Doha: In March, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry carried out extensive inspection campaigns on suppliers and retail outlets to check if they are complying with the laws and Ministerial decisions on consumer protection.
The inspections found 163 violations, “including describing, advertising, or displaying a commodity in a manner that contains false information; not adhering to the prices in the compulsory price bulletin of vegetables and fruits; making promotional offers and discounts without obtaining the necessary license from the competent department; not announcing prices; and displaying expired products.”
“Violations also included failure to issue invoices in Arabic, as well as failure to guarantee that the performed service is commensurate with the nature of that service, including failure to refund the recipient of the service, or to perform the service again in an appropriate manner.”
Penalties imposed on retail outlets included administrative closures and fines ranging between QR 5,000 and QR 30,000.
The Ministry stressed that it would not tolerate any negligence when it comes to meeting obligations stipulated in Law No. (8) of 2008 on Consumer Protection and its executive bylaws.
The Ministry also urged all citizens and residents to report any violations or infractions through the Call Centre (16001).
