The practical steps to implement HE the Minister of Economy and Commerce's decision no 418 for 2016, regarding the terms and conditions regulating the grant of license for third-party workshops and the support of fair competition in the field of after-sale services were discussed.
Representatives of authorised dealers and exclusive distributors of automobiles attended the meeting to follow up the mechanism of implementing their obligations to break monopoly and enhance competitiveness in the auto sector.
The MEC officials pointed out the obligations of local dealers and exclusive distributors of vehicles towards independent repair and maintenance workshops. Mainly, they have to co-ordinate with the respective automakers to obtain the necessary requirements and standards for the approval and accreditation of such workshops and publish them.
After obtaining the necessary details from the manufacturers in this regard, the auto dealers and distributors have to submit them to the department concerned at the MEC to ensure they do not include exaggerated conditions or standards that could pose unjustifiable hurdles for the auto workshops applying for the manufacturer's approval or accreditation.
Also, the MEC will see to it that the necessary requirements would not include provisions that could limit the efforts of the applicant workshops and make it impossible for them to meet them.
As soon as the local dealers get the MEC approval on the necessary standards for independent auto workshop accreditation, alongside the modifications if any, they have to publish them on their websites or through any other adequate means that guarantee dissemination to the workshops concerned.
The MEC clarified that third-party workshops wishing to get manufacturer's approval have to submit a request to the local dealer or the exclusive distributor, who should register it and in turn submit it to the manufacturer to be considered as soon as possible.
The MEC will monitor these requests and the decisions taken on them to guarantee a quick decision. The MEC also stressed that all auto manufacturers, and their local dealers and exclusive distributors have to be committed not to follow any monopolistic or discriminatory practices in supplying spare parts for their brands or technical training. Besides, they are committed to make the related technical updates and manuals of new auto models available for all.
The MEC affirmed the initiative would certainly boost the auto sector in the country and improve the quality of the services offered for the public, giving them various options to choose the best that suits their interests without limiting them to the dealers' workshops while their warranty remains valid.
The MEC officials addressing the meeting.
All authorised dealers and exclusive distributors of automobiles in Qatar should support private workshops in their quest to become approved and accredited by automakers, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) stressed at a meeting.
