Consumer law in UAE gets more teeth

Dubai: The UAE government will take tough action against retailers engaged in monopolistic practices and those selling sub-standard products under a new consumer protection law that is being finalised, a senior government official told Gulf News.

Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi, director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy, said the government will also target price manipulators. "The new version of the Consumer Protection law will fill the gaps of the old law and strengthen the penalty provision and ensure enforcement," he said.

The amendments will tackle issues relating to consumer rights, responsibilities and liabilities and specify penalties to be imposed for commercial malpractices, he added.

"This will fill gaps in the old law and strengthen the penalty provisions."

Unfair and deceptive practices such as selling of defective or sub-standard goods, charging exorbitant prices, negligence on safety standards and so on would be strictly monitored, he said. "[It is] necessary to evolve statutory measures to make producers and traders more accountable to consumers," he said.

Last week the Ministry of Economy had said it was in the process of finalising 12 federal laws including the Consumer Protection Law that would strengthen protection of consumer rights.

Al Nuaimi remarked that although the penalties provision had existed since the inception of the consumer protection law, the government now aims to step up its drive against violators.

"The penalties would vary from warning and fines to closure of shops," he said.

Al Nuaimi on Monday toured HyperPanda supermarket at Dubai Festival City as part of the ministry's inspection of prices and retailers' compliance with preset prices.

The inspection team found the prices of most commodities stable and detected no attempts to manipulate the market, he said.

"The one dirham variation in prices between vendors can't be considered a manipulation but a reflection of the market competition."

Price hike ruled out

Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi, director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy, ruled out any increase in prices of meat products and wheat due to potential shortages in international markets.

"There is no meat shortage in the UAE and [there] won't be any impact on beef price due to floods in Pakistan," Al Nuaimi said.

Hotline

Consumers can report price violations to the ministry via the hotline — 600522225.

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