The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) carried out extensive inspection campaigns in January, to monitor the compliance of suppliers (retail outlets) with their obligations under laws and ministerial resolutions on consumer protection.
These campaigns resulted in the uncovering of 115 violations, including offering discounts and promotions without obtaining the necessary licence from the competent department; displaying expired products; describing the commodity, advertising it or displaying it in a manner that contains false or deceptive information; and failing to offer a service warranty for an appropriate period, refunding customers or reoffering the service in an appropriate manner.
Penalties imposed on retail outlets included administrative closures and fines ranging from QR5,000 to QR30,000, in line with the laws and decisions regulating the work of the Consumer Protection Department, the MoCI said in a statement Sunday.
The inspection campaigns fall within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to monitor markets and commercial activities in Qatar, in a bid to control prices and uncover violations to protect consumer rights, the statement pointed out.
Following are the types of violations uncovered in January and number of cases: offering a discount without obtaining the necessary licence from the competent department - 24; expired products - 16; describing the commodity, advertising it or displaying it in a manner that contains false or deceptive information - 14; making a promotional offer without obtaining the necessary licence from the competent department - 13; failing to offer a service warranty for an appropriate period, refunding customers, or reoffering the service in an appropriate manner - 9; failing to issue invoices in Arabic - 8; failing to issue complete invoices - 6; failing to write all the explanatory information about the commodity - 6; failing to comply with the mandatory price bulletin of vegetables and fruits - 5; failing to apply all the commodity guarantees - 4; failing to clearly define the service information, features, characteristics and pricing - 3; failing to display prices - 2; failing to offer an Arabic version of the information on displayed commodities - 2; failing to comply with the mandatory price bulletin of fish and seafood - 1; failing to return the commodity, providing a refund or exchanging the commodity - 1; and failing to provide spare parts for durable goods within a specified period of time, and failing to provide the announced warrantees - 1.
The authorities concerned with consumer protection at the MoCI received a number of complaints in January. The complaints were accordingly dealt with and the necessary measures were taken to resolve them, the statement added.
The ministry has stressed that it will not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and will intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on illegal practices. It will refer those who violate laws and ministerial decisions governing the work of the department to the competent authorities who will, in turn, take appropriate action against the perpetrators in order to protect consumer rights.
The MoCI has urged all consumers to report any violations or infringements, and send complaints and suggestions, through the call centre: 16001, Twitter: @MOCIQATAR, and Instagram: MOCIQATAR
These campaigns resulted in the uncovering of 115 violations, including offering discounts and promotions without obtaining the necessary licence from the competent department; displaying expired products; describing the commodity, advertising it or displaying it in a manner that contains false or deceptive information; and failing to offer a service warranty for an appropriate period, refunding customers or reoffering the service in an appropriate manner.
Penalties imposed on retail outlets included administrative closures and fines ranging from QR5,000 to QR30,000, in line with the laws and decisions regulating the work of the Consumer Protection Department, the MoCI said in a statement Sunday.
The inspection campaigns fall within the framework of the ministry’s efforts to monitor markets and commercial activities in Qatar, in a bid to control prices and uncover violations to protect consumer rights, the statement pointed out.
Following are the types of violations uncovered in January and number of cases: offering a discount without obtaining the necessary licence from the competent department - 24; expired products - 16; describing the commodity, advertising it or displaying it in a manner that contains false or deceptive information - 14; making a promotional offer without obtaining the necessary licence from the competent department - 13; failing to offer a service warranty for an appropriate period, refunding customers, or reoffering the service in an appropriate manner - 9; failing to issue invoices in Arabic - 8; failing to issue complete invoices - 6; failing to write all the explanatory information about the commodity - 6; failing to comply with the mandatory price bulletin of vegetables and fruits - 5; failing to apply all the commodity guarantees - 4; failing to clearly define the service information, features, characteristics and pricing - 3; failing to display prices - 2; failing to offer an Arabic version of the information on displayed commodities - 2; failing to comply with the mandatory price bulletin of fish and seafood - 1; failing to return the commodity, providing a refund or exchanging the commodity - 1; and failing to provide spare parts for durable goods within a specified period of time, and failing to provide the announced warrantees - 1.
The authorities concerned with consumer protection at the MoCI received a number of complaints in January. The complaints were accordingly dealt with and the necessary measures were taken to resolve them, the statement added.
The ministry has stressed that it will not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and will intensify its inspection campaigns to crack down on illegal practices. It will refer those who violate laws and ministerial decisions governing the work of the department to the competent authorities who will, in turn, take appropriate action against the perpetrators in order to protect consumer rights.
The MoCI has urged all consumers to report any violations or infringements, and send complaints and suggestions, through the call centre: 16001, Twitter: @MOCIQATAR, and Instagram: MOCIQATAR
