A Ministry official putting up a notice announcing the cancellation of the licence for promotion at a jewellery shop.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) said yesterday that it has imposed fines of QR5,000 each on 18 jewellery shops for failure to comply with the rules related to promotions.
It has also cancelled the promotion licences issued to these shops and stopped them from continuing the promotion in the remaining period mentioned in the licence. The outlets failed to comply with the specified prices before and during the promotions.
The Ministry said it has taken the action following an intensive inspection campaign against a number of retailers including shops that were issued licences to offer promotions.
The campaign comes as part of the efforts of the Ministry to monitor and control the local market and commercial activities in order to crack down on price manipulation and expose violations to protect all consumers.
The inspection campaign led to the punishment of 18 jewellery shops found violating the provisions of Article 3 of the Ministerial Decree No (5) for the year 1984 on selling products through offers and discounts.
The MEC called upon all consumers to check the prices of the goods before and after offers and reductions, highlighting that consumers have the right to see the price lists showing differences in prices before and after reductions as approved by the Ministry.
Consumers were also urged to take a detailed invoice that shows the price before and after reductions.
The Ministry appealed to all shops that were granted licences for promotion and offers to comply with the laws and regulations set up by the Ministry to avoid false offers and practices that harm consumers.
The Ministry stressed that it will not tolerate any violations of the Consumer Protection Law and its regulations, and will intensify its inspections to detect violations and enforce the law by transferring offenders to the competent authorities for further legal actions.
The Ministry has urged all consumers to report violations to the Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department by calling 16001 or sending email to [email protected] or its social media official accounts.
