UAE Ministry of Economy to strengthen consumer rights protection

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The UAE Ministry of Economy is set to update federal law No. 15 of 2022 on consumer protection which will have more details regarding specific penalties for retailers violating consumers’ rights.

Assistant undersecretary for the monitoring and following up sector at the Ministry of Economy, Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shamsi, said: “The executive bulletin is being consulted with stakeholders at the local and federal level, private sector and chambers and is expected to be rolled out in the first half of 2023. 

“It shall cover a lot of aspects and give more clarity. For example, when it comes to violations, if there is a defect in the item purchased, so what is the penalty a customer can claim or raise the issue with the authorities if there is no response from the vendor? These kinds of details will be covered in the update for consumer rights.”

The ministry conducted 94,123 inspections in 2022 finding 4,227 violations. This year, the number of inspections during the first few months of 2023 stood at 8,170, bringing to light 1,030 violations.

“Through these inspections, we made sure that price tags are being displayed, quality products are offered to consumers, thus preventing cases of fraud and trademark infringements,” said Mr Al Shamsi.

Smart consumers

The Ministry clarified that consumers are very smart these days and they report violations promptly to protect their rights.

“It is not easy for vendors to manipulate the customer now and it is good for all stakeholders, especially for the law enforcement bodies because monitoring of the violations is coming from the customers themselves,” Mr Al Shamsi told Khaleej Times.

While talking about a host of requests from retailers to hike the prices of items, Mr Al Shamsi mentioned they devised a new mechanism to validate and justify price hikes by appointing external specialised audit bodies to make sure that price changes are justified.

While speaking during a press conference in Dubai on Thursday, Al Shamsi stressed that the ministry ensures that no unjustified price hikes are applied by suppliers.

Sufficient supply

This year, The Ministry of Economy held 26 meetings with basic commodity suppliers such as rice, flour, sugar, meat, poultry, fish and dairy products to ensure that there are sufficient stocks of these commodities to meet the needs of consumers during Ramadan.

Mr Al Shamsi exhorted consumers to practice conscious purchasing practices such as keeping the invoice – the first step towards guaranteeing their rights and matching them with what they purchased: “It is their guarantee that can be submitted to the concerned government authorities in case of any grievances that violate their rights as a consumer.”

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