Saudi Ministry of Commerce has revealed several frauds and violations by stores in offering discounts during the holy month of Ramadan.
The news comes after field tours of different facilities to verify the reliability of discount offers to protect consumer rights.
In a video published through its official account on Twitter, the ministry exposed the most prominent violation related to discounts which featured a store announcing discounts ranging from 25-40 per cent, which does not match with the obtained permit that stipulated discounts of only 10-50 per cent.
The ministry said that there are also stores that announce discounts without obtaining a permit allowing them to do so.
On March 23, the ministry launched the facility enabling commercial establishments to issue permits electronically for the Ramadan discounts season til April 21.
The tasks of the field teams affiliated with the Ministry start from monitoring the commercial discount requests as soon as merchants submit requests for permits via the Ministry’s website.
The discount permits are characterised by features such as clarifying the time and dates of the sales as well as the permit number and the percentage of promotion.
As for any store that announces a discount without obtaining a permit, the ministry will summon its owner to complete the regulatory procedures because it is considered a commercial violation.
