases.
2. The Market Supervision Bureau of Qingdao City, Shandong Province investigated and dealt with the price fraud case of Qingdao Xinya International Travel Agency Co., Ltd.
1. Introduction to the case. Qingdao Xinya International Travel Agency Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the party) sold two travel itinerary products, "Qingdao Laoshan One-Day Tour" and "3-Day, 2-Night Multi-Day Tour" on a mainstream online platform. The actual selling prices were 199 yuan and 1,600 yuan respectively, but the underlined price was as high as 9,999 yuan, with a discount rate as low as 0.2%, and the party did not explain the details of the underlined price. After investigation, the underlined price far exceeded the lowest transaction price in the previous seven days.
2. Legal basis and processing. The behavior of the party concerned violated Article 14 of the Price Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 16 and 19 of the Provisions on Clearly Marked Prices and Prohibition of Price Fraud, constituting an illegal act of price fraud. In view of the fact that the parties concerned actively cooperated with the investigation and provided relevant evidence and materials, there are circumstances under which they may be given a lighter punishment in accordance with the law. The Qingdao Market Supervision Bureau issued a warning to the parties in accordance with the law and imposed a fine of 50,000 yuan.
3. Case analysis. Controlling "false low prices" is an important part of cracking down on inferior quality and low prices. In this case, in order to increase sales of two general travel itinerary products, the parties falsely marked ultra-high underlined prices, creating the illusion of huge discounts and misleading consumers to overestimate the value of the products involved, thereby triggering impulse consumption. The investigation and handling of this case has provided a strong deterrent to travel agencies, effectively safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and also polished the city's tourism business card.
3. The Market Supervision Bureau of Gaoyao District, Zhaoqing City, Guangdong Province investigated and dealt with the consumer fraud case of Gaoyao District Senmiao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
1. Introduction to the case. Zhaoqing Gaoyao District Senmiao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the party) sells drugs on the Pinduoduo platform. The picture shows Baiyunshan "Jinge" brand sildenafil citrate tablets, but the actual sales are low-priced "Hardjiu" brand sildenafil citrate tablets (unit cost 12 yuan, express fee 3 yuan). A total of 29 units were sold, with a sales volume of 1,014 yuan and a profit of 579 yuan.
2. Legal basis and processing. The behavior of the party concerned violated the provisions of Article 5 of the "Measures for Punishments for Infringements of Consumer Rights and Interests". In accordance with Article 56, Paragraph 1, of the "Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China" and Article 14 of the "Measures for Punishments for Acts of Infringement of Consumer Rights and Interests", Zhaoqing Gaoyao District Senmiao Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. ordered the party to correct the illegal behavior, issued a warning, confiscated 579 yuan of illegal gains, and imposed a fine of 3,000 yuan.
3. Case analysis. This case is a consumption infringement case of diverting traffic at low prices and shoddy goods. The parties involved displayed pictures of branded drugs on the sales page, using low prices as a gimmick to attract consumers to place orders. However, the actual shipments were replaced with other similar products at low prices, and the drugs were used to obtain illegitimate benefits through information gaps in online shopping. Drugs are directly related to people's lives and health. Substituting low-priced products for original products not only defrauds consumers, but may also cause hidden dangers to drug safety. The investigation and handling of this case has served as a strong deterrent to the chaos of illegality and corruption in the field of online drug sales.
4. Guangyuan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau of Sichuan Province investigated and dealt with price fraud cases in 23 hotels
1. Introduction to the case. During the Spring Festival in 2026, the Guangyuan Municipal Market Supervision Bureau found through monitoring that 23 hotels in the city used the underlined price as the benchmark to carry out preferential activities through price comparison during the sales of housing during the Spring Festival on online platforms, and could not prove that the marked compared prices were true and well-founded. After investigation, it was found that the above-mentioned hotels used high prices without real transaction records as the compared prices, creating the illusion of "significant discounts" and "super-value offers" to trick consumers into placing orders. The essence was to fabricate the compared prices and attract customers with false discounts.
2. Legal basis and processing. The behavior of the above-mentioned 23 hotels violated Article 14 of the Price Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 16 and 19 of the Provisions on Clearly Marked Prices and Prohibition of Price Fraud, constituting illegal acts of price fraud. The Guangyuan Market Supervision Bureau imposed fines totaling more than 960,000 yuan on the above 23 hotels.
3. Case analysis. In this case, 23 hotels used false discounts to create the illusion of "high cost performance". In essence, they used price fraud to replace honest operations and relied on false price comparisons to attract customers. This behavior infringes on consumers' rights to know and fair transactions, causing consumers to overpay in "virtual discounts" and seriously damaging consumers' legitimate rights and interests. At the same time, this behavior disrupts the price order of holiday accommodation and damages the reputation of urban cultural tourism and the overall image of the industry. The investigation and handling of the case has prompted accommodation operators and platforms to return to true pricing and clearly stated prices, which has a demonstration effect in maintaining the accommodation price order in the holiday tourism market and protecting cultural tourism consumption.
5. The Market Supervision Bureau of Tianmen City, Hubei Province investigated and dealt with the production and sales of substandard fertilizer by Hubei Kushen Ecological Fertilizer Technology Co., Ltd.
1. Introduction to the case. In March 2026, the Tianmen City Market Supervision Bureau found that the compound fertilizer produced by Hubei Kushen Ecological Fertilizer Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the party) was substandard during a fertilizer quality supervision and spot inspection. Immediately, sampling inspections were conducted on 4 batches of compound fertilizers and blended fertilizers sold to agricultural supplies stores in 3 townships. Among them, the total nutrients, available phosphorus, potassium oxide, chloride ions and other items of 3 batches did not comply with GB/T 15063-2020 "Compound Fertilizer", GB/T 21633-2020 "Blended Fertilizer (BB Fertilizer)" and the express requirements of the product. The inspection conclusion was that it was unqualified. After investigation, the parties involved supplied rural dealers at low prices by collecting advance payments from dealers and offering price concessions. A total of 30 tons of substandard fertilizers were involved, with a value of 66,850 yuan (unit price is approximately 2,228 yuan/ton). Comparing the fertilizer market conditions in Hubei Province during the same period, the price was significantly lower than the normal ex-factory price of similar products.
2. Legal basis and processing. The behavior of the parties violated the provisions of Article 32 of the Product Quality Law of the People's Republic of China and constituted the illegal act of passing off substandard products as qualified products. The party concerned actively cooperates with the investigation and proactively provides evidence and materials, which meets the circumstances that may lead to a lighter or reduced administrative penalty. The Tianmen Market Supervision Bureau ordered the parties concerned to correct their illegal behavior and fined and confiscated a total of 67,600 yuan.
3. Case analysis. In this case, multiple batches of fertilizers sampled by the parties were found to be unqualified, indicating defects in quality control at the source. The parties involved distribute goods to rural markets at low prices. The products contain low active ingredients and pass off substandard products as qualified products. This is a representative problem of low quality and low price in the field of agricultural inputs. The case discovered problems through quality inspections at the source of production and simultaneously investigated and dealt with the end of circulation in towns and villages, forming a shock to the whole chain of "production-distribution-use", which has a guiding and demonstrative role in "ensuring safety with quality" and "winning the market with quality" in the field of chemical fertilizers.
It is understood that since 2026, the State Administration for Market Regulation has deployed special operations to crack down on inferior quality and low prices. Market regulatory authorities at all levels focused on key areas, resolutely curbed low-quality and low-price competition, and investigated and dealt with a number of typical cases in accordance with the law.
