The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) has detected the sale of counterfeit fire extinguishers at a store on Salwa Road.
The discovery came during an intensive inspection campaign carried out by the MEC to monitor the local market and exercise tighter control over it. This includes price control and detection of counterfeit products and items that do not conform to standards, according to a statement from the ministry.
During the campaign, MEC inspectors found 121 counterfeit fire extinguishers at the shop, in addition to 8,000 pieces at its warehouse in the Industrial Area. 
This forms a violation of the Article 7 of Law 8 for 2008, which stipulates, "Where a supplier displays any commodity for trading, he shall clearly indicate on the packaging or container the type, nature, ingredients and other information relating to the commodity in the manner specified in the executive bylaw hereof. Where the use of the commodity involves a certain risk, the consumer shall be clearly warned against such risk. The supplier shall be prohibited from describing, advertising or displaying the commodity in a manner that involves false or deceptive information."
Further, it was found that the company concerned does not sell such products directly to individual consumers. Instead, it enters into contracts to supply fire extinguishers for different projects. 
The MEC will also check all relevant invoices and contracts, address those affected by the sale of such extinguishers and put in place a compensation mechanism for them. 
The statement points out that the ministry, in co-operation with the security departments concerned at the Ministry of Interior, will check if the equipment already sold is counterfeited. This is due to the importance of such products and their direct impact on safety and security. 
Further, the MEC affirmed that it would be strict in dealing with any such cases.
Related Story