Six violations were detected during a sudden inspection campaign carried out by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) at retail outlets in Sealine, which provide services to visitors to the area and owners of winter camps.

The outlets covered by the initiative included those selling food and electrical materials, restaurants, bike rental shops and automobile repair facilities.

The campaign has resulted in the issuance of six violations for irregularities such as failing to announce product/service prices, failing to clearly announce product/service prices and failing to issue bills, which is a violation of Article 8 of 2008 on Consumer Protection, which states that the supplier is obliged to clearly include the price of the product or service when displaying or advertising it, the ministry has said in a press statement.

A fine of QR6,000 was imposed on every violating shop in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Consumer Protection Anti-Commercial Fraud department, the MEC said.

The inspection campaign comes within the framework of the ministry's keenness to monitor markets and commercial activities in a bid to crack down on price manipulation and protect consumer rights, according to the statement.

The ministry stressed that it would not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and would intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on violations.

Further, the ministry has said it will refer those who violate laws and ministerial decrees to the competent authorities, who will, in turn, take appropriate action against perpetrators in order to protect consumer rights.

The ministry has urged all consumers to report violations to the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud department through the call centre: 16001, email: [email protected], Twitter: MEC_QATAR, Instagram: MEC_QATAR and the MEC application for iPhone and Android devices: MEC_QATAR

Related Story