Dubai The UAE Ministry of Economy has slapped 1,473 fines during the first nine months on companies for engaging in combat commercial fraud and counterfeiting.
The Ministry officials have conducted 19,000 inspection tours as part of the anti fraud and counterfeit drives.
Of the total inspections, 8,072 were directly related to consumer protection, 10,063 were related to counterfeit goods, 558 to assess whether copyright laws were followed, 109 to ensure that laws of trademarks were being practiced and 186 tours to factories.
From these inspections, 772 fines were issued in relation to consumer protection, 595 for counterfeit goods, 71 with respect to copyright violations, 31 related to trademark laws and four during the inspection of factories.
Economic growth, public safety
Sultan Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, said commercial fraud and counterfeiting are central issues that directly affect economic growth and public safety, and also limit innovation and creativity apart from generating huge loses for companies and governments.
The Minister reiterated the importance of the new draft law for consumer protection, which includes amendments to some articles of the current federal law no. (24) for the years 2006 to punish any attempt of fraud through more financial penalties starting from Dh5,000 and up to Dh1 million.
New draft law
He said that the ministry is currently working on a new draft law to combat commercial fraud and counterfeiting, and it is now in its final stages and is expected to be enforced next year.
To educate the public and the business community, the Ministry held a series of workshops for the private and public sectors, and also held a conference to combat commercial fraud. The Ministry also participated in international and regional conferences related to censorship laws as well as took part in trade fairs and exhibitions.
