The Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform on Oct 25 issued a regulation targeting at the pricing of Beijing’s express services. This is the first of its kind in China.

This is an attempt to “regulate the price behavior of the express industry in the city, protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and business enterprises, establish and maintain a fair and open market price,” the commission says on its official website.

In the document, it has been clarified that the price of the express service shall be formed by the market, and set by the enterprises themselves through fair competition in the market.

To address the arbitrary charges commonly seen in the industry, the regulation proposes that the price should be marked clearly in the service outlets as well as on their websites; the price must be true, clear and eye-catching when displayed, and be updated in a timely manner; no extra fees should be charged. In addition, couriers should offer consumers their price list for them to choose and check.

Moreover, the regulation lists 12 acts that are not allowed, including price fixing, price cheating during the time of a promotion, and price pushing by spreading false information about price rises.

Express companies violating these rules will face corresponding punishment, the regulation stresses at the end.

In recent years, with people’s rising wages and development of the e-business, the express industry is growing rapidly in the country.

According to the State Post Bureau, in 2016, China has produced a total of 31.35 billion express parcels, more than 20 pieces per capita. On “Double 11”, China’s largest online shopping day on Nov 11 alone, 350 million parcels had been sent.