DUBAI: The UAE’s Ministry of Economy is working on updating federal law No. 15 of 2022 on consumer protection which will have much more details including specific penalties for retailers and other establishments violating the consumers’ rights.
“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 consumers rights,” said Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Monitoring & Following Up Sector at the Ministry of Economy. The ministry conducted 94,123 inspections in 2022, which found 4,227 violations. In 2023, the number of inspections during the first few months of 2023 stood at 8,170, which resulted in recording 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,” he said. He said consumers are very smart these days and they report violations to the ministry which helps 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,” Al Shamsi told meida. –Agencies
