The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) issued a total of 70 fines during May through nationwide inspection campaigns to ensure the compliance of suppliers (retail outlets) with Law No. 8 of 2008 on consumer protection. The inspection campaigns come within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to monitor markets and commercial activities in a bid to crack down on price manipulation and to protect consumer rights.Violations included false or misleading product descriptions and advertising; missing price tags for products and services; selling expired products; charging customers more than the advertised price; announcing promotional offers without obtaining a license from the competent department; and failing to display product descriptions and ads in Arabic.The penalties resulted in administrative closures as well as fines ranging between QR5,000 and QR30,000 in line with the applicable consumer protection laws. The MEC stressed that it will not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on violations. The MEC said it will refer those who violate laws and ministerial decrees to competent authorities that 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: info@mec.gov.qa, Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar
June 12, 2017 | 11:22 PM