Carrefour to face up to $80,000 fine in China

French retail major Carrefour will face a fine of up to $80,000 in China for discrepancies in pricing of products in the shelf and at the cash counter, a report has said.

Last week, a consumer at China's Taiyuan city complained of a discrepancy between the price displayed on the shelf and the price charged by the cashier at a Carrefour outlet, and reported it to local pricing authorities.

Inspectors from the municipal pricing bureau found that the outlet had charged consumers higher prices, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

A senior executive with Carrefour headquarters apologised for price, the report said.

Dai Wei, vice president of Carrefour China, has agreed to accept punishment by the pricing bureau of Taiyuan, Song Jianhu, an official with the bureau said.

According to Song, Carrefour will get a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan ($7,949 to $80,000), the report said.

The outlet was also found to have used misleading advertising, failed to provide accurate information regarding sales and allowed goods to be produced in areas that were inconsistent with the company's specifications.

The Carrefour store has issued a written statement, explaining that the incident was "an individual case" and "an unintentional mistake".

Carrefour together with Wallmart has hundreds of stores in China.