The Consumer Protection and Combating Commercial Fraud Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has issued Circular No. 1 of 2023 to specify the obligations of car providers to consumers when buying or reserving cars by preparing a form for a 'delivery date document', which includes mandatory data in accordance with the provisions of the law.
This circular comes in line with the MoCI's keenness to protect consumers’ rights when buying or reserving new or used cars.
The ministry has referred to Law No. 8 of 2008, regarding the protection of consumers, and the following amendments which clarify the obligations of providers in line with the protection of consumers’ rights. It also refers to Article 8 related to the rights of consumers to obtain additional information as per the executive regulations of this law, which stipulate in Article 4 the nature of data that should be available in the document issued by the providers. Therefore, the following has been decided:
1. The preparation of a form to reserve a vehicle, which includes the following: name and address of the provider, and the date of the invoice; type of vehicle or service, plus a basic description; sale unit; number of units sold; unit condition (if used); price of the good or service in Qatari riyal; delivery date; signature/seal of the provider or his/her legal representative; and serial number of the good and its components.
The form is filled once the provider is certain about the availability of the vehicle requested by the consumer, and once the date of delivery and payment are specified.
2. Providing the customer with a copy of the 'delivery date form'.
3. All car dealers concerned with this circular shall regularly provide the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department with a monthly statement of car reservations and make it readily available.
Additionally, the ministry has decided to give car dealers in Qatar a week's notice to implement the changes and inform the Consumer Protection and Anti-
Commercial Fraud Department about it.
The MoCI has affirmed that after the expiry of the deadline, it shall intensify its inspections to monitor the adherence of car dealers to the new regulations, and it will deal with any violation of the obligations stipulated in Law No. 8 of 2008 and its implementing regulations related to consumer protection.
The ministry has encouraged all citizens and residents to report any violations via the call centre: 16001; Twitter: @MOCIQATAR; and Instagram: MOCIQATAR
