Call for Ending Mandatory Pricing

Mandatory pricing is one of the obsolete methods of controlling inflation, said Mehrad Ebad, a member of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, in a write-up for the chamber’s news portal. A translation of the full text follows:
A relic of old centuries, pricing hurts the business environment. Pundits believe it lays the foundation of successive developments. In general, mandatory pricing in Iran and other countries has not helped achieve the goals of policymakers, and at the same time, given rise to menacing market reactions, News.tccim.ir reported. 
For example, we have seen declines in the supply of products following the implementation of pricing policies. Or, in competitive markets, products are being sold at prices below the guild-mandated rates, leading to the formation of informal markets. Informal markets allow sales without value added tax and make competition difficult for reputable businesses.