MOSCOW, April 2 (RAPSI) – President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a law on fines for overpricing of medicine, according to the official website of legal information.

The law is to amend the Code on Administrative Offenses.

Drug overpricing, according to the draft law, is to result in fines from 250,000 to 500,000 rubles ($3,200 – 6,400) for officials, and twice the amount of excessively received proceeds from the sale of medicines as a result of the unlawful overstatement of state-regulated prices for the entire period during which the offense was committed, but not more than one year, for legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.

The State Duma and the Federation Council approved the initiative on March 31.

Earlier, the President signed a bill on fixing maximum allowed prices of certain medicine during emergencies or outbreaks of infections into law. The document empowers the government to set maximum allowed prices of drugs and medical products not on the official list of vital medicines, but becoming vitally important in certain situations, for up to 90 days in case of emergencies or outbreaks of infections.