The action was the result of surprise inspection campaigns on a number of retailer complexes that included shops who were guaranteed a discounts’ licence to monitor the compliance of suppliers (the retailer complexes) with obligations stipulated by law No.(8) of 2008 on consumer protection and their commitment to the application of the laws and regulations of discounts’ licences.
The inspections come as part of the MEC campaign to monitor and control the local market and commercial activities in order to crack down on price manipulation and expose violations to protect consumers.
The MEC action is for violation of the provisions of Article 3 of the Ministerial Decree No.(5) for the year 1984 on selling via cutting down prices (discounts).
The MEC has urged all consumers to check the price of the goods before and after discounts. In addition, consumers have the right to access the statement of all the existing goods in the shop which shows the price before and after discounts and the approved discount rate. Consumers should not forget to take a detailed invoice that shows the price before and after discounts.
The ministry has called upon all shops who were guaranteed a discounts’ licence to urgently comply with laws and regulations when issuing real discounts and avoid any false discounts or any similar practices that can harm the consumer.
The MEC stressed it will not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and will intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on violations. The ministry said it will refer those who violate laws and ministerial decrees to competent authorities, who will in turn take appropriate action against perpetrators in order to protect consumer rights.
The MEC has urged all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the following channels: Hotline: 16001, e-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar
An official from the MEC pasting a violation notice on the door of a jewellery outlet
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has withdrawn the discounts licence issued to 18 jewellery outlets and fined them QR5,000 each due to their non-compliance with the payroll selling prices before and during discounts.
