Doha: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) carried out extensive inspection campaigns in October 2021, to ensure the compliance of suppliers (retail outlets) with laws and Ministerial decisions related to consumer protection.
The inspection campaigns come within the framework of the Ministry’s efforts to monitor markets and commercial activities in the country in a bid to crack down on price manipulation, uncover violations and protect consumer rights.
The inspection campaigns resulted in the seizure of 103 violations, including failure to issue invoices in Arabic; not offering information related to the displayed commodity in Arabic; failure to comply with the mandatory price bulletin of vegetables and fruits, failure to guarantee that the performed service during a period of time is commensurate with the nature of that service, to refund the amount paid by the recipient of the service, or to perform it again in an appropriate manner; failure to provide a detailed monthly report on submitting prizes under a promotional offer as of the draw date and until delivering the last prize; non-compliance with the form and format of the promotion advertisement approved by the competent department; making a promotional offer without obtaining the necessary licence from the competent department; and displaying expired products.
Penalties imposed on retail outlets included administrative closures and fines ranging between QR5,000 and QR30,000 as per the laws and decisions regulating the work of the Consumer Protection Department. The authorities concerned with consumer protection at the Ministry received a number of complaints in October. They were dealt with, and necessary measures to resolve them were taken.
The Ministry has affirmed that it will strictly deal with all those who neglect their obligations under the Consumer Protection Law and its implementing regulations.
